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Hey plant friends, I’m vegan health coach Kate Galli and this show isn’t the real content!

It’s simply a brief introduction to ME and an opportunity to share a little of what prompted me to adopt a vegan lifestyle in the hope that my experiences might help you take the #plantstrong plunge and also avoid the many mistakes I made over the 25 years it took me to transition from meat eater – to a super restrictive and very often UN-fun vegetarian diet – to a more healthy yet ultra low carb and high protein vegetarian diet – to finally, eventually learning how to rock a happy, healthy, abundant vegan lifestyle and LOVE it!

I became vegetarian at 16. It was a decision I made in an instant though it’d likely been building for years. Years of eating meat up to 3 times a day. Of declaring “I could NEVER be vegetarian!” Until something changed. I’d met a vego girl at school who was pretty convincing. I’d felt a deep horror and guilt at the huge trucks crammed full of sheep on their way to slaughter that we used to drive past on trips away skiing in N.Z where I grew up. Then that last meal was an incredibly, sickeningly rich smoked trout and fish row soup that I politely forced down at a family friends house. I projectile vomited that soup back up soon after in the car ride home.

I also vowed that: “From today I would only eat what felt right to me.”

I wanted to be in control of the food that went into my body. And that meant no meat or fish. I really didn’t do it healthily from the get go. I still got to indulge in my fav pizza, pasta, cheesy scones and muffins. Pretty much ALL the processed carbs!

Even when I got gym obsessed at around 19 I still didn’t dial in a healthy vegetarian diet.

During 5 years in my 20’s working on behalf of amazing charities like Greenpeace and The World Society For Protection Of Animals I started to feel a lack of integrity and that perhaps “I should be vegan?”

Side note: I remember as part of the job training for Greenpeace we had to do role plays. “Let’s role play this” are words guaranteed to invoke an utterly irrational terror in me. I asked myself “how much do you want this?” and forced myself through the role plays.

At that point I had not sort out healthy vegan role models.

[Side-note] I’ve since been lucky to interview some AMAZING vegan athletes like:

E706: Hench Herbivore. E568: Fiona Oakes. E644: Torre Washington. E665: Dotsie Bausch.

I was also starting to become more and more obsessed with the gym. Specifically with lifting weights and “choosing my curves!” I actually believed the myth that you can’t get adequate protein eating a plant based diet. I believed that for years. At 29 I became a personal trainer. I adopted a higher protein lower processed carbs vegetarian diet.

As always (you’ve noticed my use of the word obsessed right?) I took it too far… I remember a point where I was consuming 1 litre of soy milk and 200 grams of tofu a day. Then I ditched tofu and got up to 21 free range organic egg whites a day.

I knew my eating was extreme. It got me the results I wanted with my body – on the outside at least – however it didn’t feel balanced or healthy and it certainly didn’t feel congruent or aligned with my beliefs. I started to seek out healthy vegan role models… and by that I mean people who had fit, strong – let’s be honest – smokin hot bodies.

It was then, in early 2016 that I saw the documentary COWSPIRACY. 

It confirmed everything I’d been trying to avoid. I was no longer ignorant to what happened beyond the prettily packages eggs and dairy I still consumed. That documentary gave me no choice… and I’m so grateful. 

I decided that even if I had to sacrifice the body I’d sculpted over almost 2 decades of consistent hard work at the gym… even if I lost some lean muscle and gained some fat… well it was about a whole lot more than my vanity. I remember telling the boys at work – a bunch of lovely yet very much meat loving personal trainers that I was going vegan. “Goodbye lean muscle mass!” one of them stated.

Thankfully he was wrong.

I was determined to prove that you can have a fit, strong, healthy body while living a plant based lifestyle. So I got strategic looking at all the micro-nutrients I’d be missing out on and finding plant based alternatives. As an emotional eater who gets an enormous amount of pleasure from food I also focused on creating delicious plant based alternatives for everything I used to love as a vego.

Stuff like: spicy tofu scramble over crispy baked smashed potatoes, hearty nut and seed loaf with rich mushroom gravy and kale crisp nachos with chilli beans and sun-dried tomato cashew cheese!

The happy news is that 5 years on a vegan lifestyle is sooo much easier than I expected. It gets even easier every day. Sure it takes a little planning and preparation however any approach to healthy eating takes that. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. My body composition and energy have not changed. I don’t get bloated or pimples like I used to!

The best part is that now my actions feel aligned with my beliefs. I feel congruent and like by doing what’s right for the animals and for the planet I’m also doing what’s right for ME. 

I’m sharing this with zero judgement. Although I’m vegan for ethical reasons I also believe everything counts. I’m not here to convince, convert or judge. I’m simply sharing what prompted me to adopt the lifestyle in case it’s of value to you in your journey to do what’s right for YOU.

My intention with the Plant Positive podcast is to share with you how simple, sustainable and of course DELICIOUS a #plantstrong lifestyle can be. A weekly fix of everything awesome for vegans and the plant based curious.

I’ll chat training tips, self care, good news stories, recipes wins, inspirational vegans plus plenty of eating and exercising motivation.

When there’s a lot to feel despondent and overwhelmed about this is a chance to connect with the wins, the progress and everything we have to feel grateful for.

I know I used to be a really positive person. Even on a down day I could just “choose my mood”…and then I became vegan, I became an activist and although they are the two best decisions of my life they also came hand and hand with a whole lot of pain.

I become all too aware of all too much. I chat about the heavy, urgent and vital stuff in my interview podcast Healthification however right now, today it’s time to get Plant Positive!

If you liked “My Vegan Journey” you’ll also like What I Eat In A Day To Stay Plant Strong and Lean. (2020 Vegan Food Upgrades)

If you liked “My Vegan Journey” you’ll also like 624: My Mums Plant Based Journey, How To Transition To Plant Based Without Restriction Or Conflict!