Decisions, decisions.

I have been vegan since February 12th and I am loving it. I love that every time I put something in my body I feel good about what I just ate. I feel proud for not making bad food choices. I feel like I am not supporting a shitty industry. I feel better throughout the day, have more energy and far less body aches. There are more reasons than not for me to be vegan, yet I already feel like I am having to defend myself and explain my reasons to people, when there's more than one reason. Being vegan is easier than having to deal with people who challenge the idea.

My original reason behind choosing a vegan diet was to try yet another way to deter my endometriosis. I have been reading testimonials and studies for years and years that suggested living a vegan lifestyle to help combat the disease. After talking to a friend who read the book Skinny Bitch, I then read Skinny Bitch. The damn book isn't what made me change my food choices, but it did give me even more reasons not to eat the way I was eating and it helped me take the jump.

Go ahead roll your eyes, I know you are. But when you do, remember this: I don't want to hear about how you feel humans need meat and dairy, because they don't. I don't want to hear how you disagree with my reasoning. You asked me why, I told you. If you don't agree that's totally awesome, I don't need to hear it. I know I'm going to have cravings, challenges and spend twice as much on groceries, but I'm willing.

I would like to stay vegan. I understand that there are certain situations where I might ingest meat or dairy in some way. I'm not going to have a melt down and I know it won't kill me. I might wake up tomorrow and feel like I want a bowl of fro-yo. But there's nothing wrong with trying my hardest to be as healthy as I can be. I feel I deserve to feel good and healthy, since we all know it's been a struggle for me.

So get over yourself and leave my choices alone. I am not a hippy.

I took this photo in October of 2009. It's one of my favorites.