My Vegan Diet Before And After

In this post you will find out all about my Vegan journey, where we discuss the impacts of going vegan before and after one month, after 6 months, a year later, and where I am today.

As well as letting you all know my first hand experience I will also be looking at vegan celebrities who have shared their vegan before and after journeys.

Vegan Before and After for Everyone. 

When considering a vegan diet many may be initially tempted by the appeal of losing weight and becoming fitter and healthier and not just for the cruelty free aspect.

There has been a lot of hype over the last few years, where it doesn’t all just focus on the slaughterhouses but the science behind why living a more  plant based diet is actually more beneficial for us.

Much of the science and data does tend to come from America, but it is all interesting and beneficial for anyone who is considering a vegan lifestyle.

Since being vegan a lot of people want to know the why and in my experience people want to know about it because they are interested and they just don’t understand how a meat eater can just change their diet literally overnight – which is exactly what I did.

My Vegan Diet story – Vegan Before and After One Month:

So my partner and I decided to do Veganuary in 2018. We had both eaten meat every day for all of our lives. We both came from a family of meat eaters. If we had ever eaten a veggie or vegan meal it would have definitely been by accident.

We very much grew up with the mentality of meat and two veg. Both not ever having really thought too much about what or where our food was coming from ( I know very naive… ).

So during the Christmas of 2017 we had the same conversation that I am sure most families have “ So what’s your New Year’s Resolution for this year then?” Which every year for me consists of well eating a little healthier and maybe a bit more exercise etc…

My partner’s mother said that her nephew had been following a vegan diet and that it sounded interesting and so we spent maybe 5 minutes discussing what this had entailed and a documentary that he had recommended – Cowspiracy.

After having enjoyed are Christmas at both our families and then coming home to that little period between Christmas and New Year, flicking through Netflix we stumbled on a few food/health documentaries which reminded us of the one that had been recommended (Cowspiracy).

Then over the next 4 days we watched documentary after documentary about plant based diets, vegan diets, submerging ourselves with so much that we became completely I guess some would say brainwashed by how much healthier this lifestyle would be for us.

We were completely hooked. We read up on it, I looked into celebrities that followed a vegan lifestyle and started following them on Instagram and we decided that our New Years Resolution would be to follow a strict vegan diet for the month of January.

Little did we now at the time how big this would become #veganuary and so we started our journey. Becoming part of the ever growing vegan nation! And so began our vegan 30 day challenge before and after. 

Vegan Weight loss Before and After One Month.

As with most resolutions and diets to an extent it was exciting and we had both psyched ourselves up for it big time. Meat was a complete no go! So as well as completely buying into how good a plant based diet would be for the planet, my body, my soul I was also very keen to lose a bit of weight.

I invested in 2 new cook books – I have always loved to cook, I come from a family who have always cooked home food and since living out of home my love for food and creating has only grown.

So I was really excited to see what my vegan journey would look like before and after and if eating no meat or dairy would make a huge impact on my weight loss before, during and after.

Now at the time I did not own scales ( I found them so depressing and they definitely did not keep me motivated) SO the only way I was going to know if I lost weight was by my clothes and my occasional trip to the gym, where I could use their scales to see my vegan before and after weight.

Now for me it’s really important for me to be really honest with those of  you who are reading my blog and to say here that I do not and have not always had the best attitude when it comes to eating (I am still working on this now at the age of 34), I tend to overeat, and I also have a tendency to binge on sweet things.

I also have been known to secretly eat and I have really struggled emotionally with my weight, becoming an emotional eater especially when stressed and sad. When I am in control of my emotions and feeling positive about my relationship with food then I can really overcome these urges.

I have found that talking about it more openly has helped especially with my partner, friends and family.

But becoming Vegan and becoming hugely aware of what I put into my body has really made me able to focus on what my body needs to function at its best.

Through this first month of being Vegan and looking back at the before and after I can see how for me personally I can only focus on one thing at a time and during this 30 day vegan challenge of before and after  I was solely focused on following the plant based diet – it didn’t matter what I ate just as long as it was vegan (I have learnt a lot more since then).

Vegan Celebrities Before and After 

Many celebrities share their before and after pictures and  vegan transformation stories, and those with influence really do help to support the vegan way of life. 

Famous Vegan Celebrities: 

When I have looked at the latest celebrity to publicize that they have gone vegan. The thing that stands out most in their vegan before and after photos is that they are smiling and maybe some are stereo typically more natural/hippie esque.

Whether this is down to their publicist or the photographer or this is generally them, i guess we don’t know. However, they have done it, they are still spreading the vegan message and showing you that it can be possible to follow a plant based diet, and that like with any diet there will be changes and therefore there will be before and after vegan shots to compare.

Why Celebrities go vegan and then go back to being a Vegetarian or Meat eater?

Well I think some are just jumping on the it’s almost a cool thing to do these days. However a a lot of celebs do start a plant based diet because of a major change in their life, a health scare normally, or a wake up call some may call it.

There are many Celebs who go vegan and then give up and they share why it was not for them. For me to be invested in staying vegan or living a predominantly plant based lifestyle you need to be aware and learn about veganism and not just be doing it for the latest diet trend. It is not a diet – it is a lifestyle choice.

You may loose weight on a vegan diet as you are eating more fruit and veg and things high in fiber that could fill you up more than you normally would, but we are all different and your body does adapt quickly to these changes.

Liam Hemsworth was Vegan for 4 years and he absolutely loved it, and if it wasn’t for his recent health scare I am sure he still would be completely vegan. However his body struggled with some of the things that he was eating more of because he was eating a plant based diet. Just going to show that we are all different.

Many people go vegan because of a health scare, if Liam hadn’t been vegan he may not of been as aware of the food he was putting into his body, thinking carefully about what you eating and what your own body needs to function properly.

Liam told men’s health, “ If something works well for a period, then great keep doing it. If something changes and you;re not feeling great, you’ve got to reassess it and then figure it out”

Natalie Portman another famous Vegan stopped being vegan whilst she was pregnant. She said that she was listening to what her body needed during this important time. She has now gone back to being 100% vegan and her children are also being taught about a vegan lifestyle.

I think this is so important that we all have choices and sometimes you just need to listen to your body certain things do not work for everybody but if you don’t at least give something a go, how will you know if it could or could not work.

My 6 Months Vegan Before and After Story

Some advice for those of you in your first few months of going vegan. During the first few months of developing a vegan or plant based diet, you will see a number of changes. You will struggle, this is normal, and you will probably cave on a few of your favourite things. Where possible I would plan ahead.

For example if you know that you will be eating out, then check the menu and think about what is on there that you can eat if it doesn’t have a solely vegan menu – although most places do these days or at least have a couple of options.

During my first few months of being vegan it was relatively easy, I publicized that I was going vegan so friends and family were aware and I planned ahead. Plus as my partner and I were both on this journey together we were able to support and encourage one another. 

Those of you that don’t know ( although I am pretty sure I mentioned it earlier…) I love to cook so I tackled new exciting vegan meals ( which I am still doing today, I love getting a new vegan recipe book and being inspired by other like minded people) , creating new and developing vegan recipes as I went.

Which I loved, my taste buds continued to enjoy all the subtle flavors and I was still feeling focused and energized by my new plant based lifestyle. Within the first few months of being vegan I not only felt great, I was no where near as tired and I lost about half a stone in weight which only helped to fuel my passion to continue my plant based journey.

Below is one of my all time favorite Vegan Soups that is so easy to make and super tasty, perfect paired with a crusty roll. Let me know if you try it out!

My Final Vegan Diet Before and After. 

So I would say that now I follow a completely plant based diet. I have become more educated in where my food comes from and have developed a better sense of what my body needs.

I still emotionally eat at time – but I have developed more will power and understanding of why I maybe craving sugar or more fatty food – and I know that this would still happen if I was vegan or not. Just that by being vegan I have pushed and challenged myself to learn more about foods and food groups.

I now know and I am more aware of what my body needs so I know it needs protein but I also know that I do not need to eat chicken to ensure that I am getting the protein.

I think for me it’s about understanding our food and our bodies, all of us are different, we come in all shapes and sizes. Most of us whether we want to admit it or not, we probably overeat, maybe sometimes even on a daily basis, especially if we are not educated on what we are eating. This comes back to how we interact with food.

As a nation we love to eat, it is a part of how we socialize and enjoy spending time with one another. You create memories around food, with the meal you shared in a special place abroad or the family gathering or the sensational taste of something new.

Being vegan has allowed me to try things I would never have tried before, it has limited what I can choose on a menu, making me really think about what I need and don’t need. Yes of course we all sometimes will enjoy something that we really don’t need but boy was it good.

At the end of the day we all have a choice, but that choice can make a huge difference to our before and after image. It’s the whole everything in moderation, consistency is key and the classic cheat day which is totally fine as long as we then get back to eating healthily and being consistent. Just be aware of what your body needs.

By limiting your meat, fish and dairy intake you will not only be helping our planet, for future generations, but you will be helping your body too. I have had days where I really want something non vegan, and I have to make that choice.

If i do my body certainly makes me aware that I have. So listen to your body, if you’ve done a huge workout you are going to need more fuel but think about what kind of fuel? Learn and observe and develop a deeper awareness with your body.

By me living a predominantly vegan lifestyle I know I am doing my bit and I can feel better about the choices I make, but for me it is about how I feel. I feel better in myself and in my body with who I am. Being in control and making decisions based on what I want, whether that is food, exercise, the clothes I wear, the makeup I buy.

Each day I am learning more and I will continue to share what I learn with you. So as we can all make informed educated choices about the things we buy and eat to develop our own healthy lifestyle.

What can you eat on a vegan diet? 

So your staples: Legumes, Fruit, vegetables, bread, rice, pasta, seeds, nuts, vegetable oils, plant based meat alternative and dairy free milk alternatives.

There is so much that you can eat on a vegan diet. Which is why the idea of dieting now on it I still find amusing as there is so much ‘vegan junk food’ that you can indulge in.

However as I did and like many do with the initial switch we did stick to the more healthy vegan diet of fruit, veg and legumes. With careful consideration of all the things your body needs you can definitely have a range of food and enjoy some ‘junk food’ every now and again.

But if you want to lose weight on a vegan diet, just like any diet you need to know what you are eating, what does your food contain. For example, when I first went vegan I indulged on avocado on toast – soooo delicious, it definitely replaced a poached egg.

But avocado is pretty high in fat so if you eat this consistently then you may find yourself putting  on weight due to the high fat content of some vegan foods even raw/natural food like an avocado.