Why did I decide to go on a Vegan diet? 

I had 3 kids in the past 6 years, and my health paid the full price for it! My 3 pregnancies were very complicated, medicalized, and just depleted me and my body from all my energy and joy. I was depressed, exhausted all the time, losing lots of hair and didn’t feel good at all. 

Deep down, I was convinced that diet was such an important part of how we feel and I started reading books, watching documentaries and looking for what was the “best “diet for me. I say “for me” because this might not be the best option for you and I do not think that my diet is superior to yours. It just works for me. 

I had stopped eating meat for many years, but I was still eating lots of fish and eggs daily. I discovered later that I was intolerant to egg white, gluten and dairy. But I didn’t want to give up cheese. Cheese was a huge part of my diet! I used to eat cheese with every meal. 

But when my health went down and when I tried to lose weight after my 3rd pregnancy, I knew I had to quit dairy and I felt that fish was too toxic for my body, even if we were always trying to source good quality wild fish etc… 

Alcohol was a recreational thing, but I always felt very bad the next day, dehydrated, upset stomach and needed a few days to recover. 

So, on the 1st of July 2019, I became Vegan (mostly plant based and refined sugar free) and I quit drinking alcohol. 

I was 37 years old, weighed 61.7 Kg.  

How did I manage to change my diet? 

I watched many documentaries. The most recent one is “The Game Changers”, but also “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”, “Forks over Knives”, “What the Health”, “The Magic Pill” etc… 

I read books… such as “Finding Ultra”, the true story of Rich Roll, who changed his life and his diet at age 40 to become one of the world’s fittest men. A very inspiring book showing us what willpower can accomplish. 

I did my research. I watched many videos on the YouTube channel NutritionFacts.org and I thought I was finally ready! 

The Results

In 6 months, I lost 7.6 Kg.

I lost 5.5 Kg of Fat and 1.2 Kg of muscles. The rest is water I guess…

My visceral fat level went from 6 to 4 (above 9 is considered unhealthy). The test has been done on the InBody machine. You can find it in some doctor’s clinics ex: Dr Alvin Ng or Dr Melanie Phuah in Singapore. 

I’m starting to feel good again, more energized (even if I get tired easily) and I finally feel that my diet is working for me. 

I was very strict for the first 6 months and I am now allowing myself to get out of this diet from time to time. If I feel like it. But I felt that I had to be very drastic in the first phase. 

The challenge 

The difficult part of this diet is social as you can imagine. It’s hard to go out with friends, it’s hard when you are invited, but you get used to it. 

You just have to learn new habits and break down old patterns. On the long term, you will find that people get inspired by your choices and that more and more people will ask you for advice. This is the very reason I am writing this today, after so many of my friends asked me how I did it, which books I red, which recipes etc… 

If some of your friends/family don’t accept it, it is because they do not know much about it and it feels scary! Most people believe at first that going Vegan means sacrificing the pleasure of food. You can’t imagine how many times I’ve heard "So you just eat grass now?"…

Discovering delicious plant based food takes a little bit of effort and book shopping on Amazon, but after a while it will feel like the new normal… 

Tips: 

Eat something at home before going out with friends or being invited for dinner, so you will be happy with just a salad or some side dishes. 

Bring sparkling apple juice (100% with no sugar added) when you are invited and drink it in a wine or Champagne glass. 

Find some ‘Healthy” treats you like. For me it’s lentils or Quinoa chips, vegan gluten free chocolate cookies, vegan gluten free chocolate chip pancakes and many more… 

Drink lots of cold pressed juices (green ones if you can or with berries inside). 

Eat plant based cheese (dairy free) from time to time. The one I like in Singapore is from Pinkibeans (https://pinkibeans.com)

If you want to start new healthy habits, join us from the 22-25th May for our transformative retreat in Bali (for french speakers) where you will be enjoying delicious vegetarian food.