My Story

My name is Mike and I’m vegan.

I must admit that even a year ago, the words ‘vegan’ or ‘vegetarian’ or ‘gluten-free’ or ‘nutrition’ were so foreign to me.  They were words that I didn’t understand, didn’t want to understand and couldn’t understand … mostly because I was brainwashed and addicted to eating processed foods and more so, because I was too lazy to become ‘aware’ of what was healthy versus what was detrimental to my health.  I was too scared to venture out of my eating routine that I was paralyzed by change.

I’ve been playing sports and exercising since I was in high school.  Hockey, tennis, snowboarding were some of my biggest interests and weight training and core/stability exercises became an obsession.

I looked physically fit, but mentally and physiologically, I was not.

Click here to learn more

Being physically fit doesn’t mean you’re healthy. I was the perfect body weight for my height. I had less than 6% body fat. I was lifting heavier weights then some athletes and a lot more weight than people in my size group. I was physically at the top of my game. I was physically fit. HOWEVER, I was not mentally or physiologically fit whatsoever. I may have looked healthy, but I was slowly eating and drinking my way to an unhealthy future.

I ate fast food at least 4 to 5 times a week (McDonald’s and Panago were my favourite), loved sugar and chocolate and even had a severe anti-vegetable mindset.  I never touched salads and didn’t finish vegetables on my plate.  To me, they were bland, mushy, dirty and hard to look at.  I convinced myself that they were unhealthy for me, and so I continued eating just protein, carbohydrates and the occasional fruit for many years.

In 2012, I went through several health complications and became sick often.  I felt lethargic and depressed all the time.  I couldn’t sleep and fell into a routine of popping caffeine in the morning to wake-up and taking afternoon naps because I couldn’t keep my eyes open during the day.

In addition, I found out that I have a long family history of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Part of it is genetic … but I also found out that much of it had to do with our diet.

I knew something had to change so I started out by watching several food documentaries including: Hungry for Change, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead & Forks over Knives.

There were life-changing.

Click here to learn more

I’ve had 3 life changing moments. The first was when I bucked the family tradition of going through medicine to start my own business. The second was when I learned about positive cash flow and investing (which was when I started another business for JV property investments). The third life changing moment was when I decided to be AWARE of the food that I consume and to follow a clean eating diet.

I finally took action and turned vegan.

I educated myself about nutrition, diet and health.  I watched more food documentaries and films and I learned more about how many health issues are directly linked to what we eat.  In many cases, ‘we are what we eat’ … and that is true!

The act of eating and drinking take 2 conscious decisions.  The first decision is what foods to buy.  The second decision is to physically feed ourselves with that food.  These are 2 very conscious decisions that we need to make every time we nourish yourself.  Unfortunately, most people have left these decisions to marketers and big companies to determine what goes in our body.  To me, that is just pure laziness.  Since turning vegan, I consciously make the effort to buy healthy raw products and to consciously prepare these nutritional foods in a healthy manner.

The words ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ and ‘gluten-free’ are no longer scary words.  I’ve completely embraced the lifestyle and the commitment required to be vegan.  There are many myths about these diets and nutrition in general and I’ve come to realize that you need to do your own research and self-educate.  It’s still a learning process but I feel that I have the building blocks to improve even more.

I woke up one morning and told myself … wow … I’m actually a vegan.

Click here to learn more

The word ‘vegan’ has such a negative connotation because of so much misinformation and myths surrounding this type of lifestyle. I know first hand, because I was one of those people who thought all vegans were unhealthy, skinny, and dying a slow death. On the contrary, vegans are healthy and happy and do their part in saving the planet.

I was determined to transform my life overnight … and I’m happy to say that I’ve never looked back.  I feel healthier both physically and mentally and I want to inspire other people to educate themselves on the most important thing in life: our health.

I’m AWARE now.

Click here to learn more

For me, being AWARE doesn’t just mean knowing the facts or educating myself. Being AWARE means TAKING RESPONSIBILITY and TAKING ACTION on things that I’ve learned. This holds true in every facet of my life.