In case you aren’t familiar with her story, my mom lost a significant amount of weight a couple years ago. I’m so proud and happy to say that she has successfully kept it off, and is feeling great. And she’s radiant, too! Just check out the video to see for yourself how youthful, beautiful, and energetic she looks.

My mom credits a lot of her success in weight loss to transitioning away from animal products. It took her some time, but over the past couple years, she’s found substitutes for the things she just can’t live without. Now, instead of dairy yogurt, she has coconut yogurt every night. Yum!

I’ll let my mom fill you in on more of the details of her lifestyle transition in the video, but it’s important to point out that both “lifestyle” and “transition” reveal really important parts of her journey.

Before losing (and keeping off) that weight a couple years ago, my mom had tried a ton of diets. And, while she had been thin before, she was never really healthy the way she is now. That’s because she always saw the way she was eating as a temporary diet. Now, she’s made a genuine lifestyle shift, and that’s why she’s been so successful in keeping off the weight she lost.
For me, going vegan was an overnight thing. For my mom, though, it was a gradual transition. And that’s completely okay! There’s no wrong way to go about it, so accept wherever you are on the journey and simply strive to do better each day. Be patient with yourself, and with friends and family who may be at earlier steps along the path. For example, I’ve been vegan for over four years, and my family is just joining me now.

Let’s talk about what my mom eats these days! She’s gluten-free (but remember, not everything gluten-free is healthful, as we explain in the video). For breakfast, she loves oatmeal with fruit and fresh juice. For lunch, she often has a salad with lots of veggies, white rice, and beans. For dinner, she often has another salad, maybe with tortillas, nopales, and mushrooms, for example.

And, of course, she still enjoys her coconut yogurt with a banana every night!

My mom’s goal is to reach her 80s or 90s in fantastic health and feeling strong, vibrant, and full of energy. Thanks to her relatively newfound vegan lifestyle, she’s firmly on the path toward doing exactly that!
Remember that all your food choices impact you not only now, but in the future too. Committing to a healthy lifestyle helps steer you toward a healthy future! But with that said, it’s never too late to start. The amount of difference my mom has seen in just a couple years is amazing, and I can’t wait to give you more updates throughout her journey!

Love you!

Yovana