To Vegan or Not to Vegan? - Let's Dispell Some Veg Myths

After being vegetarian for over 7 years, vegan for a year, then raw vegan for a year, before getting extremely sick and nearly destroying my own immune system, I get such a huge amount of questions about that lifestyle, that I thought I'd post a short few set of myths that I end up repeating on a weekly basis :

1. VEGAN DIETS MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT - Its usually not the fact that a diet is meat-free that makes you lose weight; its the fact that usually when you go vegan, you focus on eating more natural foods that come from the ground, instead of a box filled with chemicals and crap.

The honest truth is that in my lifetime, I've met more than a fair share of overweight and extremely unhealthy vegans and vegetarians, because they still continued to eat foods that were from a box, highly processed, that just didn't have meat. Not a great way to support body health.

2. EVERYONE CAN GO VEGAN HEALTHILY - Trust me folks, as much as I'd love to believe this one were true (as a big advocate for cruelty-free products), this one totally depends on each individual's body type, blood type and what works for them.

My nine year almost meat-free diet actually tore my immune system down so much, that I contracted viral meningitis. Unless I re-incorporated meat into my diet, I may not have recovered my health to such a strong level where I haven't even gotten so much as a full-blown cold since (over 2 years later).

Also, my body was trying to tell me over those nine years that I needed meat because I was consistently jittery, was battling multiple candida issues the whole time, and really had some severe hormonal imbalances. Folks, I learned the hard way what my body needs; please do not do the same.

3. NON VEGANS DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE PLANET - One of my biggest pet peeves honestly about becoming an omnivore again after being vegan for so long, is having some vegan eaters tell me I'm a part of destroying the planet. OH REALLY?

Considering
a) I might most seriously still be debilitated if I didn't start eating meat again, and may not healthily be here to tell my tale,

b) I buy mostly organic where I can, use the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle, with emphasis on the first two) every day,

c) Use awareness in nearly all of my buying choices, where I choose local, lightly used, and upcycled wherever I can, and last but not least

d) Have finally started to make a true impact in my love for all things green by relating it to people with their health,

my comment back is, I'd rather eat my meat (thank you very much), continue to have my positive impact on this planet as a whole, and teach thousands of others (which I do every day) how their small choices cumulatively as individuals have a bigger impact than one person going hog-wild.

I thought it would be useful to not only vent, but also help countless others in this vegan/omnivore debate... Now that I've been on both sides of this fence, I really get how futile the argument sometimes is. It's more important that people know what real food looks like period, as right now most people believe that fast food is really food. We've got a much bigger issue to tackle than we initially may have thought.

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The Keys to Being Hot

I'm asked quite often how I got to be so cute... And then my usual response is "if you only knew how much I used to think I was $h!tty it would blow your mind".

HOWEVER,

The road to getting there was hard, I shed litres of tears, and had years of battles with my own self-doubt.

IT WAS SOOO WORTH IT!

I'll share with you some of my very simple (and did I mention FREE or affordable) rules that I used to literally turn back the hands of time for my physical self-beauty, and make my self-confidence literally unshakeable (well, some hours of shaking happen here and there, but that's a part of life!) confidence:

• Love Yourself Unconditionally - That's right, love the bumps, scars, cellulite, bad hair days, whatever makes you human. Until YOU accept yourself fully, how can anyone else?!
• Tell Yourself How Awesome You Are - Yes, I tell myself every single morning that I'm the bomb! lol... It's funny and strange at first, but boy oh boy, love then becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy to all the other areas of your life too :). 
• Don't Judge Lest You Be Judged Too - Would you want anyone sizing you up, trying to figure out if you're "worth it"? How about giving people room to be themselves. When people are allowed to be themselves and feel comfortable being who they truly are around you, miracles happen - for them AND for you!
• Feed Yourself the Good Stuff - Read your labels on what you eat... Better yet, eat mainly things that don't need to be packaged - fresh fruits and vegetables! If you can't pronounce it, don't wear it on your skin or put it in your body. Spend a few extra dollars on local and organic so that you save thousands in future medical costs.  

And most of all, don't seek approval from the outside world. Learn to be who you authentically are, as is. Me? I LOVE country music, love being a Linux girl, will stand up for the underdog, and continue to challenge people who make others feel bad... No excuses, no pity-parties, and standing true to my overall purpose on this planet. I'm here to help people HEAL themselves, and also to help HEAL the planet. Because I'm as certain of this purpose as the air that I breathe, I will allow no one to stop me from being who I was born to be.

That's what makes me hot. Confidence is super-sexy.

Remember that all of us - everyone past, present or future - crave two main things in life; love and acknowledgement. When you are a stand in your life for those two things, what can stand in your way?! If you know of some things that prevent this, feel free to comment, so we can dissolve those mountains :). 

No Such Thing as Coincidences (Specially 4 Your Weekend!)

This is what happens when you become high.... ON LIFE!!!! lol :)

Cat Fight Central... NOT! :)

There is this HUGE misconception by men in general that the only way that women know how to be is catty, jealous, and inconsiderate to one another... Also, we fight over men, territory, jobs, work, and just about everything else in life.

NEWS FLASH:

That was the old way... the new way is that we strong women love ourselves first, and this allows us to love other women like true sisters. I know this is true because you can watch Chivon, Karlyn, Candice, Ingrid, and Gwen and countless others of us come out each day and support one another fully. With love, with confidence, and knowing that supporting their beauty only adds to the continuous growth of ourselves!

So this is a quick plea to stop buying into the false images of women. Do not continue to watch "The Bachelor" and believe the lie that all women cat fight, think of themselves only, and are extremely shallow. There are those of us who are open, honest, vulnerable, full of integrity, and (this is the kicker) have taught ourselves not to gossip!!! Too unbelievable? Watch an episode of our show, Hot N Holistic and see for yourself. :)