Meet our Herbie of the Week: Kristie!
After losing her mother to colon cancer, Kristie knew in her heart she should stop eating meat, but she didn't know how -- especially coming from a family of meat eaters.
Not long after doing her own Google search, she came across a plant-based diet and decided to give it a try. She told herself if she didn't like it after a month, she could go back to her old ways. 30 days later and almost 17lbs lighter, Kristie loved the results so much, she decided to stick with it!
Now, more than 18 months later, Kristie's lost over 100lbs, has more energy than ever, and her confidence is through the roof!
Read on for Kristie's truly inspiring story!
I was nearly 300 lbs when my mom died of colon cancer in 2011. I researched it and everything was saying that it was the food we ate. I felt in my heart that I needed to stop eating meat -- I just didn't know how. My family and myself were huge meat eaters! I was usually depressed and thinking there was nowhere to go!
As I was laying down one day crying, I heard a voice say: "If you don't want to be fat, do something about that!" I guess something clicked, so I Googled "plant-based diet". I remember thinking, "Yeah right! No meat, dairy, oil, sugar, or processed foods?" So I tried a few of the recipes I found online and loved them. I was quite surprised! I thought, you know, I can do anything for 30 days and decided to start a blog to keep myself accountable and just go for it.
I know I started the day after Mother's Day because the day before my daughter cooked me one of my favorite dishes: chicken breast with ham and cheese in the middle and fried in bread crumbs. The next day I committed to a plant-based diet and after 30 days I could go back to eating whatever if it does not work out to make it not so much of a shock -- I haven't looked back since!
I lost 16.5 lbs my first month and was surprised. After 30 days I figured I'll just keep going. I have been plant-based for 18 months now and have lost over 100 lbs. The first 30 days were the hardest! I remember saying 'no' to so many foods that I wanted to say 'yes' to! I am so glad that the plant-based recipes I made were so satisfying and good that I didn't "fall off the wagon".
Because I follow a low-fat, plant-based diet I stopped eating nuts, which made peanut butter the hardest thing for me to give up. Oh man did I love peanut butter! I actually thought I would cheat and eat it at times, but never did. I don't miss it anymore. I also LOVED Chinese food! They knew me by name as much as I would order from them! My family was really supportive even though they didn't want to have any part of it. They were proud of me, but were not ready to make the switch.
In the last 18 months I have had so much energy! I can't remember the last time I was sick and I work in a hospital. I do Zumba 5 times a week and it's loads of fun as well! I have confidence that I thought was not possible! Now when I buy clothes I don't have to go to plus section even though I tend to head that way and then remember oh wait thats not me anymore. The first time I wrapped a regular towel around my body and it went all the way around was freaking amazing! Also the first time I noticed my legs were not rubbing together anymore was pretty awesome as well. My cholesterol was 121 which was the lowest it had ever been! All my labs were beyond amazing!
Thanks for listening and letting me tell my story!
Thank you Kristie for sharing your story with us!
