Veganism is a value that I hold close to my heart. I believe it is a great way to live life. This article is to educate and share my experience, thoughts, and beliefs about the topic.
What is Veganism?
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A follower of the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Distinctions may be made between several categories of veganism.
-Wikipedia
Personally, I think that being vegan is not only through diet, but it is also how you live your life. Since being vegan is about not exploiting animals and using them, I think it is much more than that.
When I say it is the way of life, it is not just about the animals, it’s about everything and everyone.
As a vegan it is important for me to really come from LOVE and COMPASSION no matter what.
To me, it is all about appreciating all of the beautiful things in life.
I completely understand why people say it is a cult. People even say vegans are judgmental, or they are pushy, or they are offending, etc. I can honestly say that people will say things about other people when they feel something inside them getting uncomfortable.
Why Veganism?
Honestly, I initially started my journey as a vegan because of my girlfriend. When I met her back in December 2016, she had been vegan for about 3 years.
As a physique competitor and a massive advocate of healthy living, I was curious about what being a vegan was all about.
I was skeptical at first as most people would be especially because the thought of “what will my protein sources be?”
It took me almost 2 years when I fully transitioned. I start with cutting out red meat. That was honestly very easy. Next was fish, and a few months later chicken. I went vegetarian for about 3-5 months before I committed in 2018 to go 100% plantbased.
Since then I have had the ups and downs and struggled to keep my size and shape. I was so frustrated and thought that it was impossible. I researched many vegan athletes who are actually living very healthy and happy!
I was amazed and so I did further research and I was able to achieve the physique I wanted.
No, I stay vegan not because of the diet or my girlfriend, now I stay vegan because of the animals. I honestly feel for animals. They need their voice to be heard and it is important to me to be able to share to the world the importance of veganism.
At the end of the day, it’s not about me. I would feel selfish if I ate animals because of how I feel or how I look.
I would rather starve than eat another animal. Yes, you read that correctly.
I really dug deep and asked myself if I NEED to eat meat to fuel my body and be a body builder and my answer was, “If there are other vegan body builders out there, why can’t I achieve the same thing?”
There is literally no more excuses to go vegan. There are countless research and proven research about the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Not just physically, but mentally as well.
They have so many vegan alternative meats that saying, “I love meat” is just ridiculous. If you actually eat meat with nothing on it, it tastes so bland. Thats why there are vegan food companies that have created alternative meats that have meat flavor on it so that people can see that it’s not the meat, its the taste.
I am so grateful for my journey because it has also taught me how to go about society that is so closed minded and resistant to a specific topic.
There is literally no right and wrong here. It is all about asking yourself, “Is killing animals really necessary for me to live?” Again, that is on you.
This post is not to offend anyone or make anyone think that they are small or wrong. If you feel any of that from this post, you need some healing. This is merely an experience of what I went through and going through in my life.
Ever since I went vegan, I have opened up new doors to explore a lot of new flavors.
When I was eating meat, it was the same chicken, fish, beef over and over again. Now, there are so many options that I am really enjoying my life literally and figuratively.
Life is boring when you only have a few choices. When you open yourself up to more things, you get more in return.
Let me know in the comments how you feel about veganism. Share your story, what you have encountered, who hurt you if someone ever did, and what your views are.
I am grateful for you!
