My freshman year of college was the worst for me health-wise. I was always sick, never had time to eat, or when I did eat it was absolute garbage. Yay, dorm food! Needless to say, I was so ready to go home for the summer and begin to cook my own food, get my workout schedule back on track, and lose the freshman fifteen.

I was scrolling on Instagram in May and saw someone post about a documentary on Netflix called "What the Health," I love documentaries so I figured I would watch it. I won't go into too much detail about it, but I definitely recommend it. I learned more about food processing, what actually happens to animals, and what it looks like when bacon is made, and I still can't get the images out of my mind. After finishing the documentary all I could think about was the amount of meat I consume every day, the eggs, fish, dairy, and processed foods.

The next day my family was having a cookout, how convenient. I watched my mom cut the steak in front of me and I wanted to puke thinking back on the images of the animals from the night before. I did not eat any meat that day. And I continued to not eat any meat as I did more research on veganism. I had a teacher who was vegan and I always wondered how she did it. I talked to my family about it but everyone was pretty hard headed to accept that there is a different lifestyle than being a carnivore.

Getting started

So, I decided I was going to commit fully to being vegan. I didn't cut cold turkey, but I took steps. I am already lactose-intolerant so dairy wasn't a problem. First, I took away chicken and any red meat (I was such a burger person it was a bad break-up). The next week was eggs and after that, fish. The hardest food to give up was eggs. I ate them every morning for breakfast and relied on them. You also have to realize how much food out there is even cooked in beef juice, like McDonald's french fries. I couldn't even have cookies because those are made with dairy and eggs.

Month 1

I am avid about working out, and I would lift five times a week and mix in cardio here and there. That's when being vegan really began to hit because I didn't know how to get my protein in, and I definitely did not want to lose muscle. I ended up purchasing a plant-based protein powder and made up the rest of my protein intake with vegetables but I knew it still wasn't enough. By the end of the week, I remember feeling so shaky and light headed, I simply didn't know what to eat. I heard my moms voice telling me "I told you so" and that being vegan wasn't "good for you." I was completely ready to give up, I was scared I was being unhealthy and not taking care of my body. After a thorough Google search, I guess this was just the transition to being vegan. Your body is put into shock because you're not putting in the foods you usually do. Basically, my body was shocked from the good amount of super clean eating.

By the end of week two, I started to feel great. I had so much natural energy, was ready for the day, and was all-around a happier person. I never look at the scale, but I decided to see if there was a weight change, and I had lost seven pounds. The next week, I was down another seven lbs.

Month 2

My second month I finally had the hang of being a vegan. I loved it. I was eating whole, real, and natural foods. I found so many vegan alternatives for cravings like mac and cheese, cream cheese, even waffles with no dairy or eggs. I was completely living the life. The only time I struggled with veganism was when I went out to eat with the family, but Chipotle became my best friend. By this time, I had lost 20lbs. and I forgot to mention my skin. It was GLOWING. I had never experienced acne until my freshmen year of college, my face was red and I had acne because of my terrible diet. I couldn't believe how much it cleared up within the two months without adding something different into my skin-care routine.

Month 3

This was August, and I had the intention of being vegan my sophomore year. But, it was nearly impossible with the food I got fed in my house, and I didn't have access to a kitchen so being vegan began to get in the way of me just eating in general. This ended my veganism at the end of the month and turned me to watch what I chose to and to not put into my body.

I want to go back to being vegan because I learned much more about food and have kept my healthy habits with me. I still have not and do not plan on consuming anything that comes from a pig, I stick to egg whites without the yolk in the middle because it is terrible for you. The only meat I eat now is chicken which is consumed every now and then. I stay away from processed fast foods and am diving into the world of super-foods. I read ingredient labels more on everything I put into my body, and most importantly have learned to care more about the foods I consume. Going vegan, although for a short period of time, was one of the best decisions I have made in life and has made me completely respect anyone who has lived a long life doing so. Simply Google "benefits of a vegan diet", what it can do for you and the enviroment will surprise you.