SIX REASONS WHY GOING VEGAN HAS BEEN AMAZING

There are many reasons why people go vegan, but usually it comes down to health or ethics.  From the time I met Nick, he was heavily into juicing carrots and skipping out on the animal products as much as possible.  I was never a huge meat eater, so it wasn't a big deal to me.  Plus, we were poor, young, married, college students and didn't have enough money to afford it!  For our first year of marriage, we survived on $50 a week for all our food, toiletries and cleaning supplies...so we ate tons of cheap food like grits, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pasta.  I still remember the random Chick-Fil-A date nights would cost a little over $11.  We would have $38 left for grocery shopping for the week and often felt like we totally blew our budget.

We were super excited to find that Holland America
Cruise Line has a variety of vegan options!

Anyway, I'm getting off track here.  Back to being vegan.  So, Nick's choice to skip animal products was because he believed it was healthier.  Mine was simply because that's what Nick wanted to eat and it was cheaper.  However, over the years, I've become like a mini-Nick and I'm now 100% onboard.  Just like Nick, I believe that eating a plant-based diet is healthier for us.  It didn't start out as an ethical decision, but as I've read and watched things, I'm more and more upset by how badly animals are treated to get us the products in demand.

Just wanted to give you a tiny bit of background.  So, moving on.  Until last summer, we ate mostly vegan at home (we liked cheese though).  Then, when we ate outside of the home, we would eat whatever was provided...and that's usually meat.  The downside was that each time we did this, we'd come home super bloated and feeling like crap.  Last June, we watched "What the Health" and that was it.  I could never look at cheese the same way again.  We had a few bumps in the road during a July roadtrip, falling off the bandwagon to try certain foods in certain cities (like lobster in Maine).  But, felt didn't feel well and decided that we were going to go 100% vegan and no going back.

At home it's been easy.  The hard part has been when we are with others.  We don't want to ever hurt people's feelings or be an inconvenience, so it's taken some practice to get it right.  It's worth it though.

PC: Emily Lynn Photography

Here's why:

1.  My life no longer revolves around food.  I don't know about you, but I used to plan everything around food.  Getting together with a friend almost always involved breakfast, lunch, dinner or coffee.  Now, I've found ways to spend time with people that's not centered around meals, snacks and drinks.  My sister and I have gotten together more often to watch movies and do crafts.  It's been so fun!

2.  I make better choices when traveling.  When we used to travel, I would end up not feeling well and have to take a few recovery days when we got home.  My digestion has always been sensitive and traveling can still be harder on my body, but eating fresh foods has made such a difference.  I enjoy our trips so much more now that I'm not concerned about my stomach flipping out!

3.  It feels good to feel good.  Eating 100% vegan used to sound impossible to me.  I would eat whatever Nick ate because I didn't want him to judge me (even though he wouldn't), but behind closed doors, I would make bad food choices.  Then, I wouldn't feel well.  But I did that so often, feeling bad actually felt normal.  I didn't even realize that I felt bad, or what it was like to feel good.  Now that I know, I'm hooked and make better food choices because I want to, not because I feel pressured to.  I have more energy than I've had in years, better skin, improved digestion and have been able to lose some stubborn weight!

When traveling, we often look for juice and smoothies bars!

4.  I'm beginning to enjoy planning, shopping and cooking.  Instead of feeling like I have no options, taking meat and dairy out of the picture helped me feel a lot less overwhelmed when cooking.  It's so simple to shop for fresh fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds, and to create tasty meals from a few ingredients.  I've also learned much more about nutrition and where certain vitamins and minerals come from, which helps me decide what produce I want us to eat.  I used to wish I could eat out all the time so that someone else was cooking and cleaning up.  But, now that I am learning so much about what tastes good and feels good, I find myself wanting to prepare my own food and be on top of what's going into my system!  Who am I?

5.  Nick and I enjoy doing this together.  We read books and talk about what we've learned.  When a new documentary comes out, we watch it together.  While on the road, we listen to podcasts we love and then discuss the interesting parts.  We browse Pinterest, choose something we want for dinner, run to the store together to grab the ingredients and come home to throw it all together while we listen to our favorite music.  It's our hobby and it gives us something to enjoy doing together!

6.  I worry less.  With so many people suffering through all sorts of disease and cancer, I'm often anxious with each passing year (especially since I turned 30).  I'm not saying that going vegan solved all my problems and I'm no longer concerned, but it has given me some peace of mind.  I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to be careful of what goes into my body and onto my skin, even what I breathe in.  If I still become sick in the future, I want to feel confident that I did my best with what I had!

Going vegan has been a learning experience.  Learning about real food, what it means to truly feel good, how to eat vegan while not at home and eating with non-vegan friends and family.  As we've learned more and more, we've slowly made changes along the way.  There's been sacrifices, but the benefits far outweigh anything that's felt difficult.  It's our health journey and we're loving it!

Have you taken time to listen to your body and learn what foods help you feel your best?  If so, please comment below and share your favorites!