I know I’ve touched base on this story before, but I felt like this was the right time and today was the right day to really go into depth on the topic. So sit back and enjoy my story/journey! Also, this is my 300th blog post! Woo hoo 😀 I love all my readers and couldn’t be happier with how far this blog has come in such a short time.
As far back as 2000, I remember being bigger or as my doctor loved to say “overweight/obese”. In my earlier years I was a typical girl, as soon as I hit puberty (9) however, it all went down hill. I started being the “chubby” girl who quickly escalated to the “curvy” girl in my high school years and then “damn, you’re big…” after graduation/late teens early twenties.
Soon after high school I became depressed. I had no social life, no close friends and I lived in my room 24/7. After a year or so I was fortunate enough to meet my incredible husband online, but that’s another story for another time.
So I’m now 19, I moved to another state (WI) to be with my at the time boyfriend (now husband) and I was eating the worst I’d ever have in my entire life. I’m talking double bacon cheeseburgers, double sundaes and large fries… daily and most of the time twice a day. It was disgusting. I was a mess but I was happy for a moment in time because food comforted me and that was my security blanket while being so far away from home and my family.
Soon after moving back to Texas I decided to follow in my middle sister’s footsteps. I became a pescitarian. Mainly to copy my sister at the time, but I did want a change in diet. So I was eating no meat, only drinking water and feeling like maybe this was good for me. However, about 3 months into it I started having new health problems and quickly added back in chicken to my diet.
Fast forward to Christmas 2012, I had been sort-of pescitarian for over a year, gaining weight by the handfuls monthly and I was at my lowest point ever. I hated myself, I felt like garbage, I was so uncomfortable in my skin and I blamed everyone around me for my mistakes/choices. I was a bitter, angry person that needed to lose weight before I was emitted for a heart attack. I peaked 296, 296! I was 22, 5’8″ and I weighed 296 pounds! It was bad, and I had to cut the shit and get my life together.
I made the choice of going vegetarian for New Years. A week into January 2013 I made the transition smoothly and I was so proud of myself! After a week I felt like it was too easy for me, I needed a bigger challenge.
I began researching what a vegan was, how they lived and if it was “healthy” to choose that lifestyle. Where I live, vegans aren’t common or at least not to me so I was worried this would be too hard for me and not possible with my environment/surroundings. I began ordering books, reading everything I could get my hands on and watching every single documentary on Netflix regarding plant-based living. I spent my time searching vegans on Instagram to see what they ate and if their quality of life was any different than mine currently. I instantly made tons of friends, had so much support and encouragement from complete strangers to make the transition and just go for it. So I did.
On January 28, 2013 I became vegan. I figured out what to eat, where to buy it and how to enjoy changing my entire perception on eating as well as my outlook on life. I made friends with similar mindsets that helped me find the strength in myself to make a change and finally accept myself for who I was and who I wanted to become.
After just a couple of weeks my energy was through the roof. I had always been very lethargic but I was now happy and ready to start my days and do things I wouldn’t normally bother with.
Now to back track, I have Hypothyroidism. I have since I was 17. That’s when my weight began to rise and my energy and mood were at an all time low.
So why did I go vegan?!
I went vegan because it finally clicked for me. I was not only harming myself, but I was supporting the corrupt food industry and putting myself above the lives of animals. Eating genetically modified, hormone injected meat isn’t life. I quickly learned I could live a better life, one of peace, completely cruelty-free and truly thrive. I understood what my actions caused and I decided I wanted to be apart of the solution and not the problem with our world. I made this choice because it’s better for me, our environment, the future and most importantly animals as a whole. I believe no animal should be eaten and I have no idea why I waited so long to finally see that. This lifestyle makes me happy and if I had to do it over again, I’d still be vegan. I finally live my life, love my life and feel amazing!
A friend of mine said it best; “If we are going to survive as a species, we need a more sustainable source of food! We can’t survive the way we harvest animals right now. We will run out of resources. There is no reason why we need to enslave and kill animals just because we acquired a taste for it. It is morally wrong to do so. And there is no difference between a cow and a dog. And finally it’s killing the environment! Meat intake is a huge contributing factor to global warming!”
Now as a disclaimer, I in no way insist everyone become vegan. This is what works for me and makes me happy. I urge those who are interested to do outside research and maybe go a week vegan or try cutting down on meat and in place add more fruits/veggies for better health. I don’t judge carnivores, I’m not a hypocrite. I use to be one so I can’t talk shit. But for peace of mind, please please do your homework. Find out what you’re eating, if you can’t read the ingredients odds are it’s not nourishing or supplementing your health in any way that’s remotely positive. Learn where your meat comes from, how it’s raised and what it’s fed. Do you really want to eat a chicken full of growth hormones, fed genetically modified corn? Is that going to help you internally live a long, healthy life? Just think about it and make the best choices for you, your health and your family.
Thanks for sharing your story, it’s always so nice to hear other people’s journey. And it is soooo rewarding sharing it, once I shared mine, it felt like this huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. It was nice to read your friends quote too as I always looked at it this way, I fell in love with my cat and what is the difference between my cat and other living creatures? There aren’t any, so why should that “allow” me to eat meat. If I am not able to hunt my own food, why do I even deserve to eat this… anywho. I’m so proud of you, you’re doing great so far and I love the drive you have!
Sam (IG: slavorat 😉 )
<3
Thank you so much for taking the time to read it Sam! 😀 I completely agree, I feel revitalized sharing this. The quote was actually from Mike (IG: VeganBeastmode) he was a huge inspiration to me when I made the transition. Very supportive and sweet guy<3 You're completely right, same thing happened with my cat. That's when it all started to click and I had to reevaluate everything in my life. I think we're just so conditioned to those neatly wrapped styrofoam slabs of meats. We grow up thinking that's life, we eat what the stores sell and that's it. It's terrible, nothing at a typical grocery store is even healthy these days. It's all genetically modified, full of sugar, overly processed crap! We need food education to be taught in schools. If all of our top death rates are food/health based then that's a huge indication right there that something needs to change!
What a wonderful blog! So inspirational I have been “obese” my whole life so I can totally relate. I went vegetarian for my health and vegan for moral reasons and couldn’t believe the amout of weight that come off without excercising. Anyways, I am so happy for you that you are no longer in that dark, deep whole of depression and that you finally love your life. Many congrats and well wishes on your journey 🙂
Thank you so much! That warms my heart knowing someone can relate to me and finds inspiration in my posts<3 I did the exact same thing, it was all triggered for health, but quickly became morally based. It's amazing what a lifestyle/diet change can bring/do to you! Thanks again, I appreciate all the kind words and support! <3 wishing you the same
I loved this! What a story! You inspire me everyday Margaret! And the relationship that you and Miranda have is so refreshingly real!!! Thank you so much for sharing your life with us!! Much love and congratulations on your newfound life!!!
Thank you so much for reading my story Annie, you inspire me as well. Meeting you and Miranda has been a dream come true. Love you two so much! Without you two, I wouldn’t have made this transition so smoothly. I’m very fortunate to have so much support from you both<3
You are such a strong woman! Thank you for being so honest and inspirational. I love reading your posts and seeing your glowing face.
Thank you so much for those encouraging words Ashlee, you’re so kind<3 I love sharing my progress and helping anyone that seeks me. I'm so happy to have such sweet readers! Thank you for following my story and taking the time to read my progress<3
I loved reading your story! I’m on a similar path and find it a breathe of fresh air to hear your words of encouragement and strength.
Aww Lyndsay you’re so sweet! Hopefully your journey is going well 🙂 I love meeting people with similar paths, I totally agree it’s a breathe of fresh air! Wishing you all the best!<3
Margaret, your story is such an inspiring one. I myself, have recently gone vegan starting this past summer. Just like you, I found help via books, documentaries, and most often, social media like instagram. I created an account and started following nutrition enthusiasts like you and found that I am not the only one trying to live a better life through a plant based diet. Learning from people like you is truly encouraging in my decision to live vegan. My insta account is @azmoonchild, I believe we are currently following one another and I absolutely love every one of your photos. I not only enjoy your recipes but your photography and perspective on life itself. I attached a link to some of my work on youtube, take a look if interested 🙂
Keep living happy, and stay true. <3
Peace,
Stephanie Dobash
@azmoonchild
Hey Stephanie!
You are such a doll<3 I truly appreciate all your sweet words and encouragement. So happy we connected through Instagram! Going vegan has been the single greatest choice in my life. I'm loving every moment of it! Thank you for supporting me and all my pages. If I didn't have any followers/readers I wouldn't be as motivated to keep doing this. But you keep me going and make everything that much more special for me. So thank you, you're the best!
Wishing you the best in your lifestyle <3
Your story is so inspirational.
Thank you for sharing it.
I’ve decided to slowly transition into becoming a vegetarian.
It’s not such an easy transition.
What became my deciding factor was my attempt at making bone broth.
It must be cooked for two days in the crock pot.
Every time I opened the lid the smell was horrific.
It actually turned my stomach.
So went online to check out if this was normal.
Found out it’s not.
Found it if it smells so bad you wanna throw it in the garbage the animals were probably sick.
OMG.
How many of our animals are kept in crowded, unsanitary conditions?
I got to thinking that the breeders are in it for the money only and if their animals are sick-they don’t care-they just want to reap their rewards-the heck with everyone else.
I’m just now realizing that going vegetarian is really a win-win decision.
It’s your story and your blog that has helped to empower me.
Keep sharing and inspiring…:)).
Enjoy your blessings!
Thank you.
Vegetarian before vegan cause it’s a big transition to make after 60 years.
Will be following your blog and trying your recipes:
:)).
Wishing you all the best! I’m happy to help in any way I can 😀 Hope you enjoy my recipes!
Hey Terry,
Thank you very much for reading my story. I’m pleased to hear you’ve transitioned to a vegetarian diet. It truly is an empowering decision to break the cycle and live a more cruelty-free way of life. It really gets you questioning a lot of different elements, like why we’ve been raised to eat this way and how destructive it is to the environment. My goal here is to help others see the beauty in taking charge and eating to live, not living to eat.
Thanks for the love and support <3
Were you able to lose weight once you started going vegetarian and then vegan? I have PCOS so I understand how it is to gain weight (I think Hyperthyroidism is along the same lines of PCOS even though it’s not really the same thing) and possibly how hard it is to lose it. I’ve heard how people went vegan/vegetarian mainly just to get healthy/lose weight/feel better but stayed on it when they learned more about it from a spiritual standpoint (not the right word I’m looking for but hopefully it makes sense).
I read your $25 budget grocery list and pretty inspired about it since I’m pretty broke and try to spend no more than $70 dollars every two weeks. I saw in a comment on that page about you wanting to make a gluten-free budget.. and I saw you made one with tex-mex but that’s not my favorite cuisine (which is heresy because I live in Fort Worth and mexican food is a big deal here xD). So, if you make one that’s not tex-mex but gluten-free, I really look forward to looking at it 🙂
I was, I think if you come from an already unhealthy food background it’s going to be a given. Implementing more fruits and veggies into your diet will only help. I’m still working on reversing many years of abuse to my body. I’m glad I realized this is a lifestyle and not a fad diet, I truly believe in the ability to heal yourself with whole foods and a positive outlook on life. This lifestyle transition has saved me in many ways.
Definitely customize the plan to fit your needs. Omit anything you’re not a fan of and replace it with something you prefer, like pinto beans in place of black beans or similar substitutions. It will still keep the price relatively low. It’s not honestly very Tex Mex themed since I didn’t use many spices, you can choose to flavor as you please. But I’ll let you know if I make another plan with a different theme. They take a bit of time, I might wait awhile to organize a new one 🙂