March of the Hot Vegan Army - Day #25 - Kathy Freston

http://vegetarianstar.com/2011/03/16/kris-carr-or-kathy-freston-who-would-you-vegan-best-sellers-edition/

Kathy Freston

Know her from: Her bestselling books, The Veganist, Quantum Wellness, Quantum Wellness Cleanse, The One, and Expect a Miracle, or, possibly, from, you know, OPRAH! Freston famously convinced Oprah to take part in a 21-day vegan challenge, along with a good portion of Oprah's staff - a few of them fast-food-aholics. In fact, basically an entire Oprah show was dedicated to veganism and the challenge. Despite some bumps along the way, a number of the staff liked how they felt so much that they decided to stay vegan long after the 21 days were up. Freston has also appeared on Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, Extra, Martha Stewart, the View, Ellen, Dr. Oz, and in many other shows and magazines. Freston's newest book The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, and Lasting Weight Loss will be available on Tuesday 3/27.

Website: http://www.kathyfreston.com/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston

Why she's vegan: Kathy is a vegan for numerous reasons, among them nutrition and wellness, the current cruel methods of factory farming, ecological issues, animal rights, human rights violations in the slaughter industry, and spiritual reasons.

Why she's awesome: In addition to being gorgeous and fit, Kathy Freston is also a logical, realistic, and understanding person. She continuously urges people not to try to change every bad habit they've ever had in one fell swoop. Phew! She advocates what she calls "leaning" into change. She believes that people are much more likely to develop positive, lasting patterns of good health - mentally, physically, and spiritually - if they do not hold themselves to impossible standards.

I can't help but agree. I would never have been able to go vegan overnight and stick with it. I was a vegetarian for many years before I decided to make the switch to veganism, and I took months to make the transition. I hear many people, even a number of celebrities, talking about what an "easy" time they had becoming a vegan, but that was not 100% true for me, and I know it isn't true for everyone. It's still one of my best-ever life decisions, but it wasn't a cakewalk. Even if becoming vegan is easy for some, I think it's best that people not assume an inconvenience-free transition. You know %$*! happens...

Ms. Freston, I admire you for being able to bend the ear of some of the most influential personalities in the media today, and for bringing vegan issues to a wider audience than ever before. The power of positive thinking is no joke when it gets you on Oprah to promote your books. Respect.

So Kathy, welcome to the Hot Vegan Army. I know you'll have a sympathetic ear for the rest of us when stuff gets us down, so I appoint you Spiritual Counselor to the Hot Vegan Army. Also, if you could casually introduce me and my mom to Oprah I would get daughter points FOR LIFE. Just putting it out there...