About Us

Actually, About Us is just me! My name is Fiona Ostermayer, and I’m the mom and the pop of this operation!

I've been a vegan for 9 of the last 10 years (I'll get into the year of pregnancy and post-partum cheese bingeing in a moment!), and I have found that this diet has had a profoundly positive impact not only on my physical health, but on my mental well-being as well.

I began my journey about 10 years ago when I started to realize that I was eating way too much sugar. Not only was I gaining weight, but I was experiencing constant stomach pain and increasingly frequent incidents where my blood sugar would suddenly plummet.

The only cure, I finally concluded, was hypnosis. I found a woman who specialized in hypnosis for addictions and I decided my attachment to sugar qualified. I had at that point developed a relationship with the local Dairy Queen that was not unlike the way an alcoholic might feel about the corner pub. Granted, it was unlikely that I would ever be pulled over by the police for driving under the influence of a chocolate milkshake, but it was obvious that my behavior was not healthy!

I began working with the hypno-therapist and to my utter astonishment, I was off the sugar in a little less than two weeks! I started eating more vegetables and fruit and cut out all white sugar, white flour, and white rice, instead eating only whole grains. I felt so much better - my blood sugar stabilized completely and the stomach pains vanished.

I continued to work with the therapist, who happened to be an expert on nutrition and was a vegan herself. She told me about the damaging effects of meat and dairy in the body, and gave me articles to read about the relationship between animal-based foods and disease. She also told me that there was a lot more food for vegans than one might think.

I tried several of the recipes she shared with me and really liked them. About two weeks after I stopped the sugar, I gave up dairy and red meat. Two months after that I had made the full conversion to veganism.

I found, once I was completely immersed in a vegan diet, that my general health was greatly improved. I got fewer colds and viruses and I missed less work.

About a year after becoming a vegan, which I had done purely for my own health, I came across an article about factory farming and animal cruelty. I was horrified to read about the way animals are routinely treated on these farms. I was shocked too, to learn about how much agri-business is contributing to greenhouse gases through the overproduction of cattle for meat . (Did you know that methane is one of the most major offenders when it comes to greenhouse gases? - Yes, I'm talking about the methane that comes out the back end of a cow!)

At that point my consciousness expanded to embrace the idea that being a vegan is not only good for me, it is good for the planet. Around the same time, I noticed that more and more of my friends and acquaintances were asking me for advice and tips about diet and health. It occurred to me that I had something to share and that is how this web site was born!

Being a vegan is an incredibly powerful choice that you can make for yourself, and as it moves closer to the "mainstream" you will find that it is easier to stay with it. It is a journey I hope you will consider making, if you have not already. To learn more about why becoming a vegan could be one of the best decisions you've ever made, click on the Why Vegan link.

Oh! I almost forgot! I promised to tell you about pregnancy and the cheese binge! Yes, it was the one year that I was not able to stick to being a vegan. I'm not proud of it, but I figure that if I come clean about it here, you might not feel as bad if you happen to fall off your wagon!

I had been a vegan for several years when I met Paul. After spending years kissing toad after toad, here at last was my prince! We got married and not too much later, I got pregnant.

For the first couple of months I didn't have any problem sticking to the vegan diet, but after I hit the third month, I went into a cheese-craving tailspin which to this day I cannot explain.

Predictably enough the cravings stopped shortly after my daughter was born, but the damage had been done. I had gained almost 50 pounds!

I realized that it would not be enough just to get back on my vegan diet - after all, I was still pretty partial to carbs. So I developed a diet plan to decrease my caloric intake without getting too hungry. It took about 10 months, but at the end of that time, I had lost 45 pounds, which I have now kept off for the last 3 years.

If you are interested in losing weight, I have put together a page of ideas and suggestions based on my weight loss experience to help you. Check out the Vegan Diet Plan for tips and advice on getting started. I won't kid you - it's not easy, but with a little focus, it can be done!

So that's my story. Thanks so much for stopping by! Please check out the information and recipe pages and make sure to hit the Contact Us page to share your ideas or the Ask a Vegan page if you have questions - I'd love to hear from you!

Cheers,

Fiona

Return to the top of About Us

To Return to Busy-Vegan.Com homepage, Click Here!