Vegan Stories and inspiration
The decision to embrace veganism hits people in different ways at different times, but it’s always profound. It’s like sex. Somebody’s ah-hah moment is like someone’s first time, and like sex, you want it to be fabulous.
Please share why you went vegan or how being vegan has changed you. Keep it clean, please, and not too skewed to porn, despite my sex reference. We’re a family-friendly site, after all. These Vegan stories will inspire others that want to stay the course or take a leap.
PLUS: Winner, selected quarterly, will receive a free download of my e-book, Beans: A Handful of Magic.
Ii am not a vegan however your sweet potato stew looks very appetizing A friend who I may marry is not a meat eater
Hi, Jonathan, you don’t have to be vegan, you just have to love good food. This stew is a terrific winter warm-up and makes happy use of seasonal vegetables. I bet it pleases you and your friend and hope it plays a part in your romance. Wishing you all things delicious.
Late October 2008 I had a medical event as I was walking to work. Namely breathlessness and extreme lethargy, could hardly move.
Spoke to my manager later in the morning at a scheduled meeting and was told to ring my doctor straight away. Long story short got to see him and was checked for possible heart attack. Was transported back to my city of work to the main area hospital for further tests. No evidence of heart attack but suspected angina etc. Was released to go home that night and scheduled for further tests. Put on nitro sprays for the angina which did relieve me of the breathlessness etc. and on 1 April 2009 had an angiogram to see what my circulatory system was like. 3rd person of the day for the procedure but last to be spoken to by the doctor… yes, I see the irony of it being April Fools Day and me being last to be seen.
Upshot was that he was going to discuss intervention with medical team and that I would need to undergo bypass surgery in the Public Health System. (this is in New Zealand not the USofA) Underwent surgery on 4 May for a triple bypass and came out with having 7 grafts… technical description is CABG7
I decided to go vegan but my wife found it too hard and within a week a piece of fish was a vegetable than a piece of chicken was a vegetable. I knew then that I had lost that war.
Health progressively but slowly deteriorated. 2 months ago I decided to take control of my destiny after discussing this with my GP who told me flat out that vegetarian/vegans live on average 10 to 15 years longer. Not a great cook but muddled through and quite liked what I was eating. Good clean tasting food instead of greasy, overly sauced, well junk. That’s what I was continuously served up by my wife of 30+years who is Filipino.
Bought Prevent and reverse heart disease cookbook by Caldwell Esselstyn’s wife and sister plus the China Study cookbook by Leanne Campbell.
Inside of a week my bowel motions had vastly improved and I started to feel better and I lost weight.
Now on track to losing another 10 kilograms and I should be at an acceptable weight. Now also eating generally 2 meals a day. I find I don’t need any more. Bonus is that it helps keep the food bill down. Only oils I’m using are coconut oil and avocado oil. That latter being the oil of choice.
I’m actually finding the smell of cooked meat makes me feel nauseous so try to be away from those smells as much as I can. Had a nephew here a few days ago and I condescended to eating some roast potatoes and carrots and struggled to not gag, they’d been cooked in fat from a pork roast.
Still much I have to learn but at least I am making progress which is what it is all about. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Come to think of it, it wasn’t sacked in a day either.
Paul, you’re an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your journey from sickness to wellness and for choosing to be vegan, even in the face of challenges Congratulations on taking control of your health. I’d love to be able to help you with vegan recipes and basic kitchen hacks, so stay in touch. Till then, be well and thanks for playing Team Vegan.
Thank you for sharing. I do find it is more chalIenging for males to become vegan (or vegetarian) because of so much hype over animal flesh and blood being linked with masculinity, manhood, strength, power, and virility, I admire those who make an effort to care about animals and stop
consuming them. I hope you are doing well. namaste’, rachel
I went vegan after seeing a vegan cartoon about hens online that made me as a long time vegetarian have to think about the wider issues of animal welfare in my vegetarian diet. That was about seven years ago. I did go back to vegetarian after two years though because of menopausal problems. I returned to veganism after an eighteen months break because I wanted to give it another go and have stayed vegan. A couple of big social barriers to being vegan that I have chosen to live with. One being my son’s father who was a vegan activist three or four years before I went vegan, and the other being custody battle with the council about my son with learning disabilities. He doesn’t have even vegetarian food at the care home and has been harmed there..
CE, what a big heart you have. Many studies indicate a vegan diet can help alleviate menopausal issues. I can tell you, personally, I never had so much as a hot flash. I’m glad you’re able to eat this way again, for your sake and for the sake of the animals we both love. If there’s any way I can help you, with vegan support, with vegan recipes, I hope you’ll reach out. In any case, know you have a fellow vegan cheering you on.
Hi Ellen, Thanks for your website and sharings.
When I was little mom was cooking and I saw a large piece of white paper on the table. On it was a pink cows’ tongue. It startled me and I connected that to a once living animal (and then we ate it for dinner). When we were kids we would vacation in Maine. My mom would buy lobsters off the boat and cook them in our cottage kitchen. Most of us know they scream when the water is hot. It was a horrible, horrible sound and I ran out of the room (and then we ate it for dinner). Years ago in school I had a friend who would not consume chicken if it had the bones attached. That all got me thinking. I went to the Vegetarian Summerfest for 5 days in PA. by myself over 25 years ago. I learned the truths about how animals were treated, and I was horrified. Even though I only knew 5% of what I know now about animals. Its’ like a child learning there is no Santa Claus. I became an ethical whole vegan and have never looked back. It was difficult as I was the only one I knew, except for one guy from the Summerfest.
I love my family and went to many family gatherings. However not once did anyone say, “lets eliminate the animal carcass and have a vegan meal”. And I did not suggest it. I simply ate whatever vegetables were there, while the dead bird sat on the table. I dislike eating out, but I got to a point where I will not eat in any restaurant where dead animals are served. I find it repulsive, the smells and sights of humans chewing, and most humans do not understand. Kitchens work fast, and the knives and pots and pans can be co-mingled with my vegan meal (if there was one). I used to go out with friends to a chinese restaurant, and my steamed vegetables always had brown bits in them from the previous persons meal. Yes it does make things more challenging. I have learned so much since then, including that we all make our own choices based in habit, fear, misinformation, etcetera. And that it does take a very strong and independent person to swim against the current, and to go whole food and/or ethical vegan. You become different, and even an outsider. There is more but thats’ what happened then. namaste’, rachel