I have been Vegan for about 5 years now. The running joke was that I was the world's only fat vegan. It was a reaity that was funny only to them, not so much for me.
Stress and drama can do a lot to a person and if the worst thing that came from all of that was that I was overweight then I think I was ahead in the game. Besides, I might be over weight, but my bloodwork and BP were FAR better than that of the rest of those that were laughing and I didnt have any of the health problems that plague my family starting at about 40 years old. So who was really laughing...?
Last July my DH and I ended the longest and by far the worst period of our lives. I have referred to this time as our Guilligan's Ilsand cruse quite often. It should have been a 6-18 month period but ended up taking 9 years to find our finish. The good news is that we came out of it stronger as a couple and as a family. The bad news is that our physical health took a real beating.
During the 4 month transition, one of the things that I had to let go of was my Vegan diet and it was in the worst way possible way. We, for the most part, had to adopt a dining out/fast food way of life We were eating out for almost every meal from mid July through mid October. I actually crossed over a couple of times and ate meat (gasp!) but for the most part it was more of a 'French Fry' Vegetarian diet. November and December were spent getting back on more of a healthy Vegetarian diet and for the last 5 days I have been once again eating a healthy Vegan diet with the family along for the ride.
The transition has been less than smooth. I have stumbled over all of the same hurdles as the first time I made this change (cheese being the worst of all). But the lighter, cleaner and yes sharper feeling that comes with a Vegan diet makes it all worth it.