Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

I had an awesome interview with Elisha Lee today. Elisha is founder of Eat To Live Daily and is helping so many people transition to a healthy plant based lifestyle and improve their health.

One of the questions during the interview had to do with my why. Why do I keep going and why do I keep eating the way I do. I answered that my why is health. But I was giving it some thought since the interview and my why has been even beyond health. I don't think I gave a complete answer because there are other whys.

I lost weight and a lot of people know about it. But what is more significant in my eyes is my transition to 100 percent plant based eating. I could have done my yo-yo dieting that I did in the past but that would have been only a temporary fix. What I wanted was something that would improve my blood pressure without needing medication and avoid diabetes. After a lot of research, I realized that plant based eating was the way to go.

So what did being plant based do for me? Take a look at some of these significant items:

I know many of my vegan friends can related when I say that I wished I went vegan years ago. That being said, it is now my anniversary of being 100 percent plant based, as my last day of consuming animal products was on Sept. 6th, 2016.

I had been mostly plant based since 2012, but still relied on turkey, eggs and yogurt, along with all the fruits and veggies I was consuming. I cut out all the processed foods I was eating prior to 2012 and was feeling great. I was working out hard and getting results. I had lost the first 120 of my 150 pound weight loss within the first year.

Many of my former obese friends will be able to relate to this post. I know a lot of people have gone through this and it can get so frustrating. What I'm talking about here is when others make remarks about your weight, as if they are concerned you'll waste away to nothing.

I'm going to have to deal with this again, as my dad and step mom visit from another state next week. I haven't seen them in a while and it seems like every time I see them, my step mom will say in concern, "you lost A LOT of weight!" And yet it's been over 6 years since I lost the weight. I'm the same weight, around 205 pounds from the previous times they saw me. But I will most likely have to argue, stating how I haven't lost anything since they last saw me, despite her insistence.

I never take my health for granted. Just seven short years ago I was morbidly obese, pre-hypertensive and most likely pre-diabetic.

So when I hear lines like this is the best cholesterol readings my doctor has seen or that I'll most likely never develop diabetes (unless I were to suddenly revert to my old habits), I feel so happy.