Why Vegan?
I became vegan for many reasons.
Since I was a small child, I have been a huge animal lover. You name it, I wanted it as a pet. As I grew up, I felt guiltier for eating meat. I couldn’t bare the thought of cows and pigs dying to feed me. Coming from an Italian/Irish family, not eating meat was considered “being ridiculous”. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “God put animals on this Earth to feed us.”
The first time I went vegetarian was when I went away to college. The cafeteria always had a vegetarian section, not that it was very good, but I took this as an opportunity. However, when I came back home, meat was too much of a temptation. My mother made meat with every meal. When we went out to eat with family, it was always to Outback Steakhouse.
I wound up eventually settling to not eat meat I would have as a pet. I only ate fish and poultry. I was able to live this way much easier while still under my mother’s roof. Still, I felt guilty from time to time.
Years later, I found myself wanting a major change. I have always been overweight, but had lost 70lbs. at one point, only to gain it back after the stress of losing my mother to pancreatic cancer in 2007. I wanted something healthy–not just some weightloss trick. I was also having terrible problems due to chronic hives and other autoimmune diseases that seemed to be accumulating.
I researched vegetarian diets, first and foremost for ethical reasons. I came across information on the Skinny Bitch diet and was fascinated with the healthy way of living. Veganism never crossed my mind before, but I was dairy-obsessed and figured that might have something to do with my autoimmune diseases. Sure enough, after only weeks of going vegan–I felt like I was cured! I stopped breaking out in hives, my eczema cleared up, my hair was thicker, skin clearer…I was losing weight, had tons of energy AND felt amazing!
I was vegan for 4 months and loved it. Then Thanksgiving hit and I was weak and unprepared with my own vegan version…I gave in and had everything but the meat. This spiraled over the holidays until eventually I wasn’t even much of a vegetarian any longer. Guess what? All the problems came back! My hair thinned, I gained weight, the hives came back and the eczema was out of control!
So, I am fully convinced that veganism was the best decision of my life. On July 18, 2009 I returned to this lifestyle and feel excellent! This time, I’m making sure I’m prepared for the holidays and remember why I’m doing this whole shabang!
I hope my story will help you understand just some of the great benefits of veganism.
