Congratulations on the impending nups!

I think different people need different things. If you felt that you weren't thriving being vegan, it's probably because you were still eating the wrong things, or not eating enough of the right things. Some of the most unhealthy people I know are vegan...a good friend of mine lives on chips and some strange kind of fake vanilla cupcakes, and she's vegan ;)

If you get enough greens (lots of calcium!) and enough fruits and veggies (minerals, protein, calcium!) and throw in some nuts, seeds, and maybe some rice and beans (protein and lots of other good things!) then you're going to be feeling pretty good. You were a good weight, but didn't feel good, as a vegan, and then you felt better, but were at a weight you didn't like, as an animal by-products eater. You need to find a middle ground that works for you...and it's not easy! I refine the way I eat all of the time, every day. I don't think we ever stop doing that, at least those of us that are self-aware don't. The better you eat, the more you're aware of how every single thing you put into your mouth affects you, and that's a great feeling, I think, and a great gift - to be so in tune with yourself that way. But it takes time to get there.

Hiya Jem!

oooo a wedding! congrats!

Vegan diets are very difficult to manage correctly. Most of the unhealthiest, palest people I know are vegan. Geez.

the biggest mistake most make is eating too many fruits and raw foods right away, before their digestive system is strong enough to handle them.

do you happen to know your blood type? I'm a Type O and so do very well on meats and fish, as long as I don't mix them with starches. When I do vegan as a kind of fast, what I do is drink rice milk and eat lots of hot, whole-grain cereals that don't have any wheat in them. It's amazing how much energy you get from a bowl of quinoa and oats.

If you're the type of person who gets cold easily, then raw foods are not for you.

I dropped at least one pants size within 10 days simply by eating a diet of no-junk, no-fruit except for green apples, mostly hot cereal mixes from my health food store (Lundburghs' Almond Brown Rice is very tasty!), veggies (used frozen veggie mixes to save prep time), the Master-Cleanse lemonade drink, and two liver/gallbladder flushes.

Sorry if I'm repeating myself - I know I've answered some of your other posts. :)