Ex-Vegan (9 months): I Was Completely Brainwashed

Watch on YouTube · 2021-02-05 · 17 min

[video] 0:00 My name is Megan Draving, and I'm 19 years old now. I live in San Antonio, Texas, and I went vegan when I was 17 years old in September of 2018, and it was after watching a Netflix documentary. I watched a couple of them, but it was What the Health that really got me. So I was, at that point in my life, I was on a journey to find the best way to eat. That was a question I was researching, how to achieve optimal human health. So I found veganism. I saw What the Health on Netflix and I watched it. And I remember I watched half of it. And at that point, I made the decision, I'm not going to eat meat anymore. Meat is unhealthy. It causes heart disease, cancer. All of that was what I was thinking in my head. So I had meal prepped the entire week, all my lunches and stuff for school because I was a sophomore in high school at the time or junior. Junior, probably. So

[video] 0:56 And it was crazy because I threw away all the stuff I had made. I made, like, salmon, chicken, and all that because I was like, oh, I can't eat that. And then whenever I finished the rest of the documentary, it was, like, cold turkey overnight. I was 100% vegan. I went to the store. I bought all the stuff, beans, rice, all of it. And it's interesting because I followed a very strict, like, whole food, plant-based diet. So there was rarely any processed foods. I think like once a week I would eat these vegan pizzas or maybe a vegan ice cream. But most of it was really whole foods, plant based. And I thought I thought it was healthy. So I continue to do more research. I would watch certain YouTubers like Maddie, Maddie Limberner, Limberner. She was one that I watched a lot. And then Caitlin Shoemaker. So it's so interesting to see them now. And Maddie's not even vegan anymore. So I would watch them. I would study them and I would get recipe ideas and meal ideas and And at first it was going good.

[video] 1:51 But the weird thing was, is I never felt anything different than I had on the standard American diet, which I thought was weird because that's what I was looking for. I heard all these vegan YouTubers and influencers say that you would feel so different. You would feel amazing and on fire when you went vegan. And I never experienced that. I don't really know why. I know now I understand that what happens is you're eating your body. And a lot of people who go vegan have eating issues. I never did. I mean, before then I would eat a lot of meat, a lot of heavy animal products. So I'm guessing that my body was just feasting on that. I don't know. I didn't lose insane amount of weight or anything, but I never felt right. So my typical breakfast would be I would do a whole cup of oatmeal. I would do like almond milk in it with water, cacao powder, all that stuff, because I thought it was all healthy and good. And I would eat that at, like, let's say 6 in the morning. And then by 9 or 10, I was starving again.

[video] 2:49 So I would bring those Larabaras, which is pretty much just sugar. It's dates and, like, I think peanuts or something in one flavor that I would bring. And I remember I would eat that, like, 9 or 10 a.m. at school. And I'd be starving. And then lunch would come. And I'd be starving again. And then snack, dinner. And I was just eating such high volumes of food. So... During the process when I was vegan, I didn't really notice the degeneration that was going on until now that I look back. I was looking back at the pictures recently when I was vegan and I realized how bad it was. What finally got me towards the end was I wasn't experiencing any health benefits. I was tired all the time. I didn't feel an increase in energy. And I was spending so much time in the kitchen. I was spending probably half of my day in the kitchen making meals and all that. And it just felt like a waste of time. And my brother, he was eating keto. He was eating really high animal fat diet. And his skin was like glowing and radiant.

[video] 3:47 His eyes were bright and he had such high energy. And then here I was supposedly eating the optimal human diet, healthy diet. And I looked tired. I had like zero energy. And then I slowly started to break out on my face, which had never happened to me before. So that's what inspired me to start questioning diet. And it's funny because during the time I was vegan, I came across one of your videos. And I remember I thought you were so crazy. I was like, what is this guy talking about? How are vegetables not healthy? Of course, I was brainwashed at the time. But watching you really helped me because even when I was vegan, I would still watch you. And I remember I always thought it was so funny. It was that one video you brought the animal head to the vegan festival. And there was some news article about it. And I thought it was so funny because people were so triggered by it. Yeah. In essence, I never went vegan for the animals or for the environment. It really was for health. And I remember thinking that if I figure out that this isn't the best way to eat, then I'll stop it.

[video] 4:47 But I had really bad digestion. I mean, I was on the toilet, I'm not even kidding, three times a day after every single meal. So I wasn't, and now I realize I wasn't digesting anything. And what I thought at the time is, well, that's healthy. That's healthy. The more fiber you eat, it's better. The more you're going to go to the bathroom, well, you're in good health. Now I understand that actually is the complete opposite. You're literally not digesting anything you're eating. And the gas was so bad. I remember my best friend who would hang out with me, she could barely even stand it because we'd be in the car and then it was bad. She literally almost threw up one time. I'm not even kidding. I'm serious. She literally had to pull over. And get out of the car because it was so bad. And those were those were the two the two biggest things. And yeah, so it lasted for for nine months. And what inspired me to stop was seeing my brother and just it opened up my eyes and I continue to watch you more.

[video] 5:47 And I was starting to really question things. And so one thing I would eat a lot would be these veggie bowls from Chipotle, which maybe would be processed food, whole food. I considered it whole food at the time because, you know, rice, beans, vegetables, guacamole. And I would notice that the corn would come out whole. So I wasn't digesting the corn practically at all. And that was one thing I picked up and noticed and stopped eating. But it was I definitely see the the religion standpoint, because I remember one time thinking that. I guess this is when I maybe fell deep into it that even if I figured out or I guess because I was watching a lot of the videos of the concentration camp farms, basically. And I remember thinking that no matter what, I would never eat another cow again, which I realize now is it's complete. It's complete brainwashing. So that's that's the essence of the story. It was nothing extraordinarily crazy.

[video] 6:45 I think probably because I didn't stick with it for so long. And probably because I ate a pretty high animal fat diet before. Or maybe not animal fat. It was definitely plant-based, but a considerable amount of meat. And I also have a condition called brittle bone disease. And I'm sure it's probably curable. It's probably due to just lack of bone minerals. But it was inherited from my father. So I can't even imagine what that would have done. If I would have stuck with it, I probably would have been breaking bones like crazy. So...

7:18 Would you say that you did a good vegan diet, proper one?

[video] 7:25 Yeah, proper vegan. Like I said, it was oatmeal and everything for breakfast, lots of salads for lunch. I would do smoothie bowls as well. My dinners would always be rice, beans, vegetables. That was pretty much the essence of it. As far as supplements go, I took vitamin D3 and I took vitamin B12.

[video] 7:49 And then, of course, I would add supplement powders into the smoothie bowls and stuff like that.

7:57 Did you have any vegan contacts throughout the time? Any vegan friends or anything like that that you could share it with or just completely alone?

[video] 8:05 I didn't. There was one other girl at my school who was vegan and we didn't really talk much. So none of my friends, thankfully, ever Although what I would do is I would go to vegan restaurants and I would bring my brother with me or I'd bring my friends and they would get something. But none of them ever turned vegan because I was never in the standpoint where I was going to try to convert everybody to veganism. It was kind of like this is what I'm doing and you don't have to like it or you don't have to. It was never like a forcing thing on other people.

8:37 Do you think that that's why it's so popular on YouTube? Because a lot of people are alone in veganism and they just watch YouTube all day and try to relate to the vegans online. And then they're heartbroken when they quit someday, like Mehdi, like you said.

[video] 8:52 Yeah, I think so. I was laughing so hard at that new video you did, the 21 reasons not to go vegan. That video was so funny because one of the reasons that the doctor gave was it's trendy or other people are doing it. You'll feel connected to celebrities. And that's such manipulation because you're not, like, it's, I think people are lonely because we live in a society of networks, not communities. So, you know, before it was people on farms. They grew their own food. They were connected to the land. And now you have people who are just living in networks. We could, you could be, like, right now I'm in an apartment building, and there's probably 100 people around me, but I don't know any of them, and none of them know me. And it's just kind of like we're living in an isolation, and so people... People want to feel connected, and so they go online and they see this pushed everywhere. And I think, you know, now I realize, well, obviously there's a reason why it's being pushed. And just logically, a vegan diet doesn't make any sense at all when you really look at it.

[video] 9:49 But it's sad because this is what's, I mean, anybody you ask, are vegetables healthy? Is veganism healthy? Most people will say, oh, yeah, of course.

9:59 What about the people who say it's healthy, but they don't want to do it themselves? What do you think it is? Because a lot of people say, yeah, you should go vegan, but I can't really do it.

[video] 10:12 I think probably because they understand that they need those animal products to thrive. I also think they want to fit in. They want to feel, I mean, if you see, I don't know how to explain it, but I think I think it's just something that makes people look good. Like they can say they're vegan and they'll be respected by other people. They'll look like good. And I mean, it's just crazy because I see now in the grocery stores, more and more impossible meats coming in and it's, it's sad. It's just like, how can you look at that? A package that has probably 20 ingredients that are all toxic and like fake artificial manmade. And then, or you look at something that says a hundred percent ground beef. I don't. And the,

[video] 10:55 biggest disconnect too that I realized and this was thanks to my brother too because we were talking about about it was the studies like the study what made me go vegan from what the health was the studies that showed that red meat was linked directly to heart disease and to cancer and that immediately was like that well that must be true but I didn't realize that I mean most people are not eating raw meat they're not eating just even just a carnivore diet they're eating meat accompanied with processed carbohydrates and plants so it makes sense now that Those studies are actually, I mean, it's funny because they're actually proving that the plants and the processed carbohydrates are leading to the illnesses.

11:33 Right. How do you see the experience now? Do you regret it? Do you just see it as a learning lesson, basically?

[video] 11:44 I see it as a learning experience. I don't regret it at all. I think that it kind of had happened. I don't think I would have found your channel, and I don't think that I'd be where I'm at today. And the one great thing about Texas is there's so many, farms around here that you can go to and lots of fresh food and raw milk is definitely part of my everyday diet lots of good raw meat sources so i think that had i not gone vegan i don't think i'd be here where i'm at i probably would have maybe been still eating a standard american diet any other interesting experiences you can think of during the time or anything important you learned from the whole experience anything else you want to add I definitely learned to listen to my body. So if I'm eating something and immediately I have to run to the bathroom, it's a sign that I probably shouldn't be eating that because it's my body trying to detox it. So it's just, you know, and I would say it when I was vegan too. I'm listening to my body. I eat intuitively.

[video] 12:43 I'm eating the foods my body wants. And that was a complete lie, obviously, because I would just say it really taught me to be in tune with my body and to really think about how I feel. And it also, it really turned my mind around, too, because it showed me, it helped me find truth. Because now I see, well, the key to, I don't think there's really any saving the environment. I think we're, the individual, each of us can save ourselves, and that's pretty much about it. But veganism, I learned, is worse for the environment. So worse for yourself, worse for the environment. And, of course, it really helped me develop a love for local family farms. regenerative farming. And so that's definitely something I would love to be doing in the future, have my own food supply. So overall, it taught me a lot of what not to do. And it also showed me how easily that we can be manipulated.

13:39 What do you eat now?

[video] 13:42 Oh, go on. So I have some raw milk right here. I probably drink, I mean, I drink a lot of raw milk, probably three to four cups of raw milk a day. it depends, but, um, lots of raw milk. I just had some, I found raw pork is really good. So I've been eating some raw pork. So pretty much raw meat mostly. I do eat some cooked meat here and there, but I mean, I'm starting to realize how pointless it actually is. Cause you're just killing the, you're killing the, you're destroying the nutrients. So most of my food is sourced from local farms here. So there's about like, there's, Within an hour and a half from me, there's at least four raw dairies, including one raw goat dairy, which I'm going there this week and I'm excited about. So a huge amount of my diet is raw milk, raw butter, raw cheese, although I am experiencing some slight digestive issues from the raw cheese. So maybe because it's salted. But, yeah, lots of raw dairy.

[video] 14:41 And then my surfer, my favorite meat source has been pork. Okay.

14:46 Okay. Yeah, that sums it up, I would say. Or is there anything else you want to say?

[video] 14:54 I don't think so. I think that the biggest thing is seeing other young people and other people. I mean, it's sad. You see people, they really think that they're doing good. They really think they're doing something great. So I would actually throw a question at you. How do you think is the best way to... Because how do you think is the best way to approach a situation to have somebody realize that what they're doing is not

15:16 serving them like they think it is specifically veganism? yeah, specifically veganism I would always just explain about the 50 nutrients and if they haven't heard about it And I would ask them, it's a really big deal, how can you not have heard about it? That must mean that you've been manipulated, you're ignorant about your own diet. And if that doesn't make them snap out of it, or at least start thinking somewhat, then there's probably no talking to them. But a lot of people do start understanding after they realize that. What would you say to any vegans if there's any vegans watching? What would you say to them if they're vegan right now?

[video] 16:04 I would tell them to listen to themselves for once because we're in a society that's going to train you to think of everybody else as the authority but your own self. And when you really go within, you're going to find the real answers. So be open-minded. Don't be attached to any religious beliefs. Just try something. If what you're doing isn't working, And it's obviously not working if you're having extreme gas issues and you're having digestive issues because it means your body's not absorbing those nutrients. Then try something else. Also, practically none of these fruits and vegetables exist in nature, which is something I also learned from you. I didn't realize that. But if you really go and you look at what's in nature, you'll see a massive – I mean, it's animal products. And also, I guess – actually, this is what I would say. To go into Google and type in the digestive tract of a cow – And then type in the digestive tract of a goat and then a sheep and look at them. And then type in the digestive tract of a lion, a wolf, a tiger, and then a human.

[video] 17:03 And then you can see for yourself what you should be eating.

17:07 Okay. Very good ending. Thanks for sharing.

[video] 17:11 Thank you for having me.