Do you feel like one of those people who can’t live without meat? I was never that way, but I knew even the little bit I ate, I enjoyed—especially the seafood. When the time came to give it all up, it wasn’t the hardest decision in the world to make but it has been a challenging.

I gave up most of the complex proteins in my diet back in l996: Beef, Turkey, Chicken, Pork and some of the more dense fish, such as, buffalo and the like. I opted for shrimp, crab, sole, and softer fillets that broke down a bit easier in my system. This is not to leave out, dairy.

Not being lactose intolerant, I really enjoyed my dairy: cheese, yogurt, ice cream and other milk products.

It wasn't until 2007 after a flair up of my ulcer that I began eliminating things from my diet again. One by one I began to cut, until March 2008, I had cut out all meats along with their byproducts, which included milk.

This left me very limited with my food choices as I was such a creature of food habits. So after a week long cleanse I found myself pretty weak, fifteen pounds lighter but not a happy camper. I enjoy food and often find much comfort in it. I'm not saying that's healthy but it is what it is. So after the cleanse, I had some big decisions to make. I could continue trail and error, taking health risks, or I can just move my vegetarianism to the next level... that being Veganism.

What is Veganism? It is the elimination of all animal byproducts and chemically produced food from your body. For most vegans it's a simple rule or two. One being, "get the white out." The other is "Go Raw" or "Green". But for other Vegans, sugar, salt and bleached grains are not the devil although, cutting them back to nil or considering them only 'in case of emergency' is a good healthy practice.

Finding replacement foods has taken me the best part of a year. What I had to do in the meantime is turn to Shaklee products which are for the most part Kosher and Vegetarian or Vegan. I now sell the product so if you are interested in trying something out, let me know. Shaklee has a full 100% return policy so there is basically no risk involved with using the products.

Over the next 3 months I'm going to focus on their weight management products to jump start my healthy weight loss. I've not gained any weight over the last year however, I've not lost any healthy weight either. So I'll be journaling my 40 pound vegan weight loss venture. I hope it proves helpful. I'm going to include recipes and other health tidbits I'm learning. I'm going to aim diligently to stick with with the updates. I've been so busy I've let some things go by all crazy... like the newsletter etc. But as the winter lifts and things get more active I hope to get myself back in balance physically, spiritually and emotionally.

I hope you join me in my journey. <<<back>>>