VEGAN ANNIVERSARY- YEAR 1


1 YEAR AGO: I can’t believe a year has already come and gone since I decided to go vegan. It’s been an interesting journey thus far and I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing some of it with you. As some of you know, I went vegan cold turkey (no pun intended.) I really hadn’t done much research on it. I was more than anything led by my gut. I developed a respect for living creatures that I never had before and that amazed me because I never considered myself an animal lover.


SPIRITUALITY: Eating a plant based diet has helped me connect to my spiritual self in a way. I’m not try to get too “hippie / new-age” on ya…but it really has. Over the year I’ve started meditating and really connecting to the energy that I get from my food, environment and people around me. I’ve even been dabbling into the raw food movement on occasion.


SOY: I was never a fan of tofu, but when I first went vegan I was eating a lot of meat substitutes like vegan soy burgers, seitan, wheat meat and such…but none of it sat well with me. They looked pretty but that was about it. As I researched more about soy products in the USA and Monsanto I just started to steer clear of it all. I decided mid way through that all I wanted was fruits, veggies and grains. I didn’t want to be one of those “unhealthy vegans” who only eats highly processed foods.


DETOX: Since I did virtually no research before switching to a vegan diet I was not aware of the possible side effects of such a drastic change it might have on my body. I went vegan in January, 2011. Let’s just say that I was eating a steak on a Monday and plants ONLY on a Tuesday. It was a very drastic change. Around early March I started feeling very ill. I was in the middle of rehearsing a play I was in (“Kiss Me, Kate” @ Reprise Theatre in California) and one day I had a terrible fever. Then while in tech rehearsal things started to spin while I was on stage. I went to the doctor and they said that I was in perfect health but I knew something was “off” but I had no idea what it was. I figured it was exhaustion because I had been doing shows and rehearsals back to back. The final straw was when I fainted in the kitchen while talking to my roommate about 1 day later. She rushed me to the ER. After I visited my primary care physician, I found out that I was anemic, needed B12 and had extremely low vitamin D counts. After I got prescribed 50,000 units of vitamin D, started taking over the counter vitamin B12 and iron pills, I felt like the Christine I’ve always known and loved. Not trying to scare you, but sometimes these are things that no one talks about and then you end up feeling crazy. You already get enough weird looks when you tell your doctor that you don’t eat meat. And trust me, passing out in front of people never helps. “You need a burger!” is not cool to say to a vegan…EVER.


THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Anyway, it’s been a great year. I feel more energetic, healthy and connected to everything that I put into my body. I’m still experimenting with food all the time and adjusting to what works best for my body. I’m not perfect. Sometimes I want french fries…often. LOL It’s not about being perfect though. It’s about doing what’s best for you and your mind, body and soul. For me, that means eating a cruelty-free, plant based diet.

What does it mean to you?

Thanks for reading.

Continue to glow!
-Christine Horn