Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my vegan and weight-loss blog. These are the chronicles of a 20-year-old female embarking on two new lifestyles and smashing them together. I hope you will stay with me throughout this time and share your own experiences, too.

Today is Day 1 of going vegan and starting a more healthful way of life. Each day I will post what I've eaten, as well as what sort of exercise I've done and for how long. I will also be sharing recipes and noting the bumps I encounter in the road. Every week, on a Friday, I will do a weigh-in and share my results. Realistically I hope to lose about .5-1kg per week.

I would like to state clearly that my veganism* has nothing to do with my wanting to lose weight. It is not a diet, it's a lifestyle I am choosing to embark on for ethical reasons. I have been vegetarian for 7 years and becoming vegan (again) feels like a natural progression. I say 'again' because I have tried about 3 or 4 times in the past to go vegan, some more seriously than others, but for various reasons went back to being vegetarian. I am determined to make it work this time around, and I believe I have a much stronger conviction and stronger self-discipline to succeed.

I am not working to lose weight for a specific event or to fit into any old clothes, I just want to feel healthier and live a healthful existence as much as I can. I would like to be able to run around with my niece and nephews without feeling as though I might keel over, and I want to feel good about how I look. I don't feel terrible about it now and it's not something that constantly haunts me, but I know I would feel a bit more confident and good about myself if I can look in the mirror wearing whatever I want and feel awesome about what I see.

My goal to begin with is to lose 10kg and then see how I feel once I get there. I don't know how much more, if any, I'll want to lose after that point. I'm going more for how I feel in clothing and what size I would like to be as opposed to weight. I am from New Zealand and I would like to be an NZ size 10-12 (I think. I might change my mind and want to be 12-14, but I doubt any smaller than 10 because bones don't appeal to me so much).

Ok, I think I've nattered enough for now, and covered the basics, so I will see you when I post my first weigh-in later!

*Vegan lifestyles are "ways of living that seek to exclude, as far as is possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of animals for food, clothing or any other purpose." From http://vegansociety.com.