Welcome!

Hello everybody!

Welcome to my blog! I am Nancy, a nearly-30-year-old woman, living in the Netherlands. I live together with my boyfriend Erik, and our four cats and one dog.

I am a surgeon in training, and love my job! Unfortunately it also means a quite busy and irregular lifestyle, but as they say...that's part of the job!

Why start this blog?
When I was 16 I weighed 60kg and thought that I was overweight. That's when the dieting started. I only gained weight (sounds familiar?). I even went so far as to get a lapband, but that didn't help anything and is one of the biggest regrets of my life. Today I weigh much more than when I was 16, and I am sick of it. Not literally yet, but if I continue this way I will be some day. So two weeks ago I decided I'd had enough of it. I had done my research and read the book 'skinny bitch' which promotes a vegan and toxinfree lifestyle to become slim. I have also read the blog of a vegan here in the Netherlands (http://www.thefruitpursuit.com/), which inspired me a lot. As I have been a vegetarian for years (not recent) it is not such a big change. So I decided to give it a go. As a rule I only eat products that are biological and of course vegan. So why this blog? To document my progress and hopefully to get to know a lot of other vegans that can help me with my new lifestyle.

How is my progress?
Well so far I have really liked the 'diet'. I have lost 6,5kg in two weeks! Every morning I start with a glass of water with lemonjuice to get my body started. Then I drink a green smoothie, usually with spinach and fruit. As breakfast I have fruits with nuts or grains, and my lunch usually consists of a salad or bread with tomatoes/avocado or cucumber (and no I haven't had EHEC yet...). For dinner I have tried a lot of recipes that you can find online. I make sure to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, grains and nuts. I also drink at least 1,5 liter of water per day.

What do I need to change?
My other bad habit that I still need to change is... smoking! It's so contradictory to smoke while I eat so healthy, and I also know what it does to my body. It doesn't only cause cancer, but also breaks down a lot of vitamins. So that's the next step, that I hope to take the next couple of days! I will blog that progress here as well!
Another thing that I need to change is exercise. I don't exercise nearly enough. I had so little energy the last couple of months that I only worked and slept. Thankfully I have so much more energy since I started eating so healthy!

Why blog in English while I am Dutch?
Well, there is a simple answer to this one: I want to get to know other vegan bloggers all over the world!

Will you write everyday?
I'll try to, definetly!

So that's it, my first blogpost in this world. I hope to be read, to be reacted on, and to receive a lot of tips and tricks!

Love,
Nancy