The Start of It All: How I Turned Vegan - Post #1

This is my story… well a part of it.

My sister Ashley suggested that I document my transformation to becoming vegan, but I really suck at keeping track of things like that. So the next best thing is to try and remember it all and write it in a blog post. I have decided I am going to do this in 2 posts so it doesn’t take forever to read. I mean it has been 3 years of my life. So here goes nothing, and lets hope I can remember everything important! 

For those of you who have Pinterest you have most likely seen the before and afters of ladies with the captions underneath stating “THIS IS THE BEST DIET EVER!” “YOU GOTTA TRY THING, ITS SO AMAZE-BALLS” ect. I would love to say this underneath my before and after pictures because I want everyone to feel as great as I do. But I am not to sure if I want to. I don’t think people would take it seriously because I know I don’t take the ones on Pinterest seriously! It’s usually just some herb supplement, or eating cabbage soup, or not eating the top 5 worst foods for you (which include bananas, and I couldn’t live without bananas!).

My weight loss plan didn’t take 30 days, 2 weeks or even 6 months. It took me 3 years to get where I am now today. Sorry to burst your bubble that you might have had about this post, but I know 100% it was the best way I could have done it. By taking it slowly and making decisions that I knew I could live with and WANTED TO LIVE WITH, made my story a success. Because cutting out junk food for just one month might help you lose 5 pounds, but when that month is over and you go back to eating the same way you were, BAM the weight is back. Trust me I know!

The Start of It All - Post #1

I got married August 29^th, 2009. It was the most amazing day of my life and at the time I felt and looked great. I was not super overweight or obese I was just larger at 163 pounds. I am 5’8 and have some curves so I feel I can carry extra weight pretty good. As the months went by after the wedding, I noticed that I was getting bigger and bigger, dun dun dunnnnnnn!!  In April 2010, just 8 months after the wedding I had got up to 171 pounds, and I realized I did not like what I saw in the mirror. Clothes were not fitting properly, I felt sluggish and my asthma was really acting up. So Devon and I decided to do a weight loss challenge, whoever can lose 10 pounds first, wins $100. At the time when I made the bet I had forgotten that men loose weight faster then girls and needless to say he won. But, I came back with a counter offer, whoever can get to their goal weight first gets the $100.

My goal was 150 pounds, that means I would have to loose 21 pounds all together. So I started to work out more (I work at a circuit gym and actually started to use it) and made a lot more healthier decisions, like eating more chicken and rice instead of going out for burgers and fries. My husband Devon quit smoking the day of the wedding, and it was the best wedding gift he could have ever given me! So when we started to eat healthier I had a hard time cutting out potatoes because they are my all time favourite food. I told him that I couldn’t cut them out, they were my crack, and that’s when he looked me in the eye and said “if I can quit smoking, you can quit potatoes.” So I did... almost. I cut back from eating them everyday to only once or twice a month. That is something I know helped my weight loss, so thank you Devon!

By just being more conscious of what I was eating I had dropped 10 pounds by Christmas and didn’t gain any weight over the holidays. This is quite hard with all of the great food around. I was really excited to be 161 pounds because my goal weight was to get to 150, thus I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

After dropping 10 pounds by December, I then had a hot holiday to think about. My side of the family and Devons side were all going o Mexico and it was coming up faster than I anticipated. I really started to concentrate on my fitness 3 months before we left, turning to Jillian Michaels DVDs. The one that really helped me was the Banish Fat, Boot Metabolism and what I really like about it is you only need a yoga mat. The first time I tried it I only got through 25 minutes of the 50 minute workout, I was so out of breath, and the next day I could barely sit down to pee. Needless to say it kicked my out of shape ass. I started working out in my living room and after I felt comfortable with it I started to do the routine at the gym (I wrote it all down on a piece of paper).  I owe a lot to that DVD, it is a total body work out and really, really makes you sweat without being complicated. By the time we left I was down to 155, that’s 16 pounds lost and only 5 pounds away from my goal weight. 

It was in May 2011 and still around 155 pounds, I decided that I wasn’t going to eat poultry anymore. I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating it and I now as I look back, that was the first time I started to really listen to what my body was telling me. Around the time of the wedding I had started to be really turned off by the smell of cooked meat and was finding it hard to eat. It was something that was always on and off for me, one day I could eat a hamburger the next I couldn't. On top of cutting out poultry I wouldn’t eat any meat off the bone, I would either not eat it or I would get my husband to cut it off before giving it to me. I know I know, that makes me sound like a Princess (actually I am!) but he realized that I wasn’t being a lazy jerk, it was something that truly bothered me. 

By January 2012 I had finally reached my goal of 150 pounds and that illusive bet Devon and I made was forgotten. However I am really thankful for it because it got us on track to a better and healthier life. I had also cut out all meat except for fish, seafood and occasionally bacon. I started to feel better after eating meals, such as less stomach aches, better digestion and I had more energy. Also I just felt better mentally, with the understanding of the treatment of chickens it got me to think about other animals and how I did not want to contribute to their suffering. Fish for some reason I see like bugs and didn't feel bad about eating them. It's a hard feeling to articulate right now, but for some reason I still felt right about eating fish and seafood. Maybe it was the fact that it was still socially acceptable to only eat fish or I just wasn't ready to give up the tradition of being a 'meat eater', who knows? All I know is, it was a step I took to get here and I am grateful. 

Now, I wouldn't say that cutting out meat was the main reason I reached my goal of 150 pounds because it took a number of months to reach it. I probably reached my goal between September and October 2011 and I plateaued for 4 months because my diet and exercise hadn't varied. That was frustrating but I hadn't wanted to make any other changes in my life, so I just remained the same. That's a big lesson I have learned through all of this. If you want change, then you have to make change. It is something I am at constantly trying to incorporate in my life and there are hundreds of ways you can too. It took 19 months to loose 21 pounds, which doesn't sound that impressive but I am proud because I was able to keep it off and not gain any of it back. It was all because I chose to make a life style change, instead of trying the next new diet. 

Well, this is the end of post #1 and I will let you return to your daily life! It was kinda longer than I originally wanted so if you got to the end of this post thank you so much! I will be putting up Post #2 shortly so keep an eye out for it! 

Thanks for reading,
xoxo - N