Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

It just occurred to me the other day that I have been officially vegan for over 8 years now. On September 6, 2016, I had my final meal with family and friends. It was Chicken Marsala. It was the beginning of what I thought would be a 13 week challenge, where my original intention was to go back to my old diet. I never went back to the old diet as I became an ethical vegan in the process.

I have learned a lot over the years of being vegan and would never choose to knowingly have animal products. There are so many plant based products out there that there is no reason in our society to not be vegan.

According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, what is considered too thin for most Americans is actually what’s considered normal weight. Too many overweight Americans make what looks like normal weight look too skinny in comparison.

I never give my weight any thought. After having lost 150+ pounds over 10 years ago, I just maintain. I stay the same consitent weight, I love the plant based foods I eat and I have no interest in going back to my old habits.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Steiner recently. She was recently featured in an article in Forks Over Knives and it was an inspirational story, one that I could definitely relate to.

Karen was a yo-you dieter, something I had to deal with for years as well. I wasn’t yo-yo dieting as long as her, as she was dealing with dieting issues since her teenage years. But I know how frustrating it can be going from one diet to another. That's basically what I did throughout my twenties and part of my thirties. It wasn’t until I was closer to 40 that I woke up and stopped dieting.

Yesterday, my car was getting a tune up. It was rainy, the kind of day most people would not want to be outside. The technician at the car place told me that it might take an hour or an hour and a half.

In the waiting room, the TV was playing the typical political news in the background. Ugh, I'd rather not just sit there and listen. Of course, everyone else was sitting there patiently.

Many people who decide to give up animal products in their diet will often call themselves vegan. They figure that the word vegan applies to some kind of diet and they might not be familiar with the terms "Whole Food Plant Based" or "Plant Based". Meanwhile, true ethical vegans get irritated because they believe being vegan is more than just not eating meat, but a complete avoidance of using any animal products beyond food... which means they will not wear fur, leather or use any products that were tested on animals.