Today’s featured before and after comes from Lauren Forster Walls aka Vegan Radiance. She has lost pounds and transformed her health with a plant based vegan diet. I think her story is amazing and I’m happy to share it with you all. I really believe in a vegan and/or raw food diet and I’m in the process of going raw vegan myself.Here is her story:
Like so many, I’ve tried every weight loss plan that promised me I could lose pounds and inches…and quickly. I never was a huge junk food eater, but nevertheless, could never seem to get to a healthy weight after my last child was born in 1991. And now here I was in my latter 40’s and it was becoming about more than just my waistline, but my lifeline. I had already been prescribed high blood pressure medicine and lost a friend, my age, to a heart attack in June 2011, so I was desperate for an answer.
Memorial Day weekend 2011; my only goal was to grill some 1” thick steaks and relax, but the universe had other plans. I awoke and distinctly “heard” a voice say….”You need to stop eating meat.” I did not question it, but knew I would comply and seek guidance as to the next step. That night, after a meatless day, I searched my cable guide for any kind of food documentary that might offer some guidance. I found the movie, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”. Little did I know that movie would change my entire life. The movie itself and Joe’s journey healing himself on a juice fast was inspiring and brought me to tears. I watched it twice before realizing there was a doctor in the movie, Dr. Fuhrman, giving Joe powerful information on nutritionally dense foods and the health connection. I did an internet search for Dr. Fuhrman and I tell you, it was like sun rays shot out of my computer when I found my way to what he calls NUTRITARIAN eating. I soon discovered he had a book, Eat to Live, which lays out a whole foods/plant based way of eating. I ordered it immediately, read it as fast as I could, went to Whole Foods on June 4, 2011—book in one hand, shopping cart in the other and the rest is history. I just followed exactly what he said in the book—Eat G-BOM*BS: Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms*, Berries, and Seeds http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/gombbs.aspx
Everything he lays out in the book is true. The weight came off effortlessly with no exercise. The food is delicious and satisfying. My blood pressure began resolving and within 11 weeks eating a whole foods/plant based way my doctor “un-prescribed” me from ALL high blood pressure medication. By October, I had shed 30 lbs; something I’d never been able to do my entire adult life. All of my allergies resolved, I have no pms symptoms anymore, no headaches, no gastrointestinal distress, no stiff achiness—I can jog and jump and move effortlessly, my painful feet went away, I did not take an aspirin or any kind of cold/flu medication for over a year and I was full on good food. My mind is clear and focused. It’s an absolutely amazing way of eating. I love that one can get started without having to buy special foods, weigh, measure, count points, pay membership fees, buy chemicals to sprinkle on, etc…Dr. Fuhrman makes the information to get started abundantly/easily available to all. I highly encourage folks to buy the book as it goes into detail which really helped me succeed.
I have been following Eat to Live for 1 year and 3 months now and I still love it every day! The weight has stayed off and I’m looking forward to even higher levels of health and wellness as I continue with a whole foods/plant based lifestyle.
My mom and I have been trying to lose weight forever but I’m gonna take all this info and we are gonna do this. I’m getting married in June and I would love to start my married life as a healtywife and mother.
Thank you Lauren! You have encouraged me to continue my journey. Over a year ago I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my leg. This caused me to change my lifestyle. I converted over to being a vegan. My only problem is that I am unable to eat nuts due to an allergy. I dropped 42 lbs within a couple of months. I sometimes get discouraged but reading your story has given me encouragement again. I can testify that when you change your eating habits how much better your health can be. Since then my blood clot has dissolved and my blood pressure meds are lowered. I am working on it being gone. Thanks again Lauren!
I noticed that you ate a lot of organic foods. Is it possible to eat non-organic fruits and vegetables? I live in an area where the closest whole foods store is about 2 1/2 hours away. I would like to attempt a vegan lifestyle but always have had a fear that it can be expensive. Any advise?
Lauren thank you so much for sharing. Like you, I am transitioning myself to live a healthier life and enjoy the secong half of my life. I will be 48 in a couple of weeks. I grew up on Southern high fat existence. In my adulthood , I had bad eating habits, lack of exercise, and in my thirties began meds for high blood pressure. My mother passed at 51 from not maintaining hers, and my dad’s side of family from cancers. I vowed that I am not going out like that. I am going to live. On August 3rd of this year, I stopped eating meat. I had stopped eating beef and pork a while ago. A little here and there. My diet consisted of chicken, fish, dairy, and breads. I loved salads, but it was a side dish. Now , by the grace of God, fruit and vegetables, whole and juiced are my only meals. I am now a vegan. I am not perfect of course, I slip in fish on occasion. I am working on that. I had some yesterday and it just did not sit well with me because, I am transistioning. It is a process, but I am so much better for it and feel so much better. I am going to be an example to my family, children( who are also obese), and others. My goal is to help others with this process as I go along. Thank you again and God Bless!
Here is her story:
DeHra says
My mom and I have been trying to lose weight forever but I’m gonna take all this info and we are gonna do this. I’m getting married in June and I would love to start my married life as a healtywife and mother.
Yolanda says
Lauren is spectacular and a great inspiration to all of us on Facebook!
Nikki says
Thank you Lauren! You have encouraged me to continue my journey. Over a year ago I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my leg. This caused me to change my lifestyle. I converted over to being a vegan. My only problem is that I am unable to eat nuts due to an allergy. I dropped 42 lbs within a couple of months. I sometimes get discouraged but reading your story has given me encouragement again. I can testify that when you change your eating habits how much better your health can be. Since then my blood clot has dissolved and my blood pressure meds are lowered. I am working on it being gone. Thanks again Lauren!
lynn says
I noticed that you ate a lot of organic foods. Is it possible to eat non-organic fruits and vegetables? I live in an area where the closest whole foods store is about 2 1/2 hours away. I would like to attempt a vegan lifestyle but always have had a fear that it can be expensive. Any advise?
Shelley says
Lauren thank you so much for sharing. Like you, I am transitioning myself to live a healthier life and enjoy the secong half of my life. I will be 48 in a couple of weeks. I grew up on Southern high fat existence. In my adulthood , I had bad eating habits, lack of exercise, and in my thirties began meds for high blood pressure. My mother passed at 51 from not maintaining hers, and my dad’s side of family from cancers. I vowed that I am not going out like that. I am going to live. On August 3rd of this year, I stopped eating meat. I had stopped eating beef and pork a while ago. A little here and there. My diet consisted of chicken, fish, dairy, and breads. I loved salads, but it was a side dish. Now , by the grace of God, fruit and vegetables, whole and juiced are my only meals. I am now a vegan. I am not perfect of course, I slip in fish on occasion. I am working on that. I had some yesterday and it just did not sit well with me because, I am transistioning. It is a process, but I am so much better for it and feel so much better. I am going to be an example to my family, children( who are also obese), and others. My goal is to help others with this process as I go along. Thank you again and God Bless!