Becoming a vegan has been a great journey even though not a smooth one. I was vegan once before in life – before leaving for the Peace Corps in West Africa. I didn’t know that was what you called it back then, I just knew I had gradually starting taking more animal products out of my diet. I probably was down to a little bit of cheese before leaving and then very little.
My initial forage into vegetarianism was to be able to eat without feeling pain, bloating or having a hard time digesting my food. Red meat was the worse so I dropped it, sticking to chicken and fish. That was so much better, until I decided to get rid of that too. I thought I was fine with cheese and eggs. But the ole’ stomach was still not satisfied. If only I knew what being lactose intolerant meant; that would have saved me a lot of time and trouble.
By the time I left for Cameroon, West Africa to do my peace Crops duties I had been off animal produts for almost two years. I felt energetic and excited and still attribute my ability to stay healthy during those first few weeks of being in a new place to this new way of eating. If you haven’t tried it, I hope you’ll consider taking a few steps in this direction very soon.