Meet our Herbie of the Week: Stacy!
Stacy is another great example of how quickly one can experience the many health benefits after switching to plant-based diet.
Since ditching meat and dairy products three months ago, she's lost 20lbs without even trying and is already seeing her health improve, including her fibromyalgia!
Here's Stacy's experience in her own words...
Being one of the biggest lovers of bacon (I'd even want to eat the bacon roses people posted on Valentine's Day, which I don't think is actually edible), I NEVER thought that I would be someone who would be able to switch to a plant-based diet. After I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives in August of 2013, it changed my life! That day I decided to cut out all meat due to my health problems.
Surprisingly, the transition going from a huge meat eater to no meat at all was much easier than I thought it would be. In fact, I have found that cutting out the gluten in my diet has been MUCH more difficult than cutting out meat. I am feeding myself plenty of protein so I am actually not finding myself to be hungry.
In Forks Over Knives they talk how people who eat meat are more likely to experience more health issues over time. Now let me tell you a little about my health history. I am 25 years old, and I have had my fair share of health issues: pre-mature birth, febrile seizures, Tourette syndrome, epilepsy, acid reflux, sleep apnea, arthritis, obesity, depression, fibromyalgia, tardive dyskinesia, binge eating disorder, oculogyric crisis, and anxiety disorder. BUT it is GREAT news because I have seen stories about people who have turned their life around by eating a plant-based diet and I am determined to do the same! I am also super excited because I hear so many success stories all the time on HappyHerbivore.com that it really gives me a lot of hope!
Confession: I still ate dairy until December 2013. In the beginning of 2014 I did some research about how dairy is a pro-inflammatory. I have recently been struggling with a lot of inflammation from my fibromyalgia and someone told me that it will make a huge difference if I cut dairy out of my diet...so I did. The inflammation has decreased a tiny bit, and I have confidence that cutting out dairy was a smart choice. I have also been (attempting to) cut gluten out of my diet because that makes a huge difference in my body. I even got my husband, who loves his steak and chicken wings, to try recipes off of HH and he liked them!
It has been a little difficult to find a variety of options when I go out to eat. Since August, I have found a few restaurants that offer gluten-free, vegan meals. Some of the foods I enjoy when I go out to eat are vegetable pad thai, vegetable fajitas, veggie bowls at Chipotle, and vegan BLT. Some of my go-to meals at home are oatmeal, spring risotto, homemade shooting stars, raw vegan breakfast bars, and vegetarian white bean chili.
One of the greatest parts of this journey so far has been my weight loss. My body is stubborn and in the past it has been almost impossible to lose weight. I started at 201lbs, and without even really trying, I am down to 182lbs! That's a big deal! What it's really telling me is that our bodies were made to digest the food God made naturally, not the food that is altered by mankind.
So that is my success story. I am really happy that I found HappyHerbivore.com, not just because their logo is completely adorable ;) but because it is a great way for people to show just how amazing the human body can react to a plant-based diet!
Thank you Stacy for sharing your story with us!