Dear Balanced Blonde

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

Vegan No More...

Don't worry, this is not some sort of crazy meat eating confession. Just some thoughts on the recent vegans gone meat-crazy! I have been following many vegan and raw vegan blogs for the past 2 years, many I enjoyed and read for inspiration. Lately these so called vegan bloggers are dropping like flies! It is quite sad but really I am not shocked! I will tell you why, but first lets go over the blogs!

Young & Raw went back to meat last year. The reason...well, she found health, used a vegan diet to feel her best, and decided not to stick with it. Makes sense right?!?!? Still, their website sells juice fasts, detox programs, all plant based. What I just don't understand is why on earth you would go backwards! If you feel great, sell plant based diets to all your followers, why not be the example? If your detox programs work for long term health, why are you not following them?

Rawlosophy went back to eating fish and other animal products...from my take it was because she just wanted too. She didn't want to restrict herself and she wanted to be a 'normal' person, lol! Her explanation was all about 'dogma', religion' and all sorts of other vegan hate.

Raw Food Rehab...well, apparently the high fat raw food diet has failed again! We all know this! We all speak about it on a regular basis! Those who follow a high fat raw diet always go back to eating animals as they don't thrive on the lifestyle and just fall off the wagon.

Carrie On Vegan. Another sad story. She actually created the app called VeganDelsh, and she had a strong presence on social media, but her 'vegan' diet seemed high fat, and she consumed a lot of oils. Many of us recommended she try to seek help from Dr. McDougall or Doug Graham before turning to meat, but she had already made up her mind!

The Blonde Vegan, the latest to leave the plant world and probably the weirdest one. She came on the scene about a year ago, her Instagram account got thousands of followers almost overnight. She really is or was a newbie on the vegan scene. She quickly took her huge following as a sign to cash in, making the TBV clothing line as well as monthly 'cleanse' programs. Well...here we are, less then a year later we find out she has an eating disorder, and a spot on GMA selling her story! The most unfortunate part is she could have gone to many of the well known vegan doctors and asked for guidance. Veganism does not promote eating disorders, and she could have still maintained her plant based diet while receiving some psychological help.

The reason why I am not shocked is because of a few things:
~A high fat vegan diet is designed to FAIL.
~Detox programs and cleanses will cause you to under eat, fell famished, and ultimately go back to animal products.
~Snake oil salesmen or 'online stores' can be a red flag. Many bloggers genuinely want to help others, but many also want to make money selling supplements, powders, and other 'super foods'! Social media is an incredible tool to reach millions of people from your living room. The down side of social media is that is it also a stepping stone for those looking for fame and attention!
~Most are not willing to try a vegan diet different than the one which failed them. They are very quick to turn to animal products. There are SO many vegan doctors and resources out there!! Why not try them all!?!?

How to know a vegan business is REALLY vegan?
~Try to follow them on their personal and business page if you can, it will give you an insight into their real lives
~Ask about their stance on animal rights and the vegan lifestyle
~Ask for vegan clothing/product recommendations
~Ask if they are just plant based or vegan
~If they adding honey to their recipes...they are not vegan. simple.

The good that came out of all this is that those who are proud to be vegan and work very hard promoting and building the lifestyle are still shining bright! Those who used the vegan label as a business opportunity quickly found it is not that simple. The lifestyle requires dedication to health, the planet, and the animals! All three work amazing well together! These situations also build a tighter bond in the vegan community! We know how incredible the lifestyle is, and we will work hard to keep the movement growing!

Here are some awesome vegan pages to follow:
~Sexy Raw Food & Fitness
~The Vegan Effect
~Freelee The Banana Girl
~Durian Rider
~Dr. McDougall
~Bananiac
~Happy Healthy Vegan