It's crazy to think that it's been only, and already, 2 years that I decided to make a change for the better and eat a more plant based (vegan) diet. I actually had to go back through my facebook time-line and find a picture to confirm. At first I though it was only a year ago, but at the same time I'm thinking "what took me so long!". It's too bad that the word "vegan" has such a negative connotation. I remember thinking being vegan was not only weird (okay well I am!) but also so far out there. I mean, how could you live without eating meat or cheese!!I started seeing things so much differently when I started working at the Oregon Humane Society. Here I was devoting over 40 hours a week to a cause that I passionately believed in, but did my love for animals stop at dogs and cats? And chickens just because I had them as pets? A couple of weeks after I started we rescued a group of cats from a hoarder. I remember being appalled at the conditions that these furry friends came from, but I also left thinking "how about the animals we eat every day". How can I be so dedicated to bettering the lives of cats and dogs, only to clock out and eat a dead pig or cow that came from comparable (if not worse) conditions? It's a very touchy subject for most because nobody wants to face the truth..it hurts, I know :( I had a few vegan coworkers that I started talking with, and one of them gave me a book to borrow called The China Study. My husband hadn't read a book from start to finish in years, but he really enjoyed it! A few documentaries and books later, and we were both sold on the vegan lifestyle. We balance each other out perfectly because I do it for the animals, and he does it for the health benefits. As a bonus, the both of us are in the best shape of our lives! My husband ran his first triathalon in 2015 and I ran two full marathons in addition to 4 other road races!
