Spotlight Stories | My Plant-based Journey

Written by Remi Yasui

Growing up I’ve always teased my little sister, Bryn, for just about everything she developed an interest in. When she entered college, she adopted  a vegan lifestyle which became my newest way to bully her. Even though I live in Los Angeles, one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the country, I still could not fathom the thought of a life without eating meat. 

For about 2-3 years I would nag her at every family event for not being able to eat what everyone else was eating, or make her fry the bacon during breakfast to taunt her (yes I am THAT cruel older sister). Everything changed when she moved in with me in Los Angeles. 

The arrangement we made was free rent in return for her buying groceries and cooking for me. At the time I was not happy with how my body looked or felt, so I decided to finally open my mind and try her vegan cooking. Of course I only went into it thinking the benefits would be not having to cook for myself and possibly losing a few pounds, but little did i know it would change my life and my relationship with food forever. 

I’m not going to lie... the first couple of  weeks were not easy. It wasn’t challenging to actually enjoy the food because to my surprise all of her cooking was really good and the best part was I didn’t have to put in any of the effort to make it. More than anything it was a mental challenge. I felt like everything I was taught to believe about nutrition and eating healthy was being turned upside down. My previous diet consisted of chicken breast, ground turkey, salmon, and some broccoli or spinach. All protein, no carbs, because that’s what we were taught to eat to build muscle and lose weight, right? 

Now I was eating lots of carbs and no protein? Quinoa and sweet potatoes galore. Even vegan sources of protein such as tempeh are made of grains which is more carbs! Breakfast consisted of so many fruits. I thought fruits had too much sugar? Our meals consisted of SO MANY VEGETABLES! I used to only eat 2-3 pieces of broccoli with my meals or maybe a small side salad with iceberg lettuce. Now my body consisted of 75% kale, spinach, avocados, and more kale. 

Naturally I felt bad for eating so many carbs and thought for sure I would lose muscle and start gaining fat. Oddly enough though, quite the opposite happened. After the first week or so after my body stopped being bloated from all the fiber I wasn’t used to eating, my body completely changed. 

Even though I worked out intensely 5-6x a week, I had always felt squishy and soft in certain areas. I had muscle but it was always covered by a layer of fat that I could never work off, especially on my stomach, and had just accepted that was how my body was. But after just a month of eating a strictly vegan diet my stomach felt flatter and more toned, my legs which were always large and muscular started to lean out. Despite what I thought I wasn’t losing any muscle, but instead was losing the fat surrounding the muscle so that you could see the definition. It was the strangest thing. 

Leaning out was definitely a plus, but I have to say the biggest thing I noticed was an improvement in how I felt. By week 3-4 my energy levels were skyrocketing. I was waking up every day before my alarm and didn’t need any caffeine. I forgot what it meant to have a “food coma” after meals and to need a second cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon. I used to not even be able to run for more than 5 minutes and now I was running 3-4 miles easily. 

At the gym I was lifting the same amount of weight or heavier with and my recovery time was faster. It was then that I started to realize the way in which we were taught to eat was all wrong. Yes you need your protein, but protein can be found in vegetables, nuts, and grains, not just from animal meat. Also carbs are not the devil! You just have to eat the right ones. 

Eventually Bryn moved out after about 6 months and I needed to decide how to continue eating without my personal vegan chef. I knew that I wasn’t as skilled as she was to come up with all these crazy vegan recipes but I knew I couldn’t go back to my old way of eating. I had never felt happier with how my body felt and looked and knew I needed to maintain that. 

I began to cook more starting with simple recipes I had learned from Bryn. Eventually I started introducing eggs and some fish into my diet once in a while, but for the most part I became strictly plant-based. I make sure every meal was loaded with vegetables and nutrients from real, whole foods. I used to be so restrictive with what I ate because I was worried about gaining weight. I would only eat half of my meals, and sometimes starve myself late at night to be skinny. Now I eat more than I ever have in my life, but eat real, whole foods with lots of veggies to nourish my body. 

I never stress anymore about if I’m getting enough protein, because I know that as long as I’m eating lots of vegetables and other whole natural foods, there is so much protein and nutrients packed in them. I now look forward to cooking and finding ways to make healthy, plant-based versions of my favorite recipes. My overall relationship with food and eating is just so much healthier now and I’m so thankful to Bryn for changing my life for the better.  

I’m not saying that everyone needs to go vegan to experience some sort of health revelation like I did, but I do think that in order to find out what works best for our bodies we should be open-minded to trying new things. Whether that means trying a new way of eating or a new type of workout, it’s good to switch things up every so often and to get uncomfortable. It’s in those moments of discomfort and uncertainty that we grow and learn the most about ourselves. 

I’m still learning something new about my body and about this crazy life every single day and I love that. Growing up my dad always told me that when you stop learning, you stop living and now I finally understand. There is always something and someone to learn from, and sometimes that person can even be your younger sibling that you used to tease and bully. Life is honestly so short and we only have one life to live. So never stop learning and always try to be the best version of yourself. Knowledge is power and like Bryn always says to me, “health is wealth!”