Beginning….Vegan Style

At the end of November, a highly-charged legal issue came to rest as Office Darren Wilson was not indicted in the shooting of Michael Brown. My boyfriend, who is a former law enforcement officer (LEO) and I were discussing the situation. During the conversation, the Rev. Al Sharpton was mentioned. I asked my bf if he knew how he lost so much weight.  He was unaware, at the time, that he had been quite heavier in the past.  Well, of course I had to ‘google’ pictures to show him the difference.  After reading an article, I discovered that Sharpton eats a Vegan diet. This intrigued me because recently, a co-worker/friend was telling me about her brother that went vegan and lost 60+ pounds in a matter of months.  Also, my best friend’s husband went vegan for a year and lost a significant amount of weight a few years ago. My brain started spinning and I started doing more online research.

Well, this led me to the documentary Vegucated.  The film follows 3 omnivores who eat only vegan for 6 weeks.  It tracks their health at the beginning of their journey and at the end.  WOW. I was impressed. The whole film sucked me in. (I won’t talk about the slaughterhouses and such….because I can’t handle that part. Makes me sad.)  I stopped eating meat immediately.

Now mind you, my boyfriend, my son, and I were getting ready to visit my boyfriend’s family and friends in Ohio for Christmas and I was overzealous and ready to change my whole lifestyle at this point.  But I knew how hard it would be to eat Vegan being out of our element.   So I decided to eat vegetarian at least.  Next, I bought the book, Veganist by Kathy Freston. I read the book quickly and highlighted areas that resonated with me.  The author was from the South and was accustomed to Southern cuisine full of meat and starches, just how I was raised.  As I read along, she broke everything down so simply. I called my mom and we discussed this before and she was on board and wanted to read the book too. During our holiday visit to Ohio and once we returned, I didn’t consume meat or eggs, but was consuming dairy.  But I felt horrible. My stomach hurt all the time.  On December 29, 2014, I gave up dairy and my stomach has never felt better.

What is the reason? Well, I am not lactose intolerant, but I did give up dairy (excluding greek yogurt) from Jan-Jun of 2014. So for the lat 6 months, I was eating crap. At this point, I was probably detoxing and the dairy and all it’s components were hurting my stomach.  This is probably the best thing I can do for my body.

I joined a couple of my neighbors and am doing an online DietBet as well. It’s a great thing too, because I have dropped 5 pounds in 6 days since changing to a vegan diet.  That seems like a lot, but I’m sure my body is detoxing quite nicely.  My one bright spot, is that my loving and meat-loving boyfriend is doing this with me.  (Trust me, he is losing weight too!) I am truly glad that he is, because it makes it a lot easier when you have a support system.  However, at this point I wouldn’t need a support system. I would be on my own, but happy with my choice to eat vegan.

I read something on the internet once that was posted as a funny on Instagram: How do you know when someone is vegan? Don’t worry they will tell you. At the time I thought it was funny, because all I’ve heard is how over-the-top vegan’s are.  I understand the compassion aspect to the animals…I really do. Right now, I am primarily doing this for my health. Secondarily, is my compassion. So I hope I can be one of those vegans who aren’t repulsive and in your face. 🙂

I also have read Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. I also have the Happy Herbivore Cookbooks Lindsay S. Nixon  and the China Study Cookbook by Leanne Campbell, PHD.