Going Vegan in my 50's

Out of all the diets in the world why pick veganism?  I'm not sure I addressed this early on in my weight loss journey but I thought this was a good time to talk about it again.  I'm in my third year of weight loss success.  That's the longest I've ever been able to sustain any noticeable weight loss so there must be some significant component that has led to that success.  Yes, I've recently had some weight gain.  I've been battling a ten pound gain this year, but I'm back on track and I'm determined to reach my all time goal of 125 by the end of this year.

Before going vegan I was never able to keep weight off.  I had all but given up on being any size smaller than a 12 and prior to three years ago I was up around a 14/16.  My health was failing.  I was tired all the time and miserable about how I looked. 

My doctor asked me to loose 25 pounds and that was my goal.  I didn't start off even thinking about veganism as a way to loose weight.  I stumbled upon it months after trying several other diet methods.  To my surprise, after going full on, all in vegan I began to loose weight and I was able to keep it off and keep loosing.

Don't get the wrong impression here.  Veganism isn't magic.  I could be a fat vegan very easily.  I still have to watch how much I eat.  But by eating primarily plant based whole foods it's easier to keep my weight down than ever before in my life.

The best part about my new lifestyle is the part that I seldom think about.  My health is better than its been in decades.  Before starting my new life I had my yearly checkup.  My blood pressure was sky high, I was pre-diabetic and severely anemic. 

My yearly physical and blood work two years later revealed that I am no longer anemic or pre-diabetic and my blood pressure is normal.  My bmi is still above the normal range for my height right now.  I'll have to get down to 125 for that to be in the normal range.

I don't think about that part of my success because I don't have to think about it constantly anymore.  For years I was concerned about my health but I didn't know how to fix it.  I'd tried every diet and failed at them all.

Now, instead of worrying I focus on working the plan every day.  I know that if I do that my health will be it's best and it will be easier to maintain a healthy weight.

I think it's also important to have realistic expectations.  My goal is to maintain the best health I can as long as I can.  I believe the way I now live is my best path to that goal.

As a side note; the longer I'm vegan the more I am committed to never eating meat or dairy or eggs.  I'm not the vegan police nor will I ever be.  I live within a family and extended family of meat eaters.  My choices are for myself alone.  But I feel much more sensitive towards animals than I ever have.  I've always loved animals but it never bothered me to eat them.  Now I don't think I ever could again.  Maybe that's because I now see that there are so many plant based alternatives that can completely satisfy human health.  I no longer believe that humans need to consume animal products for health purposes. 

Being vegan is not an easy road to take.  It's not the road I had planned on but having traveled it for two years now I wouldn't have it any other way.