I was vegetarian for 40 years, and now vegan for 4 years. I LOVE eating this way for so many reasons. Now Universe, I'm so ready to meet MY vegan life partner!! Any time now!!
I actually went vegan overnight because my blood results came out sooo bad. High cholesterol, high triglycerides, and my liver was working three times as much. It's been 6 months now being vegan and I'm incredibly happy about my blood results. It's so true what you said though, anyone can be vegan. I come from a Hispanic background and there's literally meat on every meal. So it is possible!!
Similar journey but it took me a while, I lives with 2 autoimmune diseases for YEARS and suffered a lot… with the lockdown I decided that I had enough… researched health, stumble on Game changers…. And been on a nutritarian plant based diet for now 6 months… I m not in remission and I am not planning to put trash back in my body….
I am Mexican living in a meat loving household. I have completely given up meat for a year now and am transitioning into veganism. It really is doable, obviously not the easiest thing in the world but when are the right choices ever the easiest
Liz Marsh I want to be like you. I live in Spain, and meat is a part of almost every meal. I want to go vegan, but certain members of my family are not so supportive. I've been eating a vegan breakfast and no longer use milk in my coffee. I'm starting a vegan blog where all recipes are vegan. I've even made several vegan recipes. I'm truly looking forward to going vegan.
@@doloreserin i think every little thing counts. with you giving up milk in your coffee, it's a step forward. my family isn't supportive either and i think many people can relate to us, BUT you're doing it! you're creating meals that are vegan and i know this comment was posted a year ago, i think the main thing is : you're trying and that's what matters most
Bless you!!!!! Just remember, if ....no when you mess up ....don’t give up. My whole family are vegan now. Best thing we ever did. Peace and plants❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️
After losing down to 98 pounds (I'm 5' 5") my doctor told me I was dying of severe malnutrition. I thought I was eating healthy (paleo) and I was eating a LOT! So I re-evaluated my diet. Then hubby and I watched Forks Over Knives and we went vegan the next day. Soon I began to gain weight and started to feel a little better. Then my doctor told me that I was allergic to animal products! That's why I was so sick. I am now much healthier, no longer going blind (one of the problems of malnutrition) and I only wish I'd known about this a long time ago. I'm almost 63 years old, so it just goes to show that it's never too late! Thanks for your video and thanks for asking!
@@denisebutkus3901 thank you. I still have long term health issues, but if we hadn't caught the problem, I'd have been dead by now. I was close to it then.
it's funny how growing up, meat, dairy, and processed foods were staples in my diet; I always said I'd NEVER see myself going vegetarian/vegan. Now I don't even miss it and thrive on a vegan diet. I loved hearing your stories!
Thank you so much for sharing your story! There are so many different reasons and ways people go vegan, and I love hearing all about them because it solidifies the fact that anyone can do it! :)
I'm vegetarian, don't eat wheat/gluten, eggs, drink milk. It's not like I eat cheese or ice cream often tons, and there are tons of vegan options. Considering becoming vegan. Thanks for the video!
So incredible to see how veganism impacted your lives and brought y'all together. I remember meeting you for the first time just after you and Chris met! Y'all cute and thank you for sharing your journey and story 🤗
I was a vegetarian for about 8 years before actually starting to think about dairy and eggs-I obviously knew that they weren't great but the cruelty of it all never really set in until last year. I was complacent and happy not eating animals without realizing that I was financially contributing to their torture. So just about a month ago it all clicked for me and I went fully vegan. Before that I had cut it out almost completely but I finally told myself that that was it. You guys totally helped inspire me to do that so thanks for all the awesome activism you do!
Eating disorders are about control - when we don't feel safe with life, we use food as a way to control our world. My eating disorder began in college and ended much later in life. As I learned how to communicate with words and express my feelings, my control with food slowly dissipated. My family refused to talk about my eating disorder and to this day my three sisters do not communicate well at all. Vegan helped me in my relationship with food - I didn't have to count calories or eat in moderation to feel healthy. Everything I eat is healthy and good for my body. Thanks so much for this video - it will help so many people.
I went vegetarian in October of 2016 immediately after watching Food Inc. in my sociology class. Then I gradually became vegan by summer of 2017 through watching youtubers like you, Amanda, Maddie Lymburner, and Caitlyn! Hands down the best decision of my life, I have never felt so in tune with the world and my true self before.
Lovely story from the both of you ❤️ I am 57 years old and went vegan 6 years ago. It was watching Forks over knives and was life changing for me and my husband. It's a beautiful lifestyle. 😍
It took me a little longer than you guys, but I love hearing these stories! I went vegan just before my 36th birthday last summer and it's the best thing I've ever done. It took a while for the all the facts to click in my brain, but finally it culminated with reading a story about this lady's kid who was raised vegan and didn't realize burgers were made from cows until he finally asked for McDonald's one day and she had to explain it to him. As soon as I read that his response was, "But mommy, them have eyes. Don't they know that cows are people too?" ...it was over for me. From the mouth of babes, right?
@Jasmine I would love if you and Caitlin made a sit-down chat addressing girls on youtube who came from an eating disorder and perhaps are continuing to engage in unhealthy veganism that is either too health-obsessed (orthorexia) or weight loss obsessed. I think veganism gets a bad reputation for this reason. Caitlin mentioned having an exercise obsession during college. I was really touched by your vulnerability in this story. Both of you now seem to have a really healthy perspective on food and fitness. I think you are great role models for recovery and your voices need to be heard on this subject considering a lot of vegan channels seem weight-loss focused / fitness obsessed and in my opinion present unhealthy models in their "what I eat in a day" vlogs. I really love that you and Caitlin always seem to present balanced, healthy, filling meals with a lot of variety. Much love!!
Thank you for sharing! It has been 6 months so far since I've been eating a plant based diet. I gave up meat, dairy, and eggs overnight after watching What the Health. I had also been struggling with my own mental health issues at the time and wanted to make some positive changes in my life. I feel a lot happier with the food I eat, I have more energy, and have learned a lot about how to create meals and adapting my favorite foods like certain filipino dishes into vegan friendly meals. I thought I was only going to try it out for a month, then it became 3, then 6, and aiming to make it to a year 😊
Veganism is so encompassing! My veganism is my moral compass and directs every part of my life! That is why people should understand the difference between plant based vs veganism.
You two are lovely. Thank you for sharing your stories. Many people don't realize this, but the law of attraction will actually work in your favor if you are vegetarian or vegan. Eating meat actually drains your energy and puts that fear, guilt, and worry into your system. Since I've started consuming 100% whole, plant based food, I feel happier, healthier, and more alive. After removing the coffee, energy drinks, processed food, sugar, and even food from restaurants that aren't 100% vegan I feel so much better than when I was just eating the vegan junk food. There's nothing better than cooking delicious food from scratch with the person you love. One of the best lessons I've learned since going whole plant based is to buy everything in bulk. It saves you so much money and it saves the environment as you stop throwing away so much garbage. You can easily make anything like peanut butter, bread, cheeze, sauces, and anything you can possibly think of. My vegan story was boring so I figured I'd just give some information instead. Hope that helps someone. Abundance, health, and prosperity!
Thank you for sharing your vegan stories! I’m just starting out and it was so encouraging to hear that it takes time & to be patient with the process. My story. When I was about 8 years old, I watched my Mom cut up a whole chicken. As I watched, I saw the similarities between the chicken’s body structure and mine. I was told that eating meat was necessary for our health. Since then, I’ve been a mom and cooked meat for my family. In the past month I’ve learned that scientific research shows that vegans have much better health than omnivores which is why I became a vegan. Thank you also for your recipes! !! They are so creative and delicious!!!
Jasmine I had no idea - I have been watching your channel forever and I never would have thought that was your background! I'm so glad you found your answer and consider yourself recovered
I really enjoyed this. I started phasing some meats out of my diet in the early 90s but didn't become vegetarian until around 2007 or 2008. I started eating fish again after about 5 years. Decided to become vegetarian again in 2016. Finally made the switch to vegan in 2021.
I never leave comments on RU-vid, but I just HAD to thank you for sharing your stories! Jasmine, you said EXACTLY what I needed to hear!! I’ve been vegetarian for a couple years now, thinking I was saving the animals. Just about a month ago I stumbled upon the documentary “Earthlings” and was absolutely horrified. I was determined to make the change to veganism and researched as much as I could. The problem is, I’ve also spent the last several years struggling with an eating disorder. I’ve been in “quasi recovery” for about 6 months now. When I mentioned to my family & friends I want to go vegan, they immediately shut me down thinking it was for purely restrictive reasons, driven by my E.D. So I started to worry if being vegan could really help me recover. I am truly ready to make a positive change for my body, the animals, and the environment, and now after hearing your experience, it has given me confidence that I really can do it through veganism too!😊 I’m so excited to start this journey.🥰❤️
This video was so awesome! You guys are inspiring, and so genuine! I am 98% vegan, working my way to 💯🙏🏻🌱thank you for this, I feel like I no longer have to feel guilty about that last 2%... I will get there💪❤️
I am going to go Vegan today! Your channel has been so very helpful and will continue to be. I love all the content, especially the grocery store hauls....I have found so many vegan items at Aldi and Trader Joes... you guys have really lowered my anxiety level and self doubt whilst shopping and starting this new lifestyle. So thank you so very much!
Thanks for sharing your stories. I went "cold turkey" vegan over night due to a heart condition, 15 years ago.. With so many alternative food choices I don't miss animal products at all. I remember trying some real butter on bread at a restaurant years ago and I couldn't spit it out fast enough! Had to use a balsamic vinaigrette with crushed garlic to compliment the sourdough bread with. And all my doctor's wanted to know what I've been doing since all my labs come back excellent!
My story is so similar to Jasmine's. Using a "vegan"/plant-based diet to hide an eating disorder, flip/flopping over the years and finally going vegan for the animals and loving life. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you guys so much for sharing, love this! I'm more similar to Chris, I went vegetarian my freshman year of college and have been vegan for almost a year now. Best decision ever, and totally agreed, I'm a different person now for the better.
I'm 5 minutes into the video and I'm already sobbing I have such a similar life experience with veganism the way you did, and I feel so heard right now, Thank you for sharing
This video is so important. I have been vegetarian for almost a year now and have wanted to go vegan for a while now.. thank you for the encouragement!
I love this video. I went vegan almost a month ago and I was learning about the lifestyle and to me it just mad sense because meat and dairy made me sick but it was in my diet so I had no choice so one day I found the courage during college and I’m honestly happy and my college doesn’t have many options it I find my way around but I’m planning on transferring to a different college that has what I need as far as dietary needs and better programs with my major and minor.
When I became vegan (2014), I was 49 and had barely heard the word vegan before. My friend in Singapore was vegan but I don't remember seeing any vegan stuff on his social media. I was a year and a bit into losing weight (I was 107kg when I started!) and getting into a bit of shape by walking daily and cutting out junk foods like crisps and soft drinks, and was doing some more research as I had reached a plateau and couldn't seem to lose any more weight (95kg). I saw Earthlings in my RU-vid suggestions and just clicked on it for no apparent reason. 15 minutes into it and I was already vegan. I watched Gary's speech straight after and that just confirmed that I'd made the right decision. Cut to a few years later and I was 78kgs and had just started doing 10km runs. My second one was just under an hour. :)
I also saw the Gary Yourofsky's lectures and other documentaries like Food Inc. In fact I could not finish watching Food Inc. I was raised in a very health conscious family but this was many years ago before veganism was even a topic. All I knew was that we couldn't have sugar, junk food, processed food or soda. For some reason it just clicked one day that I could no longer eat meat because it was so cruel how animals were raised. Also the older you get you tend to take stock of your health and realize you can't keep eating unhealthily forever. Even though I continued eating good because I was raised that way, I still had vegan junk food up until a year ago. Anyway, it's really nice to hear your story and I just wish more people would realize that this is probably the way we were meant to eat. Whenever I see videos about carnivore or keto diets I just cannot fathom it. After all the World Health Organization has determined that meat causes cancer. Fruit and vegetables do not. To me it is a no brainer. As a new sub I look forward to watching you both make more delicious vegan food!
Can't remember how I stumbled upon your page but I have been following for about the last year. Stumbled on this video from your page. Thank you for sharing all that you do. You two make going vegan fun and inspirational. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜🌎
Been watching your videos for a while even though I’m not vegan but wanting to get the courage to start, this was beautiful to watch, thank you for sharing your journeys!!
Wow, both of your stories are incredibly moving and inspiring. I had a similar story to Jasmine in which I started high school and become really obsessed with maintaining such a strict health and fitness regimen and lost a lot of weight, but also a LOT of my sanity and contentment with my life! No matter how many times my family and friends would voice their concerns, I denied that there was something wrong. I didn’t discover veganism until I started social media and decided to become vegan once I became a freshman in college. Once I developed my social life and started becoming weary of my own strict “rules” I set on myself, I decided to nourish myself properly and carry on all of my decisions based on compassion for my health, the environment, the animals, and for societal well-being. Eventually, my family became way more accepting of it and I’ve made tons of vegan friends! I would never see myself going back to any other way of living. Veganism is incredible. 🌱💚 P.S. I may have to slowly incorporate MY boyfriend into the vegan lifestyle too... 😏😏😏
This was so inspirational! I went vegan 3 days ago after 5 months of being vegetarian. I thought I was the odd one out for taking so long to make the transition but I guess not!
Wonderful to hear both stories! Mine is close to Chris'. I went vegetarian for two years before vegan. Jan 1, 2015 I went vegan and never looked back. My background was meals centered around what meat was being served. I always preferred a casserole or one dish meal with minimal meat, even as a child. I never missed the meat ( yeeergh) once I cut it out. Best decision I ever made! I just noticed yall's subscribers. I think you were at 21k when I subbed. That wasn't that long ago. 50k. In the near future! Thank you both for this channel. I love watching and gaining awesome recipes to try.
Absolutely loves this video! I was pescatarian for 4 year then I became vegan after seeing the truth about the dairy industry. I have been vegan for over a year now and I absolutely love it :)
Love you two!! I became plant based after watching What the health. It started as just a health thing for me and my family, but now after almost a year and learning about the animal and environmental issues with animal agriculture we are fully Vegan! My son (3) and I went plantbased overnight and my hubby took some convincing, but is now so happy he made the switch! I am starting my own business as a vegan life coach and my husband is doing plant based data analysis for KP! We hope to impact as many people as possible and we owe all of it to RU-vidrs like you guys!!
Jasmine, the similarities between our stories is uncanny. So crazy! Thank you so much for your courage in sharing this story. I love and admire your content😊
My initial start to veganism was very similar to yours, Jasmine. Feels a little better to know that I wasn't alone with that. Very scary time.. I'm impressed that you're able to talk about it so openly. Thank you! Yall are amazing and inspiring(:
Love this. I went plant based after having a ton of health issues and was too fat to tie my shoes 550+ pounds to be exact. Was the best decision i ever made
You both are an amazing couple. Have had to go vegan due to health issues for now. Have been watching you both for a couple of days and really looking forward to making some recipe. Thank you for sharing your story. I'm definitely a beginner.
I loved your stories! Although, when Chris said he lost a bunch of weight without even trying, I momentarily disliked him! Lol I'm on the right path, now, but it's been a 15 year journey to learn how to take weight off my body! Which, coincidentally, is how I first went vegan. Similar to Jasmine, I thought veganism, or plant based eating, could make me lose a bunch of weight, and live a happy, healthy life. Learning how to do it was a journey in itself, and we went down a lot of wrong turns, before finding out the best way for us to implement a plant based diet in our family (five kids, four still at home, and all with their own personal tastes!). It wasn't until we'd been plant based for a few months, that I started to look into the ethical side of veganism, and identify with "vegan", not just plant based. Now, even if it were proved to me that the fastest, healthiest way for me to lose weight would be to incorporate animal products back into my diet, I still wouldn't, just because I know what that would mean for the animals and the environment!
You have to make sure we don't talk to people about all the things they have to give up when they go plant-based. You have to think about all the things you gain. And like you said you change, in different ways other than just how you eating.
I became vegan Whole foods Plant based in June 2017. Intillally I did it for my health after watching What the Health. I also watched Earthlings and a few RU-vid videos exposing the meat, dairy and egg industry so I have now done it for the animals and for the environment.
very inspiring stories! I went vegan last thanksgiving and it's been really rewarding! it's truly amazing how so many people from all different backgrounds and cultures can make this lifestyle work and even though I wish I found out sooner, I'm so grateful that I'm where I am now.
I did the exact same thing as a way to feel like I was in control with my life. I went vegan because I wanted to eat again and not have to worry about restricting myself anymore :) now of course I’m doing it for the animals ❤️
Bless you guys. Ya. I think we all have a way of being selfish. Before being vegan, I was all me me me. After, it’s all about the animals and the environment and people and the planet. Would never change. This is THE WAY TO LIVE. Love your honesty. No one is perfect. We all need to support each other. Peace and plants. 🇨🇦🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱🇨🇦
I liked your "off the top of our heads" stories. It's such a positive change to eat plants and not hurt animals ...it's just good karma, as well as good health. I went vegan for health reasons (well, "plant based" and then vegan), going on 5 years ago, and my improvements have been very dramatic. Like night and day, going from heart attack and subsequent recurring chest pains to full health and running half marathons ... and feeling happy!. Just goes to show, there are lots of reasons to be vegan. There's no downside.
Greetings from Madoc, Ontario…I do enjoy your channel…everything you make is very interesting and simple….definitely I’m going to try some of those tofu recipes. Loved your journey as vegans.
Thanks Jasmin and Chris. Both of your stories resonate deeply with me. I too struggled with eating disorder and also felt enraged by the practices of the meat and dairy industries. Thank you for sharing! Peace 😊✌
Most importantly it is a mind shift to go vegan. I went vegetarian in 2015 and vegan in 2018. December 8, 2020 will be two years. You have to make the connection between how the animals are treated and how the environment, how the world is treated, and you as a person. When you make that connection and what your interaction is with the world, that is the mind shift that I referred to. I tell everyone that it is not a diet it is a lifestyle. And all of these fun things that we have available to us that are fake meats are there just to add a little fun to our meals and to help the meat eaters make a transition. It’s not meant to eat on a daily basis because it is a processed food. Do eat as close to the plant as you can. That is the key to being a healthy eater. Eat as close to the plant as you can. The more processed the more unhealthy the food is and at that point you use it for a fun night or every now and again. Those are not to be eaten all the time. There’s my two cents LOL… Cheers everybody 🥂✌🏼🌱
Thanks for sharing your stories. i can definitely relate to Jasmine, I'm a retired body builder and I've struggled with bulimia athletica and veganism has been a huge part of my therapy.
I enjoyed hearing your stories! I'd love to have a job at a vegan company. My job now feels like such a Time Warp, they don't even recycle paper! I went vegan for the animals, cold "turkey" overnight after seeing Cowspiracy and Gary Yurofsky. I was so horrified at the thought of all the suffering, I couldn't contribute to that any longer.. Thank you for supporting the Vegan movement! I wish you great success in the future!
Veganism can be such a huge aspect of eating disorders and disordered eating, it's heartbreaking:(( I'm glad you're in a better mental space with food and yourself, Jasmine
Great video and love your honesty 🙂 I went vegan about 2 years ago. At the time I had hit rock bottom health wise and from research knew it was the only way that was able to give me my health back. I love how it changes you as a person 😀 thanks for sharing 💖
i went vegetarian 6 years ago by making a vegetarian friend and realizing that i’m not even enjoying eating meat&fish (was never crazy about it) and that it’s cruel, so i just stopped. unfortunately it took me some years to understand why veganism is the only way and that i CAN incorporate it into my life. until then, i never had gotten the information i needed, and the one vegan i knew never said anything - i wish he had been what people call preachy, ha ha! i made the full switch more than 1.5 years ago (started transitioning 2 years ago i guess) mostly thanks to youtube tbh :)
I know this video is older but I just found you guys and have been loving your videos! I love how accepting you are about things and I also think it's funny how Chris said he used to be one of those people that used to make fun of Vegetarians and that's exactly how I was and now I've cut out just about all animal products and can definitely tell a difference in how I feel. Just wanted to share, keep it up guys ^.^
I love that you talked about initially going Plant Based for health reasons. I feel like health focused vegans get a bad rep, which is dumb because they're still helping animals no matter thier reasoning. But you can become an ethical and environmental vegan as you learn and grow! Just as vegetarians can become vegan as the learn! For me, I was diagnosed with MS 6 years ago. I just didn't want to end up in a wheelchair. I started eating plant based for myself, but over the years it's become so much more. And health DOES matter! If it actually wasn't healthy to eat a vegan diet then we shouldn't advocate it. But it IS the healthiest diet, so there's no moral justification for anything else.
Your stories definitely warm my heart as well as allowing me to rethink my vegetarian lifestyle to go transition to veganism because i feel like i totally can that you guys so much for sharing n thank you for most of all being so open n geniune about your vegan journeys
Loved this video 😊 it's always so cool to hear other people's stories, and, as it turns out, RU-vid is where it's at for most of us. I "planted the vegan seed" if you will, when I was in grade 5 or 6 I think. I remember seeing footage from various animal production sites plus my older sister went vegetarian at about that time. Of course, I was living with my not informed busy parents so, going vegan was not well understood on their side, however, I always kept the idea in back of my mind. And so, the time for high school came so I moved from my home into another city. During my first two years my parents were with me everyday. On the third year is when I would be the one to travel, but on the weekends only. And so, at that time I had control over what goes on my plate. Of course, that resulted in me developing issues with my body and ana and hiding it quite skillfully. I was a vegetarian at the time. And then during my last few months of the third year (I was 16 at the time) I had seen the infamous "From farm to fridge", I cried my soul out and continued to explore the animal industry, as well as veganism. I devoted an entire day for that. I came across Fullyraw Kristina & Freelee. The very next day I went vegan and here I am today 3 years later, a college student, training 3 different sports, watching this awesome couple of awesomeness 😂, trying to supress my ED (and yes, I never truly recovered from ana, maybe physically (I don't have my period though, it's been more than a year now) but not mentally. It's one heck of a battle and a long process because it is hard to fight your own mind, especially when people around you don't care about their health or the planet. Luckily, there's people like you I can look up to. So..thank you 💕 love you loads! Also, this is a really cool video format, just a thought - if you like to discuss stuff, podcasts could be an option 😊
Hey guys! LOVE your vegan stories. I've bounced back and forth a few times myself, and my motivations include ending patronage of consumption animal cruelty in my life and the positive changes I noticed in my breast and other health after getting off the fat-, lump- and mucus-inducing and female hormone negative impacts of bioavailable hormones that are in animal products, from food to beauty. Shoes have been the easy part, since moving to a farm, Crocs and rubber rain boots have been my mainstays, anyway. I switched from purses to a canvas backpack. I quit selling major name direct sales cosmetics, bc while they offer water- and plant-based products, and say they don't test on animals, they pay third parties to do so on their behalf on dogs in China, which is unacceptable to me. There's a lot more to my vegan story, but I'll stop there for now. Thanks for all you do! Namaste'.
Fantastic video, understand what you are talking about! Yes i loved it. Went vegan for health reasons (at first) wish i knew years ago. Oh yes very recently....been vegan 7 months
Thank you for sharing! I am transitioning to veganism and even though I am not 100% today I am getting closer and closer! Once you have your "light bulb moment" and you eyes are open to the truth of what is really happening to these poor animals, (and to our health), how can you not go vegan.
