I went vegan for a month - 2 years later I've not looked back

Let me start by reassuring you this is not an evangelical bid to turn you vegan.

In fact one month before I became vegan I couldn't actually imagine anything worse.

I just want to share my story with you. In case it could help.

Today I have been vegan for 2 years, 2 months and 2 days.

I never EVER imagined I would be vegan for even one day, but then a few things happened.

I have never shared my story before but with Veganuary just around the corner it feels like it's time.

Before becoming vegan our family ate meat at least 5 times a week, often more.

I would get pissed off if we invited someone for dinner and they were vegetarian, let alone vegan!

I had been lectured to before about becoming a vegan and it pushed me even further away.

Then in September 2019 I went to a day-long retreat, with only vegan food on offer.

I was gutted.

WHAT was I going to eat?!? A bunch of leaves and tomatoes?

When it was time for lunch my stomach sank.

I LOVE food, and mealtimes are my favourite times, but vegan food? Bleurgh!

Then I saw the buffet. It looked good.

I helped myself to a slice of quiche. It was delicious.

I whispered to the organiser "I don't want to upset you but this is definitely not vegan".

She whispered back "I don't want to upset you but it definitely is!".

That was a life-changing moment for me. Could vegan food taste nice?!?

I started chatting to a friend, Heather Drummond, who lived near me and who I knew was a vegan.

She shared her story with me, without being "in my face", answered my numerous questions, shared recipes and tips with me.

I knew I had to give it a try....BUT my big meat-eating parents were coming to stay for a month.

So I decided that after they left I would do a one month vegan detox.

And it blew my mind.

Despite being in the middle of a massive house move with change of region, schools, friends etc (cue stress and sleepless nights) I had crazy energy levels, and felt so well.

I lost 3kg in one month just from switching to a vegan diet and generally felt better in myself.

Since 28th October 2019 I have been 100% vegan, with Ben and the girls being approximately 80-90% vegan too.

As a family we have never been healthier and I haven't once missed my old ways of eating.

I have discovered a ton of new foods and the icing on the cake - after 14 years of the skin condition Rosacea, my skin is now clear again! 

(For 14 years I had to either take mild antibiotics or the pill to keep my rosacea under control, now my vegan diet* sorts it out for me.)

Since becoming vegan I've learnt some hard truths - call me ignorant but I just didn't know beforehand!

- eating vegan for one month is better for the planet than going a whole month without using your car

- cows do not naturally produce milk! How ignorant was I?!? I breastfed my daughters for 22 months in total and knew exactly how I produced milk, so why on earth did I think it was different for cows?!?

I won't go into all the details of why veganism is better for you, the planet and the animals, instead I recommend you watch / read the following and decide for yourself:

• The game-changers
• Cowspiracy
• Earthlings
• Dominion
• How not to die by Dr Michael Greger

For 2 years I haven't felt the urger to change my way of life.

But the last couple of weeks have been my biggest test since going vegan. 

I am currently in the French Alps with Ben's family. This is the place where charcuterie and cheese reign supreme.

I am having to make my own meals every day as there are no vegan options anywhere for me. Plus I LOVE cheese.

I wasn't sure how I would cope. Would I crumble? But actually it's just reminded me of how good I feel following a vegan diet.

I recently had a blood test done to check all my levels, and everything came out top of the board. I couldn't be healthier.

We are what we eat and I've never felt that more.

So no pressure. No lecture. No judgement. Nothing.

But if you are interested in finding out more do check out Veganuary as their daily emails really helped me in my early days of veganism. And if you are in Mauritius then you can get help doing Veganuary with Heather who started me on my journey - more info here.

I hope this helps you lovely.

Big love,
Sophie xx

* I don't want to go into all the details of how I eat here, but I follow a diet called "Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB)", with lots of cereals, seeds, nuts, fruits, veggies and pulses. It tastes much better than it sounds - I promise!