I’ve briefly mentioned this on the blog before but I feel that this topic is worth further discussion.

For more than 5 years I’ve suffered from chronic stomach pain. I’ve gone to 2 primary care physicians, seen multiple GI specialists, had food allergy testing, gone through more ‘oscopies than I care to remember, and yet nothing of concern was ever found.  I was prescribed a long list of medications for everything from stress to digestive issues and still, nothing helped. To be honest, the side-effects of most of the medications inconvenienced me more than the chronic pain. I’ve had a lot of doctors give me a lot of maybes, like “it may be IBS” or “you may have a dairy sensitivity that didn’t show on the allergy test”, but nothing could ever be put on paper.

I had a hard time discussing the depth of it and tried my best to just “live with it”. I felt abnormal, I felt uncomfortable and I felt frustrated.

Determined to find a solution I decided to make changes to my diet and try to solve once and for all the problems I was having.

I eliminated dairy about 5 years ago at the onset of the problem. One of the first specialists I saw said that my symptoms sounded a lot like lactose-intolerance. While it helped, it definitely wasn’t the main cause.

Slowly, I phased out red meat, then chicken and I was eating turkey at a minimum. I still ate eggs frequently. I was training for a marathon I was sure that I needed the protein to power my workouts.

With every minor change I saw a gradual improvement and my stomach problems became less of a focus in my day-to-day life.

Then I had one of the worse episodes I’ve ever had. I had gone out to breakfast with the family and ordered an omelet. I came home and assumed the fetal position on the floor of my house. I felt absolutely awful. That’s the day I decided to try a full vegan plant-based diet.

I bought a couple books on veganism and read everything could find about balancing a plant-based diet with an active lifestyle. I started reading Happy Herbivore for inspiration in the kitchen and No Meat Athlete for reassurance that I could properly fuel my body while continuing my journey with endurance sports.

We joined Annie’s Organic buying club and I made a commitment to myself to cook more and trying new things. I found the joy in preparing meals and realized, despite years of believing it, I actually don’t suck at cooking.

A lot of people ask me if I get bored with the foods I eat. The answer is certainly not! I’ve found my meals are more colorful and flavorful than ever before. Without the fear of feeling bad from it, I’ve actually started to enjoy food again.

One of my biggest concerns was the effect it would have on my training. I was concerned that I wouldn’t have the energy to put the miles into marathon training that I wanted to. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Since transitioning to a vegan diet I have set a PR in every distance, found that I have more energy than ever before, and ran my first 50k without a moment of GI trouble.

The best part about it, by far, has been the way I feel. After years and years of doctors and drugs without any relief I decided to take control of my health with a natural approach, and it worked. I still have bad days, but rarely ever.  It’s hands down been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

While adopting a vegan diet was the best decision for me, it was an incredibly personal decision.  I certainly don’t feel that vegan diet is right for everyone.  I am not a RD or nutritionist and cannot speak to the health benefits for everyone, this is my experience.

That being said, I am always happy to answer any questions about my experiences.