Growing up, I had always been involved in sports, in particular soccer. Ever since I can remember, I lived and breathed soccer. Coming from two soccer players themselves, my mother, who played recreationally, and my father who traveled Europe playing soccer, naturally it became my life too — until the end of my junior year of high school.
I had never really been “out of season” for more than a month; even in my off-season I was still running, working out and staying fit. I had always eaten what I wanted because I knew I would just burn it off later. When I was finally finished with soccer in my senior year of high school, my body began to change. I lost a lot of the muscle I had gained from soccer, and I got a little bit skinnier because of that; but eventually I slowly started to gain weight. My stomach wasn’t as muscular as it was before and my legs were losing their tone. I started noticing all these changes on my body, and I knew I needed to do something.
I began counting my calories, planning out my meals each day and keeping a food diary. I recorded everything I ate and the calories I consumed. After this failed to work in my eyes, I started throwing up my food. I would eat very little at school, and then come home and binge-eat only to then throw everything up. This continued for a few months, but it was still not giving me the desired figure I wanted. Eventually, I stopped eating all together.
This picture is of me in my “dream body”. I hadn’t eaten that entire day. The picture was taken at 5 p.m.
When I finally realized I had a problem, I decided to become a vegetarian. I assumed that meat accounted for about 50 percent of the calories I consumed each day, so by cutting out meat I would be consuming less calories.
When I finally got to VCU, I met my roommate who told me she was vegan and explained to me the vegan lifestyle: no eggs, milk, butter, cheese, etc. She told me all the wonderful things about being vegan. I had heard a few things about the vegan diet/lifestyle, one of which was that you could eat as much as you want because you know what you’re putting into your body. Anyone who has ever had an eating disorder knows that the thought of eating as much as you want can be frightening.
After a month of living with my “crazy vegan roommate,” I decided to give it a try. I told myself that if I didn’t like it, I could always go back to being vegetarian, which was something I was accustomed to.
I have to admit, the first few days of being vegan was hard. So many foods I know and love have milk or eggs in them (like my favorite granola bars); but it became much easier after I found foods I liked that were vegan. I found vegan cookies sold at my university’s gas station store. I found vegan cream cheese because I love to have a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. Best of all, I know what I’m putting into my body and I love it.
So no, I did not become vegan for animal rights reasons (sorry PETA, I still love you though). I became vegan because I was killing my body and needed a solution. The vegan lifestyle was my answer. I feel more alive and awake, and genuinely better about myself. If you’re struggling with an eating disorder like I was, or just want a healthy change in your life, I challenge you to go vegan for a few days or a week. Test out the waters and see if it’s for you.