Cooked Vegan, Not Raw

I have recently changed my lifestyle. I tried very hard to eat a Raw Vegan diet, full of fruit and carbs. But, it wasn't working. After months of beating myself up over not being able to stick to it, I am moving on. I believe that as long as I'm being healthy, as healthy as I can be, I will have more overall success.

My health has taken a long road down hill, and I'm attempting to fix my lifestyle. It's not that my diet and lifestyle was "bad" before, but it wasn't what it could have been. Some of these changes aren't exactly my choice, however. So, bare with me as I embark on this new journey.

Change #1: Vegan. Cooked Vegan. Was I vegan before? No, not officially. I was vegan to vegetarian, to vegan, to vegetarian. I know that eating vegan is the right thing, and I have had a hard time committing. I always found excuses, but I'm at a point now that it was truly effecting my health and I need to change. And, to re-point it out, Raw Vegan wasn't working, since I couldn't stick to it. One step at a time. How did not eating vegan effect my health? Please read Change #2!

Change #2: Fat-Free (or, as low fat as possible). Oh boy, where to begin with this one. So, I've been having a number of GI issues over the last 8 months or so. First it was acid reflux (so bad that it was making me throw up. Then it was some...bowel issues that were accompanied by a fever that was leaving me feel depleated and constantly feeling like crap. The fever and bowel issues were frequent, and I've had to deal with them for over a month now. 5 days of the week, I'd have a fever and couldn't was too afraid to venture far from my house, incase I had an episode.

Fast forward to this week, and I have found out it's because I have gallstones. Incase you haven't read very article on gallstones like I have, they are *typically* formed by cholesterol. Now, if you are familiar with the vegan/vegetrian diet, one of the touted benefits is... low cholesterol! I swear, I haven't been cheating. My family is riddled with gallbladder issues, and it turns out that your genetics can have a lot more influence on what your gallbladder does than you'd think. However, they still need cholesterol to form. This isn't a kind of issue that goes away, or really gets better. But, there is something I can do: Cut out fat. Fat of almost every kind. My doctor (and everything online) says that fat is what will iritate your gallbladder, and basic logic says that if I add as little cholesterol to the body, it shouldn't produce anymore stones. This puts me back on the track to being vegan, and now it's a fat-free vegan.

Change #3: Whole Foods. No, not the store. Another iritatant of the gallbladder is processed foods. So, to restate what is up a paragraph, let's try not to annoy the gallblader.

3 Changes, that's it, but it's enough to hopefully make a difference. I'll be posting recipes still, as they come along. I'll still be posting as I go, and I hope that you all (hi mom!) keep reading.