Two Year Plant-Based Anniversary

Two years ago today, Michael and I officially started eating a plant-based diet after watching the movie "Forks Over Knives" (available on Netflix). It's our Plantiversary! :)



Before and After

We made the decision to try a plant-based diet for health reasons and were both fully committed from the beginning. Since then, we have enjoyed absorbing knowledge from experts in this field and affectionately refer to ourselves as "the crazy leaf-eating hippies." Hey, it isn't easy choosing this lifestyle in the great state of Texas.

But for us, that's what it is: a choice. It's a choice we make everyday that our former way of eating was simply not worth it. People may think we're too extreme, and that's okay. For us, it's more extreme to suffer with health ailments that can be completely relieved or prevented. We choose to never "cheat" because in our minds, there is just no point. Plus, we thoroughly love all the food we "get to eat" so there's absolutely no feeling of deprivation.

We realize this choice tends to place us on the outside of many social activities and groups. We do our best to try to participate in other ways, but it's a choice we are comfortable making and one we know that not everyone will feel comfortable with. Again, for us, the benefits we've experienced far exceed the discomfort of feeling excluded from normal food-focused social activities. It's been a huge blessing to us to find fellow plant-based eaters through Facebook and other groups. We even enjoyed going on a McDougall Adventure vacation to Costa Rica this summer, where we met lots of fellow "McDougallers."

After two years of seeing such improvements in our health, that's all the motivation we need to continue choosing this lifestyle:

• Weight-loss
• Lowered blood pressure
• Lowered cholesterol
• Increased energy
• Increased fitness ability
• Improved immune system (we haven't been sick, not even with a common cold in almost 2 years)
• Balanced hormone levels
• Eliminated menstrual cramps...obviously this one only applies to me :)
• Healthier, clearer skin and decreased acne
• Eliminated recurring infections
• Cured me of my lifelong history of IBS
• Not taking any medication, vitamin, or supplement

I plan to do a post next on "How to Get Started" in case anyone has no idea where to begin. It will contain my tips and lessons learned from our two years of experience.