My path to veganism began with disease, Type II Diabetes to be specific. After 30 something years of eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) my life changed in the summer of 2012. Just like the title of one of my favorite documentaries I was fat, sick and nearly dead. I was on the highest dosage of Metformin and my doctor had just informed me that my blood sugar was still too high and that I would need to begin to take insulin! I was horrified, I mean I didn’t feel great but I didn’t feel that sick!!
I didn’t want this to be my destiny: my grandfather was a double amputee due to his diabetes and every other older person I knew who had diabetes was dealing with serious medical complications as a result. So I began a mission to reverse my disease! I began to research cures and every book I read, website I visited, documentary I watched was clear: animal products equals death!
The first thing I did was buy a VitaMix, and yes, I am a kitchen appliance junkie. I started making green smoothies and began to cut back on meat. Unfortunately, at that time we were heading into the fall holiday season. Needless to say, my blood sugars and A1C remained high so back to the drawing board. I then discovered juicing...to be more specific...juice fasting. Fast forward to Christmas 2012, I actually bought a really expensive prime rib roast and all the fixings for Christmas dinner. This was going to be the last time I ate meat after all. I wanted to go out with a bang.
I was planning on starting my juice fast on New Year’s Day!!! I couldn’t hold out till 1/1/2013 after days of eating prime rib, rich foods, and desserts. I started my juice fast on 12/28/2012. I spent the first several days locked in my bedroom under the covers crying and trying not to smell all of the fast food my kid was buying since I wasn’t strong enough to cook for him. This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. With a lot of tears, dreams of eating fast food, and journaling, I completed a 31 day juice fast! Me! I felt amazing and had completely lost my appetite for meat and dairy! More importantly, when I went back to the doctor in the spring, I had lost almost 50 pounds and no longer needed medication.
I have had a few slip ups along the way and gained some of the weight back. I usually struggle around holidays, work events or other social functions but I always pick myself up and get back on the wagon! I’m still working on reversing my disease, but that is not the only reason I remain vegan. I am very proud to say that I am vegan for the animals now too. I no longer want to contribute to the needless slaughter of sentient beings. I have grown so much in these last few years and learned so much about why buying organic is so important and how GMOs are destroying our farms. And don’t get me started on the BEES! I still have much to learn and hope you join me on my journey to health and wellness.
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