Don't be a "junk vegan"

I don’t know why but, I feel like warm weather makes eating healthy more fun. Fruits and veggies taste better, drinks get colder, and I can’t stop thinking about summer! I am way too excited to hang out with my friends and lay by the side of the pool. Maybe that’s why it’s easier to eat more healthy foods. I’m thinking about getting my “hot bod”, and that’s my motivation.

Eating a vegan diet is usually healthy but being vegan can have a couple different meanings. For example, it could mean someone is a “junk vegan”. What I mean by this is that they might not be eating animal products but, they can be eating all fried foods, desserts, Oreos, Nutter Butters….you get what I mean. Basically this person could think they’re going a diet but, they’ll be gaining weight because the veggies and fruits are only a small portion of what they are eating.

The other type of vegan is “plant-based” which is what I am. This is when someone eats mostly plants, like veggies, fruits, legumes, etc. My sister and I have been this way for about two and a half months now. Both my sister and I have lost weight, our complexions have cleared up, and it’s made me feel better about myself. Now keep in mind, we didn’t do it to necessarily lose weight, even though we knew that would happen. We did it for our heart health. Heart disease runs in our family and my mom (who has been healthy and active her whole life) had high cholesterol. She went plant-based and completely reversed that. It lowers blood pressure as well, which is another awesome benefit.

I’ve been able to see great things happen because of this “new” lifestyle, and so have my friends. Three of my friends are leaning towards plant-based eating and it means a lot to me that I’ve been able to impact them by the way that I’m living.

A great plant-based, runner’s blog that keeps me motivated to live this way is called http://www.nomeatathlete.com/. I recommend this to any athlete (plant-based or not) and anyone who wants to become an athlete. He has a lot of great tips, recipes, and inspirational stories AND he’s a runner so I feel like I can relate to him. For great recipes and snack ideas I follow a vegan Instagram account called bestofvegan and a plant-based account called flourishinghealth. They both have delicious recipes that are healthy appetizing.

As the weather gets nicer I encourage you to make your own plant-based treats instead of grabbing an ice-cream sundae or Dairy Queen. You will feel great afterwards and you won’t regret it!

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