I want to share with you an amazing story of bravery and self-love! Way to go Kirsten for overcoming toxic criticism and challenging times and coming out of it a better person!

Kirsten’s story:

My story began by being left by my (now ex) husband who claimed that my weight-gain was now too much for him to deal with, and that he wanted a divorce. Fast forward over two years later, a complete life-style change, and almost 60lbs of weight-loss, and I could not be happier with how my life turned out. Having my life totally flipped upside down, being left in a state 7+ hours away from all of my family and friends, I was forced with several difficult decisions. I needed a change, badly, and fast!

My transformation started out like most others, your generic diets over the years, going through ups and downs, and ultimately never succeeding; but after years of criticism from a toxic partner (that was now out of the picture) I finally decided to make the RIGHT change…to do it for MYSELF. I had stumbled upon the vegan lifestyle in the past, and always thought to myself “that could never be me”, but when I finally stopped making excuses, I returned to the idea of cutting out animal products to become healthier and fitter. My heaviest weight overall was just peaking 200lbs, I did manage to drop down to about 185lbs on my own with minimal and infrequent exercising, and let’s be real, also fasting and starving myself at some points.

I started my vegan journey back in May of 2016 starting at right about 185lbs. Since then, I have proudly dropped down to well below my high school weight at a shocking 140lbs and a size 4 jeans (mind you, my wedding dress was a size 14).

 
In the beginning, I did not do much in the way of exercising and yet I still dropped pounds left and right just from eating a simple, clean, whole, plant-based foods. Gradually, I introduced the gym, cardio training, and weight training to my routine and saw an incredible impact on the way my body was toning up and slimming down. Switching to a vegan lifestyle has completely changed who I am as a person. I can now proudly say I have surpassed the original goals I had set for myself, I practice self-love and put my wellbeing first, and have even had the opportunity to race and complete a Spartan OCR Race, which would not have been possible without the improvements from my vegan lifestyle. Every day I wake up more thankful than the last that I switched and made this change for myself and for the good of the planet.

Switching to a vegan lifestyle has completely changed who I am as a person. I can now proudly say I have surpassed the original goals I had set for myself, I practice self-love and put my wellbeing first.

 
I have even had the opportunity to race and complete a Spartan OCR Race, which would not have been possible without the improvements from my vegan lifestyle. Every day I wake up more thankful than the last that I switched and made this change for myself and for the good of the planet.

To follow Kirsten’s plant-based journey check out her Instagram: @happyveggiekay