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I'm Vegan, but you don't have to be.

Three years ago I went to the county fair. It was a lot of fun. After rides and food, we decided to head over to the livestock section because anyone that knows me is absolutely aware of this fact: I. Love. GOATS. After fifteen minutes of me cooing over the baby goats in the pen, my friends finally dragged me away to see the other animals. What happened next changed my life.




Honestly, all I really saw there were live animals in rows. There was nothing horrifying or grotesque as is shown in some ads and articles that are pro-vegan. But my mind saw something there that it couldn't wrap itself around, I guess, and from that moment on it stopped seeing meat as food. I look at a steak and see a calf muscle (pun intended). I pick up a chicken sandwich and I can only think of the fact that it used to be the breast of a live chicken. I look at sushi and I see the muscle underneath the scales of a fish. It just stopped being food to me, and I no longer wanted to eat it. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't want to eat anything that came from an animal anymore.


So from that day on, I have been a vegan. Aside from meat and dairy, I eat all the same things as everyone else does. I eat bread, fruits, vegetables, pasta, cookies, cake and more bagels than anyone should ever consume. I don't really miss anything from my meat-eating days, mostly because of the amazing alternatives and imitation products I've been so fortunate to find. I'm flexible too when the occasion calls for it, like eating the cake at someone's birthday party out of love and respect for the birthday person.


People ask me about my choice and why I made it, and I tell them this story, but I also make sure to tell them that while this lifestyle works for me, it doesn't necessarily work for everyone. You have to listen to your body to see if it's right for you if you want to try it.


There are many benefits to being a vegan. First and foremost, according to a multitude of scientific studies, you lower your risk of many types of cancers by 60% or more. That fact alone is enough to keep me excited about veganism. Simply by eliminating animal products from your diet, you can automatically get your body into a healthier state of being.


Another great benefit I've noticed is that I never get over full anymore. The foods I eat don't weigh me down so even if I indulge in a bit too much pasta and garlic bread, I still don't feel full to the point of pain like I used to when I ate meat and dairy. I think it's because the foods I eat are plant-based and break down easier than meats and dairy products do in the body. Eating plants tends to make all my systems work more efficiently, and I love the way that makes me feel.


One of my favorite benefits is that I have more energy when I only eat plant-based foods. I tend to feel sluggish after I eat things that have dairy or eggs in them (like birthday cake or veggie egg rolls, or the occasional donut I just can't say no to). When the foods I eat are 100% plant-based, my body moves easier, and I find myself more motivated and energetic throughout my crazy busy days. I wouldn't have thought there was a correlation between eating foods that my body likes and my daily motivation, but it's definitely something I notice is related.


Some people ask me if the fact that I'm vegan is why I'm so fit, and I usually answer with a no. I am fit because I exercise every single day, dance all the time, and am generally always in control of what I put in my body to fuel it throughout the day. The joke I make all the time is that I, as a bagel fiend, eat at least 3 bagels a day, and I do. But it isn't because I'm vegan that I can eat high-calorie carbs and get away with it. It's because I'm doing a significant amount of cardio throughout each week, and I need those carbs for fuel. They get used, so eating bagels doesn't affect me negatively. It's when you don't use the carbs you eat that trouble tends to start. (But we can talk about that in another post).



There can be some drawbacks to being vegan, though, and I would be remiss if I left those out and only gave you the good stuff. First of all, you have to watch your nutrient-intake. Certain vitamins primarily come from animal products, and when you don't eat these products, you have to make sure you get them from other sources. B12 is a big one. This vitamin primarily comes from meat and dairy, not because it's only found in animal flesh, but because it comes from certain kinds of bacteria that animals eat and we do not. I highly recommend taking a B12 supplement if you are thinking of eating plant-based. Make sure you stick with a daily regimen of it too because I can speak from first hand experience that the symptoms of B12 deficiency aren't very fun. Other vitamins you need to make sure you get in foods or supplements include iron (which can be found in high concentration in beans, broccoli and more) and protein (which you can get from more vegetable and grain sources than you might realize).


You can also gain weight as a vegan, especially if you're not careful in the beginning. There are two stereotypes of vegans: one is a girl with a flower crown eating a bowl of vegetables like a rabbit. The other is a college kids eating french fries and Oreos. In both scenarios, the food is vegan (yes, Oreos are vegan!), but it doesn't depict what true veganism can be. If you eat a wide variety of foods that include vegetables, fruits, beans, breads and pastas and meat alternatives, you can very easily be a healthy vegan. But if you overdo it with the tasty vegan snacks and cookies, and eat a ton of french fries and Oreos, and maybe only eat pasta every day, then just like if you ate those foods all the time as a non-vegan, you will likely put on some weight. Eating a balanced diet is paramount for any lifestyle, so you have to apply it to veganism as well if you're going to venture down this path.


I love this lifestyle. It works for me. It may work for you, but it may not. If you try it and you can't seem to find happiness and balance with it, maybe something else is right for you. I can only share my experiences and my successes with this choice, and lead you in a direction that may or may not work for you.


Have questions about being vegan? Please ask! Have questions about other fitness and health related stuff? Please ask! I love to share my trials and tribulations, successes and failures as a way to help other people carve their own path. :)



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