So Summer 2018 I found myself more over weight than I have ever been, by a significant amount. I was morbidly obese, and I was so out of shape I could barely walk, I had asthma and I didn't recognize myself in the mirror. My skin was terrible, constantly covered with acne...which is very unusual for me. The only time I have had acne before was when I was 24 and it only lasted like 6 months. Part of the reason I got so unhealthy and fat was because I was in a really, really bad way mentally, I was on a lot of medication and I literally just laid on the couch or in bed almost all day. It was getting to the point that even if I went to my friends I would just pass out there. I'll go into more details about this at another time.Also I ate bad foods, sweets and delivery foods everyday. So anyways, Summer 2018 I found myself in terrible health. I have blood tests quite often due to medication and they check all my levels. I was told that I was pre-diabetic and I really needed to take control of my health. I was very scared. I started to eat a little better.
In October 2017 I briefly tried to eat better, and I went Vegan for a month. I lost weight, felt healthier...but I went back to my old ways of binge eating pizza and sweets in November. In September 2018 I decided that I wanted to try to go mostly Vegan and seriously try to exercise as much as I could. I signed up for the 8fit app and got the vegan diet as my food choice. I have been a vegetarian on and off most of my life. When I was young I went Vegetarian, but ate meat again from 2003-2009 (I didn't eat a lot of meat then, but I did have it sometimes) In 2009 I got food poisoning from meat and decided I was just done. I have not eaten meat since. I originally became interested in Veganism in the earl;y 2000's but it was too difficult at the time for me, things are so much easier now. I haven't drank milk since maybe, 1994? but I still ate cheese, I loved cheese. But in the past year my body really hasn't liked most animal products, I started to get very sick from dairy especially. So this September I decided to finally try to eat almost completely Vegan. This is one of the best choices I have ever made for myself.
I saw a difference in my mood, health and general well-being right away. Within the first week I had so much more energy, and my stomach issues were not the same. I had some issues, but I think its because my system was in shock. I also quit drinking diet soda at the same time. Diet soda has been a terrible vice for me since I was 16, anyone who knows me well knows how bad it was. I would drink 8-12 cans a day easily and I very rarely drank any water. Between this and my eating disorders I was constantly in the hospital for dehydration. I noticed within the first week that the weird cloudy-ness inside my head was going away. things felt more clear and I was able to think more clearly.
The second week I noticed my colouring was better, my husband also reported he was feeling a lot better was well. I wasn't taking long naps in the middle of the day anymore and I could stay awake during social events. Also my anxiety was so much better, still there and not good...but definitely better. I also started loosing some weight and my face began to look less fat and swollen. I wasn't able to work out a lot, I was still very weak from years of a sedentary lifestyle. But I could work out a little. I went from not being able to get myself a drink from the kitchen or go grocery shopping, to being able to move around and feeling a little stronger.
Another great thing that happened upon switching my diet, was learning to cook. For so long I almost never cooked, I was convinced I couldn't do it and because of my eating issues I had trouble handling food. (I will go into this more one day, I do want to blog about ED issues and how they have gotten so much better) I began cooking three times a day! To my surprise...I was actually pretty good at it. It made me feel so good to contribute to the household, and to take one thing off my husbands plate! Also he loves the meals I make. We were both so surprised how good homemade Vegan food could taste. My husband went vegetarian about 1.5 years ago, he is not Vegan now but he eats mostly Vegan. It gave me a lot of confidence to try other things I thought I would suck at. I went from hating cooking, to finding it very relaxing and a stress killer. I get so excited to try new recipes and new types of food!
Things continued to get better from September until now. I do not eat perfectly, I still have junk food and processed food sometimes, but most of the time I eat very healthy. My skin has completely cleared up, my hair texture is better, I have lost about 40 pounds. I still have a lot of weight to loose, and work to do. Today I got my blood tests back and all my levels are PERFECT. I had high cholesterol and I was deficient in every way there is. My doctor sent me a note with the test results saying, I am no longer pre-diabetic or high in bad cholesterol. All my other levels were perfect, including protein and iron (I'm anemic so this is amazing|) which I was worried about with having a predominantly Vegan diet. It feels like validation of the work I've been doing with my health. Even my Vitamin D which was like 2 before was up to a normal level 80. I actually don't have to take as much Vitamin d anymore. I do take some vitamins now which I think has helped as well.
Another great thing is I am very into animal rights, and I am sensitive about animals in general. My love for animals is one of the reasons I became Vegetarian. I feel so much better knowing that not only am I helping animals and not consuming them, but that I am helping the environment as well. I have always found factory farming to be so disgusting, so avoiding it completely is great. I know some people have different opinions on this, I am not trying to fight anyone about it, I am just saying this works for my personal beliefs and my health. I have been trying to only use Vegan and cruelty-free products as well. I have mostly only Vegan products in my life. I swear the older I get, the more crunchy I get lol. I just feel like I need to have accountability for what I do to this world and its inhabitants.
If you are thinking about going Vegan, or even just Vegetarian, or even just consuming LESS animal products, I really recommend it! Even changing small things, like for instance trying to avoid animal products once a week makes such a difference. I wanted to blog about this because I feel so great about the way my health is going today! Getting those good results was such a great thing to wake up to! Another thing that I mention is that I have always had a terrible immune system, I got sick all the time, weird illnesses would always find me, I was just quite frail. I have not been seriously ill since last May (2018) when I got shingles. I pointed out to my doctor I had not been in since last May and we both were like, "wow" because I used to be in and out of Doctors constantly. Also if you are thinking about exercising, DO IT. I am still not doing a lot of exercise, but I am so much more active than I have been in soooo long. I also LOVE yoga! I had always wanted to try it, and I already see a difference in my balance and flexibility after just a month. This whole thing has been such a growing experience for me! I am sad it took me almost having Diabetes to start this..but I'm glad I did take the initiative. I so rarely feel good about myself, but today I'm so proud of the work I've done. I'm not 100% Vegan, I'm still working on it but I have Strawberry Mochi every so often. I should really just find out how to make them Veganized!
Here's some food I have had lately:
Unnatural Vegan : here
Avantegarde Vegan: Here (He has two cook books too, I own them and they are great!)
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