Calling all meat lovers!!!! Can you imagine your life without that juicy burger for lunch? How about those beef tacos from Taco Tuesday? Or that chicken bowl from Chipotle? Well The Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Nicole Bourn, can tell you all about what a life is as a Vegan!
Nicole Bourn is a full-time Vegan Lifestyle Coach from Washington DC, who has just recently retired at the age of 28! (Such a BOSS). She offers Vegan Meal Plans, Coaching, and eBooks to help aide in Vegan transitioning. Her newest project, which she is so very proud of, is her Vegan Starter Kit. The Vegan Starter Kit is a 145-page masterpiece that includes a step by step how to guide, ultimate grocery list, 30 recipes, worksheet on meal planning and meal prepping, plus FAQ section to answer all your questions. (What an amazing one stop shop!!)
So you’re probably wondering what it means to be Vegan? Nicole says that being Vegan means that you do not eat or consume any animal products. It means that you not only respect your body, but the planet. You understand the amount of torture and suffering animals are enduring. You understand that it is literally destroying our planet and you understand that it is destroying your body.
Becoming Vegan for Nicole, occurred after she realized that she was 100 pounds overweight. She was always tired, never had enough energy to enjoy her daughters, and had completely loss all of her confidence. Because of all of that, she knew something had to change! After reading up on natural ways to lose weight, regain her energy, and eliminate her asthma and anemia, Nicole realized that becoming vegan was her solution! (Amazing, right?!) Nicole took the steps to being Vegan and totally just went cold turkey to reclaim her life and health!
Nicole’s daily motivation started out being about herself and family. She knew that she wanted to feel better, look better, and be better for her four daughters. Once she accomplished that, Nicole’s motivation became the countless lives that she has been able to impact, due to her own courage!! (Talk about SUPER WOMAN!) Nicole is very passionate about what she does and knows that it is her purpose, which is exactly what pushed her to keep going!
At first, Nicole’s question of being Vegan was similar to everyone else’s, “Will I get enough nutrients to survive?” Nicole stated that this is huge misconception amongst herself and others, but she was able to dismantle this misconception with studying about the Vegan lifestyle. Nicole found out that needing animal protein and cow’s milk for calcium is FALSE. (Yep! You guessed it!) She found that there was no need for those things, as there are so many plant based sources that you wouldn’t believe. As Nicole stated, “The deprogramming will change lives!”
Nicole did not struggle transitioning to the Vegan lifestyle, in fact, for her it was not hard at all!! At the point of her life where Nicole was, she had already made up in her mind that her life had to change in EVERY way. Nicole stated that she did experience difficult days and cravings, but that didn’t stop her!! Since Nicole already had her mind made up knew what she wanted, she pushed through!! (YOU GO GIRL!!)
However, not everyone was in favor of Nicole becoming a Vegan. (Hater Alert!) Nicole faced being made fun of and having no support, but she still pushed through!! (Only the strong survives!!!) Nicole told us that she learned things along the way and educated herself to renew her mind.
For Nicole, being Vegan has had the most beneficial changes for her life and health. She has been able to literally give up asthma medication, that she has been taking since she was 10 years old! Nicole also suffered from chronic asthma, but since becoming Vegan she hasn’t had an asthma attack or any whizzing in over a year. (Number don’t lie ya’ll) Nicole was totally amazed by this benefit and realized that all along, the power to heal was within herself.
Nicole told us that she wished she was raised Vegan and that she had raised her children in a Vegan Lifestyle. As she reflects on how much her life has changed physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually; she just wonders what life would have been like had she made the changes sooner.
Nicole states that she enjoys the adventure and learning opportunities of the Vegan lifestyle. There are things that she never knew and never thought to study, which she is now learning and studying about. On top of that, Nicole says that going to vegan restaurants and trying new foods has been so exciting for her. For Nicole, there’s nothing that she doesn’t enjoy, outside of seeing people’s faces when you tell them you don’t eat meat!
So we had to get down to good stuff!! Boss Up Magazine asked Nicole about her favorite vegan meals and snacks. Nicole stated that hands down, her favorite vegan meal is a bomb Vegan Chilil!! This Chili is in fact so good, it will make you smack everyone in your family! (That chili must be bomb!!) Nicole’s favorite Vegan snack is a ripe avocado sliced in half, add a little Himalayan salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper, scoop and enjoy; very simple and delicious. When we asked Nicole about recommendations for those transitioning to a Vegan lifestyle, she stated:
“I don’t recommend any meal in particular because I want people to understand that they don’t have to eat what they don’t like. I always recommend taking meals you already love and “veganizing” them. Meaning if you love pizza, make vegan pizza. If you love spaghetti make vegan spaghetti. If you love lasagna make vegan lasagna. This always makes people feel happy and safe.”
We asked Nicole about tips and/or suggestions she would you give to anyone interested in becoming Vegan?
Nicole says:
- Decide: Do I want to become Vegan? This is a serious question. I think some people just want to be healthier, which these same steps can propel you into healthy living. However, maybe you don’t want to necessarily give up everything. Maybe you want to be vegetarian or pescatarian.
There’s nothing wrong with a plant-based diet or mostly plant-based diet.
- Know your Why?: You might be saying Nicole, how is that important! Well it’s important because the only way to stay motivated and committed is to have a strong reason to. When those cravings start calling your name, your why will pull you off of the edge.
My Why? – I began my journey because I was tired. I was mentally, emotionally and physically tired. I didn’t like the fact that I has gained almost 100lbs. I was experiencing a lot of fatigue, body pains and asthma attacks. I felt like I was no good to my children because I didn’t have the energy to give them anymore. I wanted to live long and healthy for them and teach them better habits. So, I decided to change.
- Educate yourself: Being on this blog today is the first step and of course following me but do some research. The more informed you are the better. This helps to reshape your thinking, shows you what to eat and what to avoid. Tells you exactly why you should avoid certain foods and why you should increase the healthier options. There’s so much to learn that I don’t think you could possibly learn it all and that’s so exciting to me. Education will help you to deprogram and make the decision to live healthy.
- Grab a mentor, I know you all want to be mentored by me (no cockiness). I am working on a full group for November 2017 that will allow you to come into a space where I will teach, provide recipes, provide guidance, support and accountability. Stay tune! If you know someone who is Vegan ask them to be your accountability partner.
To keep up with Nicole and learn more about Veganism, follow her on:
Instagram at: @thesuccessmom
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/nicole.bourn
So remember, Veganism is not a diet…..it is a lifestyle!!!
Until next time….
“Boss Up and Be Blessed”
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