Transition to Veganism

So. Here is the scoop. Sunday March 20th, 2016 marked the end of my first month being vegan. For those who aren’t familiar, a vegan is someone who abstains from animal products in their diet. Meaning no meat, dairy, or food made by or from an animal whatsoever. My decision to go plant-based was a hefty combo: healthy eating + animal advocacy + environmental protection.  Plus, in all honesty, I was super curious to see if I’d feel any different. My journey into plant-based eating started solely as an experiment brought on by binge watching documentaries and getting incredibly freaked out. ( I had never been exposed to half of the information I had seen and read) You can do vegan the “wrong way” which I found funny the week before I started. Example: Oreo's, some chips, some condiments, etc are accidentally “vegan.” I have become a bit obsessed with nutrition and fitness over the past 5 years and I want nothing more than for my dietary choices to be good for my body and our world. In regards to wellness and the environment, researchers continue to find that cutting out meat and dairy can have an incredibly positive effect on your health and that it’s one of the most effective ways to cut back on emissions responsible for climate change/global warming/deforestation/water pollution and over consumption, etc (which are real issues… even my guy Leo thinks so)

The neatest thing about this transition for me has been all the learning that I have done without having to take out a loan to obtain it. I’m a bit of  knowledge dork, and this gave me the perfect excuse to research and learn more about where my food comes from, both plant and animal based. My advice for you? Do some research. Be intentionally informed. And DO NOT believe everything that you read/see on the internet. BUT Forks Over Knives might be my favorite documentary on this topic ever! This documentary dives into the China Study which was the largest human study into the health benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet. It is laid out so clearly: eat vegan to dramatically cut your risk of pretty much every major degenerative disease from heart disease, to diabetes, to cancer. This is the movie that truly inspired me. I thought, “What have I got to lose by giving this a real shot?” The answer ended up being a few pounds, not the goal at all but hey, who is going to complain? Not this girl. The personal gain from this past month is the real winner. For lots of, maybe even “most” women, eating healthy is directly correlated with wanting to stay/be a certain size, however lame and anti-feminist that sounds. 

But it’s not only about feeling guilty, it's about knowing what my body needs. And not getting too wrapped up in all the other aspects. I do, however, get to choose what I want to eat. I eat plant-based because my body feels better on a plant-based diet. But there will most likely come a time when my body needs animal products. I will be pregnant again, or sick, or just might need some animal protein.

At this point, I am really starting to feel the positive effects of being vegan. My energy levels have definitely increased. I feel "lighter" and less lethargic or bogged down after eating now than when I ate meat and dairy. I am sleeping better and staying asleep and I think my skin has drastically improved. Although, after the first week my skin broke out with tiny little pimples. Apparently that is totally common for people who make the switch? My body was basically detoxing and ridding itself of all the yucky stuff. Switching to a vegan diet helped me get a better understanding for what “being healthy” actually means. I never really feel tired anymore, I always have energy, and as weird as it sounds, i am kind of addicted to feeling good. 

I know that people are against it, and are not convinced that you can really have yummy, filling food with this lifestyle, and SOOO many people tell me they could not live without their "steak" or cheese or whatever… I just don’t believe that is an excuse. You can live without it. I read a quote that said, “Your taste buds are not more important than another being's life.” That really hit me deep. I also watched other documentaries (listed at the bottom) which exposed me to not only the harm cattle and cattle agriculture have on the environment, but the abuse and torture that animals endure at factory farms. That is not the “circle of life” or “nature’s way"

And yes, I realize most documentaries show the worst of the worst and not all slaughterhouses run the same but I still saw what I saw... it still happened to those animals and I cant just remove those mental images from my mind. 

The Cons to being vegan: the naysayers.

People will instantly become experts on health and nutrition, ask you tons of questions/worry about your intake of iron, protein and vitamin B12. I have done countless hours of research and figuring out how to get all sources of nutrients that I need. I take a vegetarian vitapak from GNC to get things like B12 and calcium. I take a plant based protein powder supplement for days that I have not meal prepped sufficiently, and the list goes on.

All in all, this was more of a "show and tell for everyone asking me about this new lifestyle" vs a "this is how I think you should live your life" post. I don’t believe that everyone needs to or should be vegan. Not that I’m not vocal about loving delicious, real, whole foods, I just don’t want my personal choices to be a determining factor over whether someone decides that their lifestyle is “good” or “bad” 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask in the comments below! Or you can send me an email to my personal address of youw ould like it to be more private: lindseyleray@hotmail.com

I would love to hear your thoughts and personal stories! :)

Documentaries I think are wonderful: Forks Over Knives, Vegucated, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 1 & 2, Cowspiracy, Resistance, Fed Up, Food Inc., Hungry For Change, Food Matters, Plant Pure Nation, and Engine 2 kitchen Rescue.