New Vegan Blog... WOO!

Hey guys, welcome to my sparkly new vegan blog! I'm hoping to use this blog to share my experiences, insight, recommendations, and recipes, and hope to hear back from you all as well! I've been a "just about vegan" since September of 2010, so almost a year and a half now! When I say "just about", I am not 100% crazy strict. I am not opposed to honey, while I avoid white sugar, it happens sometimes, and I will only very rarely make an exception for something with a smidge of dairy in it. And I do mean rarely. Also, the occasional Quorn burger or Boca burger usually has egg in it, but I allow it on occasion. My switch to a whole foods, plant based diet was one that came after being inspired by two films, Vegan Gal and Food Inc. I am a vegan for health reasons mainly, but ethically as well, I cannot justify eating animals just for the flavor of it, as it is not nutritionally necessary.

I'm 5'6", and at the point I watched those films, had just watched my weight hit the 200lb mark, a mark I had never wanted to, or saw myself getting to. I decided that something had to change! I had tried tons of crash diets in the past, like (ironically) the Adkins (meat based) diet, and various others with no success for lasting weight loss. I was at a point where I was getting migraines about 5 days a week and had two different prescription pills that were necessary if I wanted the pain to stop. Doctors wanted me to be on daily medication for prevention.... no way! Oh, and random dizzy spells, those were always fun. I felt sluggish, ugly, depressed because of my low self confidence, and was ALWAYS hungry, with intense cravings for junk food pretty much all the time. I gave up meat and dairy all together on that first day... I just quit, Cold Tofurkey, and was much better immediately!

Instantly, migraines gone! I started to lose weight, feel better, have more energy, and my skin cleared up as well! I have lost 58lbs so far, and hope to keep going on the weight loss! Now you guys know my story :) For any of those who haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend watching Food Inc. It was a very eye opening film, but be prepared, it's a little hard to watch. You can check out their website at http://www.foodincmovie.com. Oh, and you can stream it on Netflix ;)