Testimonial: So we left our real life and for one week we were introduced to the aspects of the lifestyle change.  So it was exercise—which my husband was totally into and I was totally not.  Though I learned; I adapted.  Stress management and yoga which I had always been totally into and he was not.  But he learned to take that on.

We both lost weight which, you know, was a joy to behold.  We felt better.  And I know a lot of the criticisms of either a vegan diet or lifestyle change are that it’s so time-consuming and I would agree with that, especially initially, because it’s a change form what you’ve been doing previously.  But you put all this time and effort into it and you start feeling better immediately.

So it doesn’t take a long time.  I mean, this one week retreat that we did — everyone who participated — by the end of the week had lost weight, was sleeping better, felt more flexible — just looked better — your skin looks better.

And all of a sudden, after doing this for months and months I realized that I had not had a migraine — at all — I mean, no precursors, no symptoms.  But I was also sleeping better and obviously taking better care of myself.

I went through menopause and didn’t even realize it until after the fact.  And I went back to the doctor and they always ask you when your last period was and I had to really stop and think and I seriously, honestly, had absolutely no symptoms.  Nothing.  So that sort of motivation for me doing this.

And that’s another reason I would share it with friends, too.  It’s not that I think you can talk yourself out of things but I think that you can calm your mind and calm your body and just be receptive to . . . I mean, even enjoying the food that’s put in front of you and just recognizing the fact that it’s not just a meal to be gobbled up but it’s to be enjoyed and appreciated and I think you get more out of it then — appreciating the people that you’re with on a regular basis.