I kind of went whole food plant based on a whim. When I started, I had no idea that there were so many benefits of a plant based diet. I was sick of feeling sick and tired and I’d tried every other ‘healthy diet, cleanse and supplement’ under the sun with no success – a plant-based diet was literally the last thing left.

I wasn’t expecting much, but within a few months my health drastically changed for the better but I also noticed some particularly unexpected, weird but delightful side benefits. Some of these less-talked about benefits might be a good enough reason for you to make the switch to plants too! I know if I knew them (especially reasons number 2 and 6) I would have started eating plants way earlier!

#1 – My friends and family Joined me

Me and my vegan sisters celebrating my bday last year with some plant-based goodies . Autumn on the Left, Summer on the right

One of the coolest things about going plant-based was that a lot of my friends and family members followed suit. Which was cool, because it meant that like me they started to experience all of the benefits of a plant based diet too.

My dad, went plant-based 3 months after me. Thanks to eating this way he has kept a healthy body weight (this is saying a lot because he use to be 80 lbs heavier), has amazing heart health and has kept his type 2 diabetes in remission. He’s healthier at 60 than he was at 50. 

My youngest sister, Autumn, went plant-based and gluten-free when she moved in with me, and like me, before making the changes her health was complete shit. She now has a thriving immune system and no more IBS problems. 

My running friend joined a marathon with me, swapped to eating a more ‘plant-based diet’ and dropped a ton of weight and kept it off. 

My Aussie friend went from being a 10 year-long vegetarian to a whole food plant-based vegan and her chronic UTI’s finally disappeared.

My crazy fit sister, Summer, went vegan and while her health was already pretty top notch, I was beyond ecstatic because she is great at sharing her opinion and has a large instagram audience so I know she will inevitably inspire more people to go plant-based so they to can experience the benefits of a plant based diet, save the planet and the animals. Check her out @summerfunfitness_

I’m not saying that you can influence everyone in your life to go plant based but you might inspire someone in your life who is struggling to reap the benefits of a plant based diet too!

#2- You Take Seriously Huge Healthy Poops

classic bristol stool chart that shows you what your poop means

Like this is honestly one of my favourite side effects of going vegan. And it was nice that so many of my friends and family have gone plant based because I have someone to talk about big poops with too. It’s kind of a hot topic for us.  Having dealt with constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating most of my life, I would have done anything for consistent good poops. Like seriously anything. So you can’t even begin to understand how excited I was when I was popping regularly and they were big well formed poops – the perfect kind of poop on the bristol stool chart (#3 and #4). No more skinny pencil poops or deer like droppings, smooth flowing big poops are my life now! They are actually so big, like I know i’m not the only one looking at my poop, like so big I want to post them on that gross ratemypoop website (does it still exist?) but I don’t because well, it’s gross. Instead I’ll just verbally tell you about them.

But seriously good poops are the key to feeling healthy and energetic. They are key indicator of your health too! What does your poop look like on the bristol stool chart?!

#3 – I Can Run way better

I use to be so unfit and unmotivated that back in highschool I took gym by correspondence. I remained tired, sluggish and barely exercised at all until I was in my twenties and found a plant based diet.  Since eating plants I have become an on-again, off-again runner. I notice that whenever I quit running and start again it is a lot easier and I can run for way longer with ease. This is super helpful for when I sign up for half marathons and have to pick up on training after taking 6 month sabbatical from running.  Before, I would struggle just hiking up a small hill.  The plant-based lifestyle makes you run better and recover better – so if you’re thinking of running your first race now might be the perfect time to begin your plant-based journey! If you’re interested in learning way more on how this lifestyle affects athletes watch The Game Changers, it’s a super intriguing documentary! 

#4- I learned how to cook- and Actually Started to like it

I liked art, I liked socializing and I liked eating….but I hated cooking. It was time consuming, required groceries, and I didn’t know how to make anything except for stirfry. When I started eating more plant-based cooking became fun. I started to look up new recipe ideas and would meet up with my one vegan friend to cook together. Then I started doing it on my own and after a while I learned how to intuitively mix things together to make something delicious!  There was just something nice about cooking with all the pretty colors and not having to worry about cross contamination from raw meat – ewww. Plus I learned how to make smoothie bowls pretty early on and they became my go to when I was in a pinch or feeling uninspired to cook. I definitely suggest to start eating more plants by learning how to make smoothie bowls which is why I put together the complete guide which you can get for free here!! 

#5 – I started to like animals

Tofu, the tiniest coolest cat I know.

Okay I know this sounds shitty of me. I didn’t hate animals, but I didn’t love them like lots of people do. I was sort of indifferent. I guess to me animals are meant to do their own thing out there in nature and we do our own thing here. I didn’t go vegan for the animals, I did it for my health, but the more I learned about animal agriculture the more I realized how morally corrupt it is. And with my desire to not eat animals, my desire to love animals more grew. I eventually realized that there isn’t even a need to kill spiders so now I save those too :). I also made friends with the coolest cat ever too – her name is Tofu and she is a crazy cat with the best personality, before Tofu I didn’t even realize that cats had such different personalities- probably because I never paid attention. Basically what i’m saying is you don’t have to love animals to go vegan but you might just end up loving them after you do!

# 6 – My Body Started to Heal Itself

I wanted to be more healthy, but I didn’t actually know that a plant-based diet would entirely change my life for the better. I’m not sure if I wasn’t looking in the right place or there just wasn’t as much information on the health benefits four years ago. I did it because my vegan friend was super glowy and healthy looking and I was fed up with the paleo and anti-candida diet, and a general balanced diet didn’t make me feel good either. I thought I’d feel better but I didn’t realize I’d feel good beyond belief. Everything that was effed up about my body started to heal and I finally realized what it was like to not be fatigued, deal with IBS or have chronic yeast infections and raging hormones…..I felt better than I ever knew was possible- you can read that whole story in detail here !

And if your health is as crappy as mine you might wanna check out this free guide I made where I outlined all the steps I took to heal my IBS , candida overgrowth, fatigue and all the icky stuff that comes with it. 

Maybe these surprising plant based benefits will become part of your story too? I mean, I know whether or not you’ll admit it we all want good poops, so what’s there to lose? Perhaps, you’ll change your health, inspire your friends and family,  fall in love with animals, run your first marathon or fall in love with cooking. The best place to start is by making yourself a plant-based meal! I always recommend starting with a smoothie bowl cause they are easy and they helped me out when I knew how to cook nothing – you can actually grab my complete free guide to making them here! !

Keep me updated, I want to know all the benefits of a plant based diet that happen to you!!!!!