I was raised in the catholic church. Currently don’t practice. I do understand the value of religion so don’t get your pants in a bind when I say I don’t practice in the catholic church.

The season of lent is a topic that is well known to me. I grew up with people giving up things like ice cream, swearing (how you give that up when you are from Philadelphia I have no clue), biting their nails, etc.

Bad habits or what you think are bad habits go out the window for a certain amount of time. Okay. Many people really struggle to figure out what to give up.

No thanks.

I was more of the make positive changes. Or do something new. Be kinder. Spend more time with people. Do my homework before I spent 3 hours at basketball practice leaving myself exhausted. Some of my friends decide to go to church every day as their thing for lent.

I have a suggestion for you. Try out a whole foods plant based lifestyle. Immerse yourself in learning more about nutritious things for you. Social media has allowed us to have access to so many doctors, dietitians, and health coaches. There are tons of books you can read and really begin to make a connection to your health and your best self.

We all know there is so much processed food out there. The US is struggling with how and what we eat damaging our bodies ability to be at its best. We lack food knowledge. We spend too much money on junk foods. The way we eat is not helpful for our environment.

What do I mean by whole foods plant based?

The bulk of your food is derived from plants. Veggies, whole grains, fruits, and legumes. With few or no animal products.

I promise this lifestyle is something very easy to maintain.

In the last 6 years I have learned that my body does much better limiting meat and dairy as best as I can. I made myself pay more attention to how my body felt. It was the strangest most rewarding thing to go through.

Ask any of people that knew me when I was in a health slump about 7 and 8 years ago. I am different now. I attribute that to refocusing what I eat. You can also add in what I put on my body as well. That is a topic for another day though. Maybe a post on my second thing you can do as a lifestyle thing for lent season.

Am a health professional. Nope. Have a seen a dietitian to make sure that my lifestyle is appropriate. Yep. Green light.

Some books, people, blogs, and videos where you can check out ways to help you transition to a plant based lifestyle. Many of these have very activity social media channels.

• McKel Hill, RD  www.nutritionstripped.com very active on social media. Love her snapchats
• Ella Woodward  www.deliciouslyella.com has a cookbook as well
• Dana McDonald, RD https://rebeldietitian.us/  very very active on facebook
• Kimberly Synder http://kimberlysnyder.com/ also has a few books
• Forks Over Knives- documentary can find on netflix and website
• T Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies http://nutritionstudies.org/articles/
• Dr. Garth Davis https://www.facebook.com/drgarth/?fref=ts  & http://proteinaholic.com/
• The China Study- book
• The China Study Cookbook
• The Food Babe Way- book

So many many more.

Give up a habit for lent. Gain a new lifestyle. Let me know if you try it out.

Together we can,

Lisa Ann