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  • Stephanie Taylor

I have always been a dedicated carnivore. I gained a lot of weight and attained 400 lbs, with an insulin pump, a1c of 12.4, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, restricted breathing due to the weight, couldn't move without effort and pain, couldn't walk more than 25 ft or stand for more than 2 min. So I had gastric bypass. I lost 160 lbs in one year because I couldn't hold any food down at all. It's been 3 yrs and I still can't hold down meat or drink cows milk without getting sick. I've come to realize that I can't depend on my old diet to live. I had lost a total of 200 lbs then I gained 50 back due to extreme sweet cravings. I started looking into alternative ways of eating while still getting my protein and meeting more of my nutrient needs. I was leaning towards Mediterranean, pescatarian, flexitarian but I started to look deeper and found youtube videos by Dr. Furhman, Dr. Colin Campbell, Forks over Knives, The Game Changers, etc and my thinking changed. I couldn't stand to hear the pigs screaming in pain or the thought of the emotional devastation of the separation of cows and their calves, the pain that chickens now live through because of overcrowding and hormones that make them grow too much and too fast. I found out I can get my protein from other sources without putting an animal in pain to do it. I am still on the journey and working on my diet with the goal of being fully vegan. I'm not eating meat at all, but I am still eating cheese and cooking with milk or cream when needed. I know there are alternatives to that and am researching product by product. I'm trying not to depend on processed vegan foods but concentrating on whole foods.