Veganism for Weight Loss

I have just discovered the website Vegan Mainstream, and after reading this article on Vegan Uncensored, I feel the need to comment. Mostly because I completely agree.

My senior year in high school I was a vegetarian for 9 months, with the goal to lose weight (which didn't really happen, because I ate crappy foods). After nine months, I ate some lamb at P.F. Changs and decided to go back to eating meat.

The summer before my sophomore year in college, I decided to return to being vegetarian. After three months, I started out on my vegan journey with the goal to lose weight, which is really why I started reading the book Skinny Bitch. Initially all was well, and I did lose a few pounds, but I also dropped vegan/vegetarian entirely after a month. It wasn't until I really started to absorb what I had read that I decided to convert to being vegan for good.

After that month, I went back to being vegan, where I have been now for about 5 months. I love it! I feel so much healthier, even though I do still eat a lot of sweets and carbohydrates, which I am now working on getting under control. I have recently discovered raw foods; the idea is still new and a little weird to me, so I plan to explore it and see how it goes. I would love to eventually be 80% raw and 20% cooked all the time...but with my passion for sweets, the cooked aspect might be a tad higher :)

Either way, the reason I've now stayed a vegan is because I have discovered all the horrible ways animals are treated in slaughterhouses, the transportation to slaugherhouses, on dairy farms, and in many other places. It is really sad. And really, you need to ask yourself: would you eat your cat or dog? Why is eating a cow any different? They are also sweet animals who are caring... and you can tell that just by visiting a farm. Go visit some farm animals and you'll see what I mean.

Still, my primary reasons are now health, animal rights, environment, and THEN losing weight.  The vegan diet is not just about looking good, even though, that will naturally happen when you eat more fruits and vegetables (clearer skin, ladies!). You start noticing how fried foods and junk food effect your body, which allows you to naturally eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Vegan is a great thing, and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise or bring you down.