Stories

When, How, and Why I Became Vegan (Part 3)

By David Askaripour | April 23, 2007

New to this story? — Catch up with part 1 | part 2

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The school semester of Winter 2004 was officially over and it was now nearing the end of the summer. Up to that point, I was a full-blown vegetarian consuming fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereal, and only one dairy product – cheese.

Since become a vegetarian that February, I had been deeply studying the art and way of life of vegetarianism. What started out as a health improvement began to grow into some more – a bigger idea.

I started visiting peta.com and learn how animals were being savagely slaughtered and abused. I saw videos of men slicing the throats of hanging pigs, men using baseball bats to smash the skulls of animals while having “fun” and listening to rock and roll music, and I saw baby chickens having their beaks severed without any anesthesia.

It made me sick to my stomach to see how cruelly these animals were being treated when all they wanted to do was live a full and happy life just like what we humans strive to do.

I began to think about my decision to become a vegetarian and started to see that I was not only still polluting my body by eating dairy, but contributing to the pain and torture of the animals that were being manufactured for their milk.

So in August of 2004 I had my last slice of pizza and become a vegan. There was absolutely no dairy in my diet after that point (besides the times when consumed inadvertently…but that’ll make for another future a post).

I felt so much better from that point on and that is when I really began to feel the physiological and mental changes occur throughout my body. That was the tipping point that my body needed to reach a new level of health.

• I had more energy. I was no longer taking several naps per day. I was able to sleep less and still have more energy.
• I began to think clearer. My creativity levels shot through the roof and I began working harder, more efficient, and more organized.
• My memory noticeably increased. I always had a great memory, but since becoming vegetarian/vegan, it began to expand and become stronger.
• The loss of fat and unnecessary bulky muscle made me more flexible, feel more energetic in my muscles, and actually increased my stamina and endurance. Now that my blood vessels weren’t clogged with fat, I naturally felt better.
• My skin became very clear and shinny. I noticed that – as weird as this sounds – there was a certain glow to my skin, as if I took a special shower or something.
• My immune system vastly improved. I was getting sick about 2-3 times per year (which isn’t bad) before I became vegan. But after becoming vegan, I got sick only once every 18 months, max. And it was usually in the form of a bad cold that cleared up in a few days.

There are many more changes that took place in my body, so many that I could go on and on, but I’ll save them for another post.

So there you have it – my story of how I became a vegan from being a 220-pound body builder who was eating 8 servings of meat per day for years. I never thought that I could do it, but in a matter of months I made the transition to a better way of eating and living. A new way of life that will have an everlasting impact not only on my health, but the world. You can do it, too. When you’re ready.

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