Skipping meat and animal products is not something I thought I would EVER do.
Vegan on Female First
I happily followed the Atkins diet, I loved Big Macs at one stage of my life, I bought a pack of 30 cook's eggs a week and lived on egg and mayonnaise sandwiches for every meal.
But then one day that all changed and I want to share the ten things that made me think twice about being a meat eater.
Aine Carlin's Keep It Vegan- I searched for a new health kick in January as I do every New Year and I picked a copy of this up on 2nd January 2015. I went home, read it cover to cover, planned my meals and started cooking- something I never thought I would ever enjoy- but guess what? I did! That's when I started to dabble with a vegan diet because I realised that plant based food was delicious.
A trip to the Lakes in the Spring- My dad was driving and we were all looking out at all the lambs in the field with their mothers. When we went for our evening meal there was lamb on the menu, which I ordered as it was a local specialty. Afterwards, all I could think was that I was so hypocritical for eating something only hours before I was 'awwwing' over.
Reactions to dairy and eggs- I still don't know the reason for this even after many tests, but now my body can't process eggs or dairy products on their own or in anything else. I felt like it was my body telling me that enough was enough and making its own choice to omit these things from my diet because they were making me ill.
Earthlings- I first heard about this on Ellen DeGeneres' show. She explained that this and reading Skinny Bitch were just a couple of reasons she made the switch. I sought it out on You Tube and watched it in one sitting. At the end I cried, felt sick and I never touched meat ever again. I would recommend that you don't watch it alone.
Parenthood- I want to be a mother one day and the thought or growing a baby in my body before made me nervous. It wasn't in good shape, I wasn't eating the right things to protect me- never mind another life. I want to provide a healthy environment for my child when the time comes and to me, that means nourishing it with fresh, whole foods and having good eating habits to pass down to my offspring when they start to make their own food choices.
Gary Yourofsky's Speech- When I started looking, I found so many videos on You Tube exposing the reality of the egg, meat and dairy industries. I stumbled across Gary's video and it made complete sense to me. He presents so many no nonsense reasons to go vegan and challenges the common misconceptions surrounding animal products as well as those who are misinformed about the lifestyle.
My weight- I was in the 'morbidly obese' category on the BMI chart and I'm not going to lie- it scared me into doing something. I read lots of articles of people losing weight on a vegan diet which inspired me to keep going and I am thrilled to say I am now nearly two stone lighter.
101 Reasons to go vegan- Don't be put off by the length or that it's a Powerpoint presentation. I must admit- it took me a while to get around to watching this because I thought it might be boring. The thing I like the most about this is that it's informative not persuasive- it just presents the facts and lets you make up your own mind. It keeps you hooked from start to finish.
My rabbits- I have two rabbits at home who I love with all my heart. During my research I found that rabbits are one of the most abused creatures on the planet and are used in animal testing.
I threw all my existing products away and sought out ones that were clearly marked with the leaping bunny symbol. Now if it doesn't say 'suitable for vegans' on the packaging I do not part with my money.
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's From Exuse-itarian to Vegan- This was another great find on You Tube when I typed 'vegan speeches' into the search. Colleen is very matter of fact but with great humour and compassion. Of all the vegan advocates out there- she is the one I connected with the most and I watched as many of her videos as I could get my hands on. Any time I had a craving for eggs or cheese- she put things into perspective for me again.
Tagged in Vegan Colleen Patrick-Goudreau