To kick off #VegansofIGplantstrong week I’d like to start with @inesl. Here is her story: &ldq

To kick off #VegansofIGplantstrong week I’d like to start with @inesl. Here is her story: “Hello! My name is Ines. I’m a vegan from New Jersey. I’ve struggled with weight most of my life and though I’ve been skinnier, I’ve never, ever been this healthy! The picture on the left was taken January 2012 at my heaviest of 212lbs. I had stopped eating meat a year before that and was working out and practicing yoga regularly. I saw pictures from that night and while appalled, it wasn’t until the end of the summer that I decided to really make a change. It was also about that time that I made a more concerted effort to go completely vegan. I was on my way there already, but would occasionally indulge in baked goods or egg sandwiches. I stopped giving in to those cravings and in the fall, I joined a new gym and started writing out my works and preparing my meals for the week every Sunday. Unfortunately, I had no luck finding a vegan nutritionist to help me and trainers never knew what to feed me so I took to Instagram and Pinterest. A lot of reading and research later, I could see, right away, my skin, hair, depression, all improved and weight did start to come off! The picture on the right is from May 2013 at 175lbs! Now, I didn’t become vegan to lose weight, they were both goals I wanted to achieve, but not necessarily dependent of each other, just they happened to coincide (as we can see so often does, like in Forks Over Knives). After a few months of slow but steady weight loss, I really wanted to take my body to the next level and see what it could do. The past two months I’ve been training with a vegan figure competitor from Canada who is now coaching me towards my first competition this fall. That search has peaked my interest in becoming a Health Coach specializing in a plant-based lifestyle because I know that if I was struggling to find someone to help me, there are others. I want to be able to help them lead the healthiest, strongest, fittest lifestyle possible. I’m happy to share my journey if it inspires someone to make a change; especially towards going vegan!” #VegansofIG http://instagram.com/p/ZjGRb1miX4/ -- source link

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