Why I decided to go Vegan

I don't want this post to be some anti-animal cruelty/PETA-ish type of jargon. I'd just really like to tell you why I decided to stop eating meat or rather, any animal product and how I've felt since. 

First of all, I was a meat eater my entire life. I've probably ate more meat than any one of you! Especially when I was going through my "get ripped body building yeahhhhh buddy" stage. My typical day would consist of egg whites and a protein shake for breakfast, chicken and veggies for lunch and then some sort of animal with veggies for dinner. I was big on that protein game. Gotta get my protein in, make sure I'm getting enough protein, eat eat eat. I later realized that yes, I was putting on plenty of lean muscle mass but was I actually getting any nutritional benefits from my diet? Eating a cooked dead animal carcass along with cooked and nutritionally depleted vegetables....there was no nutritional value in my meal whatsoever. And before you go all "don't knock the protein bro" on me, you need to realize that yes, I was getting protein from my chicken or turkey breast but...did I know where that animal was coming from? What it had been subjected to throughout its life? What it had been fed and how it had reached its end? No, I had no idea.

You need to realize that when you're eating that animal, you're eating everything that went along with that animal. What kind of nutritional benefits am I receiving from a chicken that was fed GMO corn its whole life and then injected with antibiotics, steroids, growth hormones and god knows what else throughout its lifetime to become that big and juicy piece of meat we have all come to yearn for? Nothing, but a small percentage of that protein you want.....which you can also get from a protein shake, or bar, or a cup of quinoa or some beans or kale or spinach or this super amazing sea vegetable that you have probably never heard of called spirulina (http://www.naturalnews.com/036101_spirulina_superfood_nutrients.html) 

So, after having that epiphany one fine day in February 2012, I decided to go vegan for one week. That's it. I was going to do it for one week, see what it was all about and then go back to my chicken and turkey breasts and egg whites and whey protein shakes. I replaced milk with almond milk, meat with beans, quinoa, green leafy vegetables, my whey protein shakes become my nutritional bombshell shakes (almond milk, ground flax seed, hemp protein, glutamine, chlorophyll, vitamineral green powder and maza - shazam!) and so on. 

During that week, I also decided to do research as I was going about my vegan journey. And that is when I decided it was going to stick. And it did. Almost a year and half a later, I'm still here and I'm still vegan and I'm still thriving. I still have muscle but now I also consume a LOT more fruits and veggies than the average Joe or Harpreet. It wasn't just the nutrition aspect that did it for me, it was also the many different ways in which we use animals from pets to experiments to entertainment to clothing. It's just disgusting and is extremely unnecessary. And if you know me well, you know I am an animal lover and I have the best dog in the world and his name is Gucci and he is the cutest. 

Going vegan does not mean deprivation. You can still enjoy all of the meals you love, but in a healthier and cruelty free way! You have to remember, there is a vegan alternative to everything. There's even vegan bacon! I'll be posting some of my favourite vegan recipes soon. But before I end this post, I urge all of you to do a bit of research of your own. If anything, you deserve to know what is going into food you're eating and feeding your family. 

Here are some great resources for you to check out:

Earthlings, full length documentary - This documentary explores the five different ways we use animals and this is the documentary that made me go vegan for life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce4DJh-L7Ys&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dce4DJh-L7Ys&has_verified=1

Vegucated - A great doc on veganism: http://www.getvegucated.com/

Food Matters - You've got to watch this one! http://www.foodmatters.tv/

Hungry for Change - This one is more based on nutrition and lifestyle change but is still a great watch and one of my favourite documentaries ever http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

Peta - I know everyone loves to hate PETA but they still have some great info on going vegan plus tons of recipes and they'll send you a free guide! http://features.peta.org/how-to-go-vegan/

Skinny Bitch (and Skinny Bastard) -  Hands down, one of my favourite books on veganism. Rory and Kim make going vegan easy and have you laugh your ass off while you read http://www.amazon.ca/Skinny-Bitch-Kim-Barnouin/dp/0762424931/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370482862&sr=8-1&keywords=skinny+bitch and http://www.amazon.ca/Skinny-Bastard-Kick---Ass-Getting/dp/0762435402/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370482878&sr=1-1&keywords=skinny+bastard

Quantum Wellness Cleanse - a great 3 week cleanse for anyone looking to detox or ease their way into veganism - http://www.amazon.ca/Quantum-Wellness-Cleanse-Essential-Healing/dp/1602860912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370482925&sr=1-1&keywords=quantum+wellness+cleanse

Famous Vegan Quotes:

Mahatma Gandhi: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." "To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being."

Thomas Edison: "Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."

Albert Einstein "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

Thanks for coming out guys!

Inform2Inspire