Hey Everyone! I am finally going to be showing off some results from my recent switch to a vegan life style this year. If you have read any of my other Blog Posts you obviously know by now that I am on a self set 30 things I never thought I’d do Challenge…Basically I am choosing to do 30 things I never really “wanted to do/saw myself doing/or was BRAVE enough to do.” So below are my before and after pics since going Vegan and implementing Morning/Evening Yoga as well as other forms of exercise into my everyday life.
149 
168
So one of my “30 things” from my “30 Things Challenge” was to eat a VEGAN diet. So I did just that. I cut out ALL the things I enjoyed eating, and just stuck with this new way of eating. It was hard. I had no idea how addicted to food I was. The first few weeks was hard. I never felt full, and then I felt very foggy. I also began to have mild headaches. I was literally detoxing from my bad food habits. The next month I will be honest, I felt NEW. I was no longer needing a nap when my boys napped. I had energy. I was eating the right foods to fuel me and I was drinking more water than I had ever drank EVER. It honestly just felt right. My cravings left and I started to crave better foods.
NOTE* I did not do this to lose weight. Please let me just be real. I didn’t. Of course it always feels great to lose weight but it was not my initial push to change my diet. You can read about my reasoning in my other post, “So why Vegan?” It is there that I share my heart on the deeper reasoning to my change. When it comes to weight loss I believe the real game changer was my morning and nightly yoga routine, the amount I walk each day, my exercise routine, paired with my new way of eating. It all honestly goes together.
This journey was not supposed to be about eating Vegan and Losing weight. It was so I could do something that would get me out of bed. I was tired of being tired. I wanted to try new things. I am now 30 and I wanted to make major changes in my life. Yes, I had some extra weight on me but it was more than just that. Really. In January I weighed 168 pounds. It is now June 6th and I currently weigh 147.2. As you can see in the above photos there are definitely some changes. However, there are so many other changes in me, and even bigger weights that have been lifted off my shoulders.
Together with my husband, January – June we have paid off $5274.53 in Credit card debt as well as student loans! Now this to me is HUGE! I believe my diet change helped a lot with this. The amount of discipline I needed to stay true to it poured over into other areas of my life. Plus the hard work and support of my husband James is the reason we were able to pay off so much already this year. Now, we do have about $15,000 more in student loans we still owe. We plan to use the next 6 months to pay them off. Then we will be completely DEBT FREE. I will say again, I give definite credit to my diet, lifestyle, and heart change. GUYS! I could finally think clearly. I finally felt sober minded and could see what I wanted to accomplish not just as an individual but together with my family and community.
I have always been a goals person, but somewhere along the way I lost myself. This diet change, life style change, and over all experience was to me a chance to restore the once child like, faith filled, girl of hope I used to be. I missed that girl. Regardless of all the struggles I faced I wanted her back! I believe that now at 30 I am discovering the woman I am meant to be.
With all of that said, I will also say I had days of deep thought and anguish. It’s the very reason I stopped writing for literally months. Healing is messy. It is not all rainbows, daisies, or your favorite essential oils diffusing in the corner. It is a freaking roller coaster. I made a commitment to myself to getting better, but I had some VERY dark days and nights. It all came down to forgiveness.
I had to forgive others for hard things that I had to face on my life journey, but mostly I had to forgive myself. Yep. Cliche’ but true. I had a heaping dose of pride and prejudice (love the book and movie but hated my relationship with the two) I had to come to terms with the truth. That I was not innocent in all of my negative circumstances, bad relationships, work issues, ministry related junk, and beyond. I had to admit that I was not an expert, and that I needed to chill. like really. I needed to CHILL. I had gotten to a place of anger, resentment, hatred, and annoyance on an array of topics that literally had nothing to do with me, but I would see them through my own lens of hurt, and struggle therefore everything annoyed me and made me cringe. I had to also admit that my former diet was my fault. My lack of knowledge about what I was eating was my fault, and my former and current debt was because of me. FINE!!!! I take ownership!
Now, if you know me, I am a goof. However, there is a deep passion that I have, and I at times get a bit amped up. I like to keep peace but that was my biggest problem. I became fake. I started to say the right things but left having my own secret opinions on the matter. I didn’t enjoy ruffling any feathers, but I was an evil crow in my heart. Which is extremely unhealthy, unwise, and the worst thing I could have been doing to myself. I believe and know that it started when I judged others who did these types of unhealthy things. I would think whoa they are unhealthy, and in turn started to become like those I judged. So I say this to encourage you and warn you. Do not let your past swallow your today. Do not look at others, form an opinion about them and have an attitude in your heart. Do not isolate yourself. Do not trap yourself from the things you love due to fear of failure or others opinions. DO choose love and forgiveness. DO things you dream of doing. DON’T eat crap just to feel better and feed your pity. Why would crap ever make you feel like anything other than crap? Let that sink in. Do pay off DEBT! DO eat your fruits and veggies. DO drink more water! My friend, even if you were a victim at some point in your life, DO NOT stay the victim. Your life song is not called Victim. Unless you choose to keep singing that tune. I am choosing to sing a NEW song.
Lastly. Enjoy God’s creation. Whether you believe in God or not. The world around us points to it’s creator. Being outside more often was the most freeing of all. I took the time to really enjoy my moments, and take in each scene. I now begin each day and end each night with a list of things I am thankful for. My boys, my husband, and I take turns speaking from our hearts. It is through thankfulness that we begin to see God correctly. I encourage you to be still and allow yourself to take in your moments. You too will begin to see.
I see God in the birds outside my home. In my boys while they play and learn. In my husband while he is hard at work or talking with strangers. In my friends, and even more so in my enemies. I am filled with love for them knowing that I once was an enemy to God, but now he calls me friend. I pray today you are set free. You were never made to be a slave. I know this was a post about my results of going Vegan. These were my results.
“When you are set free, stay free.” – Sarah Clerval
We Are Sojourners 