I just wanted to share my story of one year of going on a vegan diet! **Disclaimer! I am no longer vegan**
Two years ago I made the decision to change my diet of meat and dairy consumption to a vegan diet. I was tired of the way I was feeling and looking so I decided that I wanted to make a drastic change in my life to change things up, so I thought "why not go vegan?"
Looking back on it, I would say it is a strange decision to make because I loved eating omnivore food. I chose a vegan diet over all other diets because I felt like this would be such a big challenge for me and it could be the change that I needed. It turned out to be one of the greatest decisions of my life!
The outcome was great after one year, but beginning this brand new diet was so tough since it meant no meat and no dairy. Within the first two weeks, I felt the urge to indulge in non-vegan food's. I had to resist it no matter how badly I wanted it. It took about 2 months before I stopped having huge cravings for. I began switching to different alternatives for foods like non-dairy milk and vegan meats. I actually even began to be obsessed with these foods and still eat them even though I am not vegan anymore!
I couldn't live off completely on these pre-made vegan foods, so after a couple of months in I started to do meal prepping and honestly the BuzzFeed Tasty App was so helpful because I basically had an idea of what I could make to eat.
On top of my vegan diet, I also want to emphasize that I exercised and did workouts 3-4 times a week and I took vitamin B12 supplements once a day.
After one year of this diet, I noticed some drastic changes in my before and after health, energy, and "physicalness". I felt cleaner and healthier, my skin was completely acne free, I had so much more energy than before, and I was able to lose quite a bit of weight. But after one year on a diet like this, I decided to stop it and slowly go back to eating meat again. It was more convenient for me and it was really hard to transition back.
One year later, I am now an omnivore again. I loved the process of a fully vegan diet, but it was time for me to switch back. I've been able to keep up with my health and everything by just being cautious about what I am eating and now I am treating my self and my body.
I wouldn't ever regret going on this diet, and hopfully sometime in the future I'll try it again!
