Paying It Forward Is the Greatest Joy!

It's somewhat hard to believe that just four months ago I was devouring red meat, chicken, and cheese with almost every meal. After hurting my back when I was 17, my weight topped out at 225 lbs., the highest it had ever been. I decided to do whatever it took to change that, so I dieted and trained for a half marathon, losing 35 pounds in the process.

Yet as soon as I went to the University of Alabama, I was immersed in a culture where eating three burgers at a fraternity cookout was overly common and where the only restaurants people talked about were the barbecue and hamburger joints. My weight went straight back to 210 after first semester, and I knew I needed a change … but this time it had to stick. By some miracle, I happened upon Forks Over Knives. I sat down in the theater with a turkey salad, threw it out by the middle of the movie, and have been a vegan ever since.

I currently weigh a pretty lean 165 and can push myself through the most grueling of workouts, now that I've stopped poisoning my body. I'm also going to be playing division 1 rugby at Alabama, thanks to changes I've made because of this movie (and book, which I also own). I don't know that I can ever repay you for what y'all have done for my life.

But the best part of all is not improving my own life and happiness. Sharing this beautiful, soul-freeing knowledge with my friends and family and seeing what they adopt into their own lives evokes an emotion I've never felt before. Seeing my workout partners adopt the vegan lifestyle, immediately feel the benefits, and rush to thank me has almost brought me to tears at times.

So, truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for saving my life and helping change everyone else's around me.