When I was 19, I considered myself “healthy” and believed I did not need to change my diet. Even my doctor said other than being overweight, I was generally healthy. We were both wrong.

These pictures are 1 year and 5 months apart. The first five months I counted calories and hit the gym everyday, upset that I was not seeing results. I worried everyday about gaining what little weight I had lost.

All this changed by adopting a whole food, plant based diet. I simply began to give my body the nutrition it so badly needed and stopped restricting food intake. I ate until I got full, not when I reached my “calorie limit”. My binge eating episodes slowly disappeared, my asthma no longer bothered me (I even began to run), my allergies became less and less noticeable to the point where I stopped taking allergy medication, my acne cleared up, and my digestion became more frequent ( I always had a constipation issue). By eliminating the unnecessary calories and inflammatory foods (meat, dairy, eggs, processed foods), I was giving my body the proper fuel to heal itself.

Opening my eyes and mouth to the world of fruits, vegetables, legumes, tubers, whole grains, and nuts/seeds was the best decision I have ever made. I have more energy and feel better than I have my whole life! I am not alone on this journey, people all around the country and the world are taking their health into their own hands. There was a time when I would see posts like this and say, “I wish I could do that” and I am here to say you can, and you do not have to struggle with hunger or fear of gaining the weight back. I told myself I was not going to post comparison pictures until I got the body I wanted, but after stumbling upon these I could not resist sharing.

Now, freshly 21, I am not where I want to be and still have stubborn fat in places, but I am closer than ever before, and will never go back. I would like to thank Dr. John Mcdougall, Forks Over Knives, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Rip Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Milton Mills, and Dr. Michael Klaper for all the research, information, recipes, and videos. Staying informed was crucial in my commitment to this lifestyle/diet!