Meet our Herbies of the Week: Jill & Gloria!
Earlier this summer, Gloria left this comment on the Happy Herbivore Facebook page:
"My partner and I went vegan March 6th 2013. We educated ourselves with books, documentaries, and articles off the Internet. We came across your 1st cookbook. And now we own all of them. It has helped us with eating healthy and our weight loss. We haven't hit our goal yet but we're closer than ever. We have never felt this good before. We not only feel good physically but mentally as well. Knowing we are doing good for the animals. Knowing no animal has been exploited for our food and clothing. And no animal had to be experimented on for our beauty products. Thank you Happy Herbivore. We just wanted to share our story."
As soon as I read that, I knew Gloria and Jill were the perfect candidates for the Herbie of the Week series!
Here's their story in their own words...
My partner Gloria and I decided to transition into a vegan lifestyle in March of 2013. It all started after a week-long marathon of watching "Forks Over Knives", "Earthlings", "Food, Inc.", "Supersize Me", etc. I was awakened at about 2 in the morning by Gloria pleading with me, “I want to go vegan!!” My response was that we could talk about it in the morning, and rolled over and went back to sleep. She was skeptical that I would be okay with all of this.
I have always been plagued by horrible allergies. To the point of an almost perpetual sinus infection and weekly allergy injections on top of medications. When I awoke that morning, I started researching. I read that one of the biggest attributes to bad allergies was dairy consumption. This alone was reason for me to give going vegan a try. So, we talked when she woke up and made the decision. We were going to go vegan. Her reasoning was largely from an ethical standpoint, and mine was from the health side (in the beginning).
Initially, we were going to start to phase out the groceries we already had in the refrigerator and freezer and make a slow transition. This process lasted only a couple of days when we made the decision to get rid of all food products we had that were non-vegan and just dive in. From there, we headed to our local Whole Foods and began the process of veganizing our lives from pantry to closets.
The first book Gloria got me was "The Happy Herbivore Cookbook”. This book was the beginning of so many changes to be made in our everyday food preparation. From the no oil usage to the mouth-watering sauces, we were hooked! Since then we have purchased all of her wonderful cookbooks, and use them to guide most every meal we make.
In the last year, Gloria has lost 30 pounds and I have lost 15. We both feel so much better in every way imaginable. From our mental clarity to our clearer consciences. Gloria was recently diagnosed with an endocrine disorder and we know that things would have been so much worse for her had we not already adopted this healthy change in our lives.
I have been 100% off the allergy injections for well over a year now and feel great! We most definitely attribute Lindsay’s books and contagious positive attitude through social media to our continued success. We feel better, look better, and are looking forward to living the rest of our lives in exactly this fashion! Thank you and best wishes to everyone who is traveling down this same path in their lives.
Thank you so much Jill & Gloria for sharing your story with us!
