10 Months as a Vegan

First of all, congrats! You look gorgeous!

Secondly, Would you be willing to elaborate on your food choices more ? Do you think not eating meat played a big role, in your weight loss ?


Thanks

Thank you!

Yes. Not that meat is bad, but my choices were bad. I can't stand chicken and turkey. I was a beef eater. Marbled ribeyes, T-bones, stereotypical Texan diet. I drank a gallon of milk a week and again, couldn't stand skim or low fat. I went for the full fat stuff and could eat a hole through a wheel of cheese in no time flat. And I thought whole wheat breads and pastas were the only healthy option, until I found out gluten aggravates hypothyroidism, which I learned I have last year.

So when I got out of the hospital for the 2nd time last year with a BP of 220/150, cholesterol of 356, and 50 lbs. overweight, I made a change immediately. I turned my diet upside down so quickly, I didn't even know what gluten was or what it was in, so to be on the safe side, I bought only fresh produce that first week home until I had time to research. Then, with a fridge full of produce, I realized you can't cook cherry tomatoes like you can a filet mignon with a side of buttered potatoes, so I was eating it raw until I could find recipes to prepare veggies.

I cut dairy and eggs because I had no idea if it was contributing to my elevated cholesterol levels considering my body apparently did not have an OFF switch. All of that stuff was cut out of my diet, supposedly for just a week until I could figure out how NOT to die like the doctors kept telling me was going to happen any day.

I dug up a few recipes, tried them, eh, they were OK. But eventually, I realized I was fine eating just fruits and veggies with soy for protein and not cooking anything. So no quinoa or beans, either since I don't eat anything from a can, box or jar anymore. I didn't set out to be a raw vegan, it just happens to be what I realized I'd become with my choices.

I've been very happy with how I feel and how my body has changed in response and since I enjoy eating this way, hit my macros, and finally got a clean bill of health from the doc across the board, I'm just going to keep doing what's been working for me.