Why Vegan?

Oh yes, you just had to click, didn't you.

I know. You are wondering why in the WORLD I would give up cheese.

And ice cream.

And pizza.

And steak.

And macaroni and cheese.

And all the other amazing food out there to limit myself to veggies, grains, legumes and fruit.

How did I come upon this lifestyle? Well, let me take you back to Adeline's teenage years...

I started leaning towards vegetarianism when I was 16, because I thought it was cool. I grew up in ultra-conservative Wyoming and I wanted to be a rebel. I was not very strict about it, and ate mostly what I wanted (or what my parents would never have let me eat) like ultra-processed foods. I started to get sick from this way of eating, landing myself in the hospital with severe stomach pains that had no obvious cause. (More on that later. See? I am foreshadowing. And now you WANT to keep reading because you want to know the cause of my mysterious pains....)

I went to college and stuck to vegetarianism pretty well. I even ate vegan quite often, thanks to a vegan friend of mine. I noticed that aforementioned stomach pains were lessened when I ate less animal products, and I attributed my pains to the hormones, antibiotics, and other junk in store-bought meat. I successfully stayed away from most meat for several years.

Then I got poor.

I moved halfway across the country to live in a big(ger) city by myself, thinking I would just magically get a job to pay rent. Long story short, I was so, so very wrong.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and my local congregation got together to feed me almost every night. I would be brought meals, invited over to someone's house, or otherwise fed almost every night. I didn't want to be rude or seem ungrateful, so I didn't mention my preferred diet. I remember the first time I ate meat after being vegetarian/vegan for so long. I went home that night and was very sick. (I will spare you the gory details.)

I got sicker and sicker. I got married in August 2011, and my sickness came to a climax. I was in so much pain all of the time, and no one could figure out what was wrong with me. I eventually went to a very inspired family practice doctor who told me it was Interstitial Cystitis. Isn't that a mouthful? I went on their diet, and felt worse than I had ever felt in my life. You see, they say to avoid anything that has acid. So most fruits and a lot of veggies were out, while meat and dairy were staples. I ate this way for a few months before I had a realization. I ate vegan/vegetarian in college because it helped my stomach pain. Duh!!! And here is where my nutritional journey begins.

I researched, and researched, and studied and studied. I subscribed to medical journals, nutrition journals, read blogs and newspapers and websites. I watched documentaries and read everything I could find on IC. Then I got pregnant.

I had a hard pregnancy. Cravings so bad I would cry for hours. IC pain that would not go away no matter what I did. I went into labor at 29 weeks (full-term is 40 weeks) and spent a month and a half on complete bedrest to have my daughter at 37 weeks, (still early but within the safe range). I gained a lot of weight.

After my beautiful daughter was born, I decided to change. I was going to not only go vegan, but eat truly healthy. That means veggies and beans instead of french fries and Oreos. Yes, Oreos are vegan. Look it up! I lost 55 lbs and my IC pain reduced durastically.

And here we come to today. I know a lot about health and nutrition through my journey to health. I am no longer in constant pain, I am at a healthy weight, and stronger than I have ever been in my life. Yoga and meditation have helped me to calm my stress and learn more about myself, my body, and my IC.

Now that you know my story, you can probably guess why I am vegan. But there is also a spiritual aspect to veganism. I am not here to preach, but it is an integral part of who I am, so here goes. To know that no animals were hurt, tortured or killed for my diet makes me feel good. I can sleep easily knowing that there was no torture to bring my food onto my plate. I love knowing that I am promoting love and peace on this Earth by not eating my animal friends.

So there you have it. If you are still reading this, kudos. You need to get a life. Go find a hobby, or cook something delicious. Or do yoga.

Or talk to someone. Give people a hug.

Just get off of the computer and live your life. :)

Namaste.