I remember the day I discovered your Instagram account. I loved all of your pictures, and of course all the The Blonde Vegan tshirts. As an actual blonde vegan, I got excited and instantly hit follow and checked out your online store. I was really happy to find your account, so cute and trendy,....until I began looking further through your pictures. Cleanses, tiny portions, detoxes, long workouts...no actual information on animal activism or eating large, healthy, filling meals. Your entire account was one long cleanse and weightloss program with trendy products for sale. Sadly I held off from supporting your brand and didn't purchase any items as I had a gut feeling you stood for something very different than veganism. I hoped I was wrong, and continued to follow your accounts.
As a few months passed, I saw something that I was pretty much expecting...your 'coming out' as an EX VEGAN. Your story of how veganism almost killed you, lead you down a path of poor health, and an eating disorder. I clicked on your story, read it, laughed a little, and then felt truly sorry for you. Not because you were sick, but because you attempted to lose weight using cleanses and diets, and blamed it on veganism, something you actually knew nothing about.
Here is the truth though. Veganism is not a diet, and one who does not show any support or activism towards animal rights, is not a vegan. Using cleanses or juicing programs to lose weight is a diet, just that A DIET...and a really unhealthy one. Not only were you harming yourself, but you were also sending a very dangerous message to your followers. When your dieting took a wrong turn and began to affect your health, you blamed it on veganism, not on the fact that you were juicing, cleansing, and eating 800 calories a day! That is not veganism. Nothing about you was vegan. In less than a year of starving yourself, you managed to publicly bash a peaceful and healthy lifestyle, one you never
followed.
I am vegan, a personal,trainer, and a certified vegan health practitioner, my son is vegan and so is my husband. A vegan 'diet' is a well rounded, healthy, and delicious way of eating, and is acceptable for ALL humans! There are millions of options, and plant foods are loaded with ALL the vitamins and nutrients you need to THRIVE. Doctors like Dr. McDougall, Dr. Garth Davis, Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Barnard, Dr. Klaper, Dr. Greger, and so many others, all agree that a vegan diet is not only healthy, but is one of the healthiest on the planet!
What you were doing was dangerous and not veganism. Your way of eating was frightening and solely based on weightloss...not helping animals, not helping the environment, and not helping your health. You had an eating disorder and probably had it way before you began your Instagram account.
When you came out with the news you were going public with your story, appearing on one news
channel after another, and then writing your book, you made the conscious decision to trash a
lifestyle you never actually followed or supported one bit. What you did was lead people to believe that going vegan is a path to an eating disorder. That the lifestyle is a strict low calorie cleanse...which is so insane and not true.
So as a healthy BALANCED vegan, I would like to educate you on what veganism is:
It is a fight for the animals! It is a lifestyle free of harm to ALL beings, including oneself! We don't starve ourselves or treat our bodies with such disrespect!
Veganism is a way of living. It is a daily practice of progress not perfection. To help guide our fellow humans towards a cruelty free life by leading as an example. Veganism is a beautiful relationship between humans, animals, and Mother Nature.
It is a way of eating that helps you THRIVE. It gives you an abundance of energy to run, lift, hike, bike, or just play! I should know as I do all of the above! It is one of the best diets for athletes...if you still aren't convinced, ask Rich Roll, Brendan Brazier, Mac Danzig, Fiona Oaks, or strongman Patrik Baboumian.
Veganism is activism.
So as you continue you journey as a meat eater, remember, you never actually gave veganism a try. Somewhere along the way, you found the word vegan, labeled yourself as one, never understanding what it means. You destroyed your own health in pursuit of being skinny and not healthy. Adding meat to your diet is not what 'saved' you. It was the addition of the much needed calories you needed,
and the end of the detox and constant cleanses you were on.
Please, next time you discover a new word, please do some much needed research before you actually label yourself. It makes all the difference.
Yours truly,
An actual blonde vegan
