“Whatever made you do that?!?!” That’s what I get asked most often by people when they discover I’m a vegan. I always find their reaction amusing, in that it’s the sort you’d expect from someone if I had just voluntarily dipped my hand into a vat of boiling oil.

Clearly, it’s a choice, not a punishment. And although it does present challenges, the dividends I feel this lifestyle pays are more than worth it. You can find a number of hand-picked vegan hampers from Yumbles here.

Here are my 8 top reasons why I love my plant-based, animal-free diet:

1. Anti-ageing

Nobody ever guesses my age right. On average, I get put at about 10 years younger. By shunning animal products, you are also saying no foods laced with artificial hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and other medication (unless you are only eating organic animal products, of course). But even then, meat and dairy is extremely tough on the digestive system. Your body finds nothing easier to digest than plants and vegetables, thus leaving loads of extra spare energy in the body for other repair and maintenance jobs which it otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to do. And a lot of anti-ageing repair work falls under this banner.

2. Weight and muscle tone

As I’ve said before, the body finds it far easier to build lean muscle mass from plants. And it’s a no-brainer that if you go animal-free, you are missing out on oodles of saturated fat. And cholesterol. And the more muscle you build, the more calories you burn, even in a sedentary state. I’ve never been in better shape. Sure, it’s likely if you adopt a vegan diet that you will shed a fair amount of weight in the initial few months, but this is simply the body adjusting to the change. Over time, it will replace what it needs to.

3. Relentless, boundless energy

Given the amount of exercise I usually do a week (15 hours of tennis, plus at least 4 sessions in the gym or the pool), people comment that I must be “on something”. I am. But it’s just plants. I’ve never had so much energy, and it’s very rare for me to say I feel tired.

4. Feeling of cleanliness

This is a hard one to explain. But after I had done a 10-day juice fast at home two years ago, I felt so cleansed that I instinctively felt that consuming animal products would undo all that good work. And that was the point at which I became vegan. At least I know that by being meat-free that I don’t have meat laying in my digestive tract for 3 days every time I eat it. And it’s a great feeling.

5. A kick-ass immune system

I’ve always been lucky with my health, but I’d say that my immune system is even better now. I don’t remember the last time I succumbed to a duvet day because of illness, and I don’t run for cover every time someone around me has a sniffle. I have learned to trust my immune system, and it rarely lets me down.

6. Animal husbandry

A sore subject, perhaps, but I know I feel better as a person knowing that none of the dietary choices I make are causing any animals suffering or pain.

7. It’s harder to eat junk

This can be tough at times, but because fast or prepared foods like sandwiches available in most places - including garages and supermarkets – aren’t vegan, I can’t just grab anything. It’s not great at the time when you’ve been caught short and your blood sugar levels are in free-fall, but I’m always glad afterwards. I just have to be that bit more organised and think ahead. A stash of my pre-soaked, dehydrated and marinated nuts are a permanent fixture in my car.

8. A cleaner kitchen

Eating a plant-based diet means no more greasy, burnt pans to soak or scrub for hours. There’s more to life than washing up!