Vegans. What a weird group of people. Vegetarians I can understand...but vegans? Doesn't being vegan automatically mean you're an animal-liberating, hemp-clothes-wearing hippie? They've always seemed so odd to me and were people who lived a kind of life I could never live myself. So how did I end up here?

Almost 90 days ago, I decided that I would cut out all animal products from my diet (cold turkey) and replace them with plant-based, whole foods--a dietary lifestyle often referred to as "veganism." After watching someone important in my life adopt this diet, I thought that it seemed too extreme and too crazy for me to ever embrace.

How could I possibly go through life without dairy? Without my eggs in the morning? It turns out it was far easier than I ever imagined and has been the only diet I have been able to stick to over an extended period of time--largely because I've never felt deprived or hungry. On the contrary, I started to feel good every day. Here are some amazing effects that I experienced during my 30-day vegan challenge that turned into a permanent lifestyle choice.

You'll have energy all day long

You'll start to actually feel refreshed when you wake up. Suddenly you're no longer craving a nap in the early afternoon. This hadn't happened to me since I was a kid! It was an extremely exciting effect for me because it has always seemed like no matter how much sleep I had gotten the night before, I would still press the snooze button three or four times and feel exhausted in the afternoon.

Eating plant-based, whole foods keeps you energetic all day long, and helps you feel more alert and engaged with the world around yourself. This is a result of feeding your body the food it actually needs. Everyone knows they should eat more fruits and vegetables--it's the doing it that is the hardest part.

Also, if you're trying to cut back on your caffeine consumption, this life of dietary veganism might be the key. Now you won't have to mask your chronic fatigue with cups of coffee in the morning or cans of RedBull in the afternoon, and instead, can rely on some quality beauty sleep to power you through the day.

You'll probably lose weight

Most vegans are not primarily motivated to adopt this lifestyle because of weight management reasons, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a nice side effect. In the past, I have cut out dairy from my diet and watched the pounds vanish. As a result, I started to believe I was sensitive to dairy.

But when you think about it, cow's milk is intended to help a baby calf gain weight as quickly as possible so that the newborn can survive. This means that milk is packed with growth hormones that translate into extra pounds and bloating around our waistlines. We are the only species that consumes the milk of another species, and who continue to do so into adulthood.

Dairy is hidden in a crazy amount of different products, something you quickly learn when you adopt this philosophy--so cutting that out of your diet alone may help you meet your weight goals.

Your skin will start to clear up

Without all those extra growth hormones clogging the pores of your skin, you'll begin to see fewer new blemishes and a reduction in preexisting acne. Eating a whole plant-based diet means consuming few to no processed foods, which we have all heard time and again leads to acne. And while acne treatment products do help reduce blemishes, they are only treating the symptom, not the cause of the condition.

Even if you're thinking that acne runs in your family, and want to blame it solely on genetics, consuming a proper plant-based diet will likely help lessen the effects. Eating the right foods regularly will leave your skin more clear and glowing than ever. When you feed your body what it truly needs, you'll begin to see numerous exciting benefits like this.

You'll get sick less often and less severely

Adopting this dietary lifestyle will leave you feeling stronger, more energetic, and healthier. Since I have begun this diet, my seasonal allergies have become significantly less severe. Of course, I am still affected by the allergens and do find myself reaching for Claritin on occasion, but the symptoms I experience are drastically milder.

And I'm not unique in this area--just ask anyone who eats a proper whole plant-foods diet, and you'll learn that following this diet properly can prevent common illnesses (think cold, flu, etc.) as well as reduce the severity of illnesses. Embracing this lifestyle has countless benefits on your overall wellness, and is much easier than you might think.

For more information on properly incorporating this diet into your life, visit the website Forks Over Knives for information and delicious recipes, as well as the site Nutrition Studies for general nutrition advice and encouragement.

So no, going vegan does not mean you have to spend your weekends freeing chickens from cages and replacing your cotton clothes with hemp ones. Being vegan means adopting a philosophy of compassion for your own health and the health of animals who suffer because of our dietary preferences for their products.

It's especially important to note that being vegan is not only about removing animal products from your diet, but also about replacing them with healthy foods. After all, you can technically be vegan by eating classic potato chips and drinking Coke all day. There are countless health reasons why someone might choose to adopt this lifestyle, from reducing risk of cancer to curing long-term conditions like high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and diabetes.

And with so many potential benefits, what do you have to lose trying this lifestyle out for a month? Challenge yourself for thirty days, and you may end up like me--a vegan who cannot believe I spent so much of my life in the dark.