How I Became Vegan.

in vegan •  7 years ago  (edited)

The year was 2014. In March to be exact. I was 24 years old. I had a day off from college and like every single day, I dealt with a major headache or migraine. Luckily that day, it was just a headache. I was 180 lbs and considered obese for my height at 4'11". I had mild asthma and was pre-diabetic. Very out of shape. I was tired, bored, and wanted to do something. After some thought, I ended up watching documentaries on Netflix. Since I wasn't feeling good, I had decided to watch some documentaries on health. Lately I had started to question the so called "food" that we eat on a daily basis and how that plays into our own health. As I looked through what Netflix had to offer, I ended up settling on watching "Forks Over Knives"; curiosity getting the better of me for my thirst for learning. That documentary opened the door and put me on an incredible journey.

Animals have been used for thousands of years for food. We don't dwell upon it. We just eat what's put in front of us, no questions asked. We just eat to enjoy. Questions like "What's IN the food we eat?" "What's natural and what's not?" "Are the foods we are eating good or bad for us?" are put on the back burner. As I watched Forks Over Knives and listening to the experts on health, how animals are raised and treated, I was in awe and mortified. I had felt like my world had been turned upside down. I then wanted to learn more. I ended up watching documentaries like Samsara, Vegucated, Hungry For Change, Food Matters, Food Inc and moved my way through YouTube watching Gary Yourofsky's Best Speech Ever and Earthlings. I had spent all day sitting there, curled up on the couch...crying; crying because how could people treat animals the way they do? Why are animals considered lesser beings than us? What gives us the right to eat them and destroy their lives? For what? Food? Pleasure? Material possessions? I sat there, angry at myself for not knowing the truth and the people who purposely beat up animals in factory farms...I told myself:

No more.

That day, I went vegan. I didn't transition. I didn't want to take part in something so horrible for my own food. Now the question was: what to eat now? I discovered that eating vegan food, whole plant based did wonders for one's health and helped the animals. I had this urge to heal myself and feel better. My life had been surrounded by eating meat, processed foods, take out meals, frozen meals, fruit and vegetables, sweets. I turned to YouTube again and discovered Raw til 4 thanks to Freelee the Banana Girl and 80/10/10. How can one heal eating raw plant food and eating so many calories? By not putting toxic food in one's body and I had a lot over the years. I learned as much as I could and started as soon as I could. That night, I had a pb & j sandwich after reading the ingredients on the loaf of bread. I looked through my belongings as well to see if I had any animal products in them, like my clothes. Luckily all I had was one belt with real leather. I gave it to my sister. The next day was going to be the start of a new me!

My family worried about me at first since my main staples had become bananas, potatoes and rice. I started to cook my own meals since my mother didn't want to cook anything vegan for me, which I was completely fine with. I started drinking more water, eating as much fruit and greens as I wanted before 4pm then I would eat a cooked meal at night. All vegan. Months went by eating this way. Smoothies, fruit bowls, raw juices, cooking without oil, eating very little bread. By the end of the year (I wasn't working out by the way, just walking a little every other day), my jaw had dropped as I looked in the mirror. I was thinner than I had ever been. Still overweight, but I was finally able to wear clothes that weren't plus sized. I had gone from an 18 1\2 plus down to a size 16 regular. REGULAR. At that moment, I cried happy tears. More time went by and I ended up dropping down in more size. I went from 180lbs to 105 lbs in less than 2 years. My pant size went from 18 1/2 plus down to a size 6. My sister noticed the transformation and was so very happy for me. My acne improved, I wasn't skinny, but I had come a long way. The best part was: the headaches and migraines went away. I went from taking 3-6 advil almost every day to none at all.

18194829_1376982969050509_7327232254326164619_n.jpg

14908293_1201646386584169_2752276074998209603_n.jpg

During the time of my weight loss, I spent time on Facebook, talking to people about veganism, joining groups and helping others go vegan for the animals sake, as well as their own. My words fell on deaf ears, but they also reached many who wanted to change and realized that we don't need to hurt animals for food anymore.

Today I am vegan for the animals and raw for my health. I hope to help others go vegan and also heal themselves from the inside out. I will be a voice for the voiceless.

FB_IMG_1490919543776_zpsahno3je0.JPG

FB_IMG_1490905043247_zpslhksfc4h.JPG

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

@teamsteem the vegan community of steem continues to grow and grow >)

::laughs maniacally:: ...jk :)

We will take over the world...WITH PLANT FOODS! Muwhahahaha!

Awesome story! Fruit for the win!

Yes definitely!

You're Beautiful

Thank you so much!

Really inspiring story, @chelseaoates! Changing habits that have been forged for years is not an easy task. But the most admirable thing about your story is your motivation to switch to a vegan diet: because is driven by compassion and empathy for animals. With your actions and your example you are certainly a great inspiration for many people, especially if you are in an environment where it is normal to see animals as food. You are very kind to help others become aware of the serious consequences that the consumption of meat and animal products brings to the animals, the environment and health. We are pleased to meet people like you who share our love and respect for animals. That is why we recently started our @letsteamup project, with which we intend to give anyone the opportunity to contribute to animal welfare using Steemit. We would be very happy to know what you think about our initiative, since we can see you share our values and care for animal welfare. Thank you for sharing your experience and your reflections on vegan diets. We have followed you so we can learn more from your reflections on your following posts! Upvoted!

Great!! Glad you chose this path, and I'm sooo happy to see how much healthier you are :) BTW!!! You should introduce yourself to the steem community for your next post! Make sure you use the tag #introduceyourself :D

Thank you Robert! I just made an intro post if you want to check it out!

Ha - you are so awesome!

Haha thanks <3

Hi! I'm happy to choose this post for my Care To Read Crossword Contest. I'm posting a link to this post in my posts related to this contest. I wish it will send some more traffic to your post. Thank you for writing awesome content!