I’ve been getting some push-back on the name of my brand recently. With comments on my Facebook posts like, “Why sexy?” and “Your a fraud, just trying to use sex to make money!”

I’d like to take a moment to address this criticism…

Many of you already aware that I knew from the age of 7 that my purpose in life is to save animals by spreading awareness about the cruelty that takes place behind the closed doors of factory farms. As a child, I thought, “If only people knew, they would surely quit eating animals!” I soon realized that it was, unfortunately, a bit more complicated than that.

I started to understand that people have been conditioned from birth to believe dogs are worthy of our love, while pigs are meant to be tortured, killed and consumed. Cats are worthy of sleeping in bed with us, while cows deserve to have their throats slit so we can eat their flesh. Dolphins are beautiful, to be ooh-ed and ah-ed at, while tuna are meant to be captured, canned, and consumed.

I also came to understand that many people do not WANT to know. Why? “Ignorance is bliss” right? Once you know you can’t not know. You no longer have the “excuse” of ignorance and must take responsibility for your choices.

I created my brand, Sexy Fit Vegan®, in 2013, when the truth about animal agriculture (both the ethical and health aspects) started being covered in the mainstream media. The information I had been sharing with people for years, was finally being exposed in ways that could not be ignored.

The mission of my brand was clear. Bring veganism into the mainstream. So yes, my thought was, “What can I name my brand that will get people’s attention?”

The word “sexy” catches people’s eye. It does draw people’s attention, probably more than any other word in the English language. Given that catching people’s attention was my goal… Sexy Fit Vegan® it was! I was beyond excited to start building my life and work around what I’m most passionate about… veganism.

I did think about what the word “sexy” meant to me before choosing it. I’ve always considered myself a feminist. I had a mom who taught me that I could do anything I put my mind to. I’m grateful that my parents gave me the space and support I needed to figure out what was important to me.

When choosing my brand name, I thought, “What happens when I’m older? Will I no longer be a sexy fit vegan?” I quickly answered myself, “Hell yeah, I’ll be a sexy fit vegan until the day I die!” Here’s why…

True sexiness is a matter of how you feel in your own skin. It has nothing to do with other people’s opinions about your appearance. Feeling sexy starts from within.

I thought about how amazing it feels to align your actions with your true values. I considered how powerful it feels to move through the world fight for what you believe in. For me, that was a fight for the end of animal exploitation. Now THAT feels sexy to me!

Not to mention the fact that we’re human beings, and sex is a part of life. It’s part of our identity. Sex is not something to feel shameful about. So why is the word “sexy” sexist? It’s not! There is nothing wrong with striving to feel sexy!

I love what my friend and Plant-Empowered Coach, Stephanie said as we were discussing this topic. “I think it’s time that women embrace that their sexual energy is a part of their wholeness. It’s time to own the fact that being an empowered female is inherently sexual.” Males are certainly proud of their sexual energy… Why should females not be proud of theirs?

Feeling sexy is not only okay, it’s liberating!

That being said (full disclosure here), my immediate reaction to those who criticized me for using the word “sexy” in my brand, without bothering to get to know me and what I’m all about, was “F**k you! I’ve been vegan for 24 years and have worked my whole life to make a positive impact in this world.

I use a tool I teach in the Plant-Empowered Coaching Program we call “the power of the pause” to take a step back, observe that F-You thought, and recognize that it will not contribute to my cause in any positive or productive way. Hence why I’m writing and sharing this instead!

I’ve learned that part of being a leader is having critics (a.k.a haters), and part of being a good leader is accepting that some people simply aren’t going to “get it,” and that’s okay!

My entire life is focused on empowering women with the tools they need to love themselves, overcome shame, live according to their values, and build a meaningful life, through my 6-Month Plant-Empowered Coaching Program.

A meaningful life involves using your strengths and skills to make a positive impact in this world, and there is nothing sexier than that!

13 Nov 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Vegan Product Reviews

Tags: Thanksgiving, vegan holiday

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Top 7 Vegan Thanksgiving Swaps

I’m writing this post about vegan Thanksgiving swaps for anyone who, like me, is choosing convenience this holiday season!

Maybe you can relate to some degree… As many of you can imagine from reading my story, “From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living,” the holiday season used to be an incredibly stressful time because of all the less-than-healthy foods surrounding me. I experienced the holidays as a time where my will-power was constantly “tested.” My goal… not to gain any weight. What a miserable way to spend what is meant to be a special, fun time to spend with loved ones!

Well no more! Ever since I finally ditched the diet mentality and learned a method I call “Plant-Empowered Eating” (the method I teach as part of the 6-Week Plant-Empowered Coaching Program), the holidays are now filled with joy instead of stress. I put no pressure on myself. I eat what I feel like eating. And guess what… I have never looked or felt better every single month of the year. (My clients can also attest that this method works.)

I’m telling you all of that because I am not into holiday cooking, so I don’t do it! I prefer to take the convenience route, especially now that there is such a wide variety of vegan Thanksgiving swaps on the market today. Many of these vegan swaps, although healthier than the non-vegan options, cannot be considered healthy. But as part of a mostly whole foods diet, I say, “Who cares!” As long as it is cruelty-free, I’m down to try it.

So with that all being said, I have put together a list of my top vegan Thanksgiving swaps for you…

SoDelicious Nog

2. Gardein Holiday Roast

3. Tofurky Veggie Roast

4. Simply Organic Vegetarian Brown Gravy (vegan)

5. Follow Your Heart VeganEgg

6. Hilary’s Holiday Stuffing

7. Daiya Cheese Cake

I hope this list of vegan Thanksgiving swaps will help make your holidays joyful and stress-free. Enjoy!

04 Oct 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Going Vegan Tips, Holistic Health, Vegan Fitness

Tags: activism, animal rights, empowerment, how to go vegan, teenagers, vegan

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From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living Part 5

We ended part 4 with the question, “If you were so passionate about animal rights Ella, why weren’t you out there taking action and protesting?”

To answer, we have to take it back to my middle and high school years. As I kept uncovering the reality of abuse taking place behind the closed doors of not only factory farms, but also science labs, zoos, and circuses, I found more and more ways to speak out for the rights of animals. As I learned the horrific practices of the fur industry, and the merciless methods for testing the safety of laundry detergent, shampoo, and mascara, I set out on a mission to expose the systemic savagery to the masses. [If you haven’t read parts 1–4 of my journey, start from the beginning of my journey from disordered eating to plant-empowered living.]

You see, in my young mind, I thought that surely if people only knew what was taking place, they would “see the light” and stop supporting the brutality in the name of a meal, a coat, lipstick, or an evening of entertainment. With that logic in mind, I became heavily involved in the animal rights scene. In fact, I was a leader for our local animal rights group. Before I had a license to drive I was organizing protests and leafletting all over town. I was tireless in my quest to be a voice for the voiceless.

What blows my mind today is thinking about the actions I took despite being a painfully shy person. To give you an idea, when I was five years old, my parents would role play with me so that I could practice saying hello to people they introduced me to (my natural reaction was to run and hide). Yet when it came to standing up for my belief in the rights of animals I was fearless.

I didn’t hesitate to organize demonstrations on the streets of Chapel Hill where I would sit inside tiny cages, displaying the cramped conditions of chickens. Chickens who had so little room to move that their feet would grow around the wires of the cage, and whose beaks were chopped off without anesthesia so that they wouldn’t peck each other to death from the stress of their conditions. I never had a second thought about standing on the side of the road, holding signs and chanting in protest of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. I led campaigns urging L’Oreal and Revlon to stop testing on animals (I would wear anti-L’Oreal buttons to middle school every day and passed out pamphlets to all my classmates and teachers). I traveled to Pennsylvania for an annual pigeon shoot event, where we ran out into the line of fire in the fields in protest of the mass killing.

So my answer to the question, “Why weren’t you out there taking action and protesting?”… I was! In fact I even won the Bill Rosenberg Award when I was 16. This award is given each year by the Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM) to “people under the age of 18 who have made outstanding contributions to farm animal liberation.”

Now I don’t want you to get the idea that I was this young animal rights activist who missed out on her childhood. As a kid I was a competitive swimmer and gymnast and had a great group of athletic friends

I was also your typical teenager in many ways. I went through the awkward adolescent phase like most everyone. I dyed my hair, dark, gave my parents one-word answers, broke curfew, drank Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill, and went to math class high (what can I say… math was right after lunch!) I met this drug dealer who gave me his brand new, decked out red Jeep Wrangler to drive around for over a year on the condition that I would pick him up and “drive him around” on occasion. (I was sure I could fool the authorities by playing dumb if we ever got stopped.)

When I quit the volleyball team in 10th grade my relationship with my mom disintegrated with my new pothead status. Before I tell you more about that though, it will help if I give you a little background about my family…I was born in Pittsboro, NC and spent the first four years of my life living in a little log cabin in the woods. I was even potty trained in an outhouse, can you believe it?

My mom was the director of a preschool and my dad was a self-employed stone mason. My older sister, ten years my elder, suffered from mental illness and began self-medicating with drugs when she was just 10 years old. I have few memories of her during my youth, as she spent quite a bit of time in hospitals when she was not running away from home.

When my mom got pregnant with my younger sister, my parents decided it was time to move to Chapel Hill for the quality school system. My dad got a stable job at UNC and I got a real working toilet! I couldn’t be more thankful to have been blessed with two of the most loving, supportive parents imaginable. I mean seriously, when I said, “I’m never eating animals again” at the age of seven for example, they didn’t try to talk me out of it even once they realized it was not a “phase”, that I really wasn’t going to ever eat meat again. Big time parenting brownie points!

My parents divorced when I was fourteen. They held their marriage together as long as they could. I was SO ready for them to separate at that point. For a period of time they tried to figure out how to turn our attic into a separate room with a separate entrance for my dad. Needless to say, it was a relief when we all sat down for “the talk”. Not to say it wasn’t tough. Divorce is never easy, but it was clearly the right move.

Getting back to the collapse of my relationship with my mom… She was understandably intolerant to drug use in her home due to the struggles of my sister. Being a teenager, I was sure I was immune to addiction and was convinced I could party without negative consequences. Being the strong-willed, determined individual I’ve always been, when my mom gave me the ultimatum of stopping using or leaving her house, I bet you can guess what I chose. Rebel Ella

Moving in with my dad gave me more freedom. He was apt to give me the benefit of the doubt in most situations which worked out for a while. I did not appreciate my dad back then as I do today. Eventually though, I grew up a bit, missed my mom, put my big girl panties on to work things out and move back in. A new beginning that eventually led to the place we’re in today, where I can honestly say my mom is my best friend. And as for my dad, I not only appreciate him today, but I’m also inspired by him and his journey down the path of embodying zen principles to the extent that he now volunteers teaching meditation to death row inmates!

I strongly believe that the strong foundation of unconditional love from my parents and my extreme devotion to animal liberation has saved me from spiraling out of control countless times over the years…

How so? Find out in Part 6!

23 Sep 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Holistic Health, Vegan Fitness

Tags: disordered eating, eating disorder, orthorexia, vegan fitness, vegan lifestyle

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From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 4

Part 3 of my journey left off when I was somewhere around 26 or 27 years old, managing the Flamingo Athletic Club, living it up in South Beach with my Muay Thai crew, while struggling behind closed doors with disordered eating cycles, depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and insomnia…

When I put my situation out there like that you’d think I was miserable! But again, when I think back to those days a huge smile takes over my face. In the midst of inner turmoil, I just had SO MUCH FUN! As they say, I am happy I went all out and “got it out of my system” at an “appropriate” age. This could not be said for everyone.

Fast forward to today, when I was chatting with my mom about how I was able to stay grounded in the midst of the craziness. She said to me, “It’s because being vegan is who you are. No matter what you’ve been through, or how easy it can be to get caught up in “the scene”, your foundation as a vegan overpowers all else, and it’s what you have and always will go back to as your rock.” Moms know best!

Somewhere in the mix I had formed a second set of friends from the other gym I trained at. For the longest time I scoffed at most fitness classes where they used light weights and did tons of reps. I believed strongly in the effectiveness of heavy weight training… It went well with my “tough persona”. I actually felt embarrassed at the thought of trying out a class. I kept hearing about this one teacher, Lani, who had a huge following made up of such a diverse fan base that I finally had to check it out.

I hid in the back of the class and we started by doing overhead presses, to the beat of the music, for an entire song without dropping your arms. I was horrified… Everyone else seemed to be getting through it relatively easily. They were having a blast, and I couldn’t make it all the way through the song with THREE pound weights!

This experience hit my “I can do anything” nerve, and that was it. I was addicted to the class and Lani became my fitness idol. I was tough, but Lani was an alpha, ten years older, skilled trainer, super strong, and ironman finisher with self-confidence like no other.

Thanks to Lani my exercise regiment morphed into more of a functional training-based routine. Becoming functionally strong was both humbling and exhilarating. In case you aren’t familiar, functional exercises are ones that translate to movements of daily living. A squat is the perfect example of a functional exercise. How many times a day do we sit down and stand up? That’s a squat! Whereas a leg press, leg extension, or hamstring curl machine have no place in “real life”.

I also found myself oddly attracted to Lani on multiple levels. I looked up to her and admired her skill and confidence, and it morphed into what one might call a “girl crush”. It’s funny because with my Muay Thai crew, we would go out, and I would be, what my one guy friend called, “chick bait.” This meant that I would go over and start talking to hot girls. Then, my guy friends would come by and I would introduce them. On occasion the girls would end up hitting on me though, which, as you can imagine, would really piss my friends off (I thought it was hilarious)!

I was a wild, happy drunk. On crazier nights I would make out with girl-friends for fun, which would usually result in free drinks. I wasn’t sexually attracted to women on an intimate level. Kissing and playing around with other girls as part of a night out was simply part of the erotic South Beach culture. It was just fun!

With Lani it felt different though. I think it was in large part because she had such intense male energy. I started working my way up to the front of her classes. You see, she had such an intense group of followers in her class that everyone had “their spot,” and fights would literally break out when someone tried to take someone else’s spot (I’m not exaggerating!)

It took some time and a calculated strategy, but I eventually made it to the front row of class and established my own spot. Lani took notice of me. When she invited me to her birthday, I got butterflies in my stomach, something I hadn’t felt since I met my fiance years back. Lani’s birthday party marked the start of what would become a tight and complicated friendship. Attending the party also opened me up to a whole new world of people and experiences in South Beach. I could write a whole book on this chapter of my story, and maybe I will, but I will save that story for another day.

I haven’t mentioned it, but the whole time I was managing the Flamingo, I was also fitness modeling, doing personal training, and offering my services as a wellness coach who also helped people with diet. Keep in mind that many people were unsure of what vegan even meant at that time.

fitness-modeling I continued to spread the good word by maintaining a strong, lean body. Why did this work? Because women would just see me and say, “I want to look like you… How do you do it?” To which I would reply, “I’m vegan!” This would get some people veg-curious and open to learning more, while others would immediately feel threatened and write me off. Men would ask too, either because they were genuinely curious, or as a way to hit on me. It didn’t matter to me. If I got an opening to talk about being vegan, I took it.

It’s funny, because I barely remember actually training people. Why? I think it’s because people hired me because I had a body they admired. They wanted to build a strong, toned body, and they were willing to workout hard for an hour a day for it.

While they were quick to take my exercise advice, they generally had no interest in changing the way they were eating or even consider moving in the direction of a plant-based diet. My work with them therefore felt superficial. It was a temporary fix. “You can’t outrun your fork” I would relay to deaf ears. I therefore felt resentful that my work started and ended with telling people what exercises to do, counting reps, and throwing out motivating words. This job did not feel satisfying in the least.

You may be asking, “If you were so passionate about animal rights why weren’t you out there taking action and protesting?” Great question. And there is an intriguing answer coming up in Part 5!

14 Sep 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Holistic Health, Vegan Fitness

Tags: disordered eating, eating disorder, vegan lifestyle, vegan trainer

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From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 3

I’ll start by setting the scene (where we left off from Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 2)…

I was in my mid twenties, and if you had asked me back then, “Who are you, Ella?” I probably would have replied, “I’m an ethical vegan number one, and secondly I’m into vegan fitness. I run the show at the Flamingo Athletic Club, managing employees, payroll, class scheduling, and the personal training program. I’m a vegan trainer myself, and spend a lot of my time practicing Muay Thai with my MMA crew and working out. I’m single and have an awesome group of bad ass friends who I go out with and party hard. I’m “living the life” in South Beach!” vegan party girl

What I wouldn’t have told you though, was that I had an underlying yearning to be doing more for animals then just living by example as a vegan (I was the only vegan that I knew at the time). This feeling that I was not living and working my true passion triggered subconscious angst as well as a constant feeling of being unfulfilled.

At the same time, there was a part of me that knew my time to make a significant difference as a passionate vegan was coming. Although the vast majority of people had no interest in going vegan (in fact, many didn’t even know what it meant to be vegan), and very little interest in keeping an open mind to understand the benefits. I continued being vocal about my choice to be a vegan, and put tons of pressure on myself to do everything I could to prove you could be fit, healthy, and strong on plants alone. That was, at the time, the best way I could help bring veganism into the mainstream.

I also would have neglected to mention I had been struggling with chronic depression and anxiety since my teenage years. I wouldn’t have told you that I walked around all day, every day, feeling fat jiggle all over my body, and seeing love handles when I looked in the mirror (keep in mind my body fat stayed well below 10%). I knew logically that I was lean. My BMI was super low and tons of people were asking me daily how I stayed so lean. The logic, unfortunately, did not translate to how I experienced my body.

vegan fun with friends In addition, because of the pressure I was putting on myself to be perfect, and the body dysmorphia, I was carefully measuring and monitoring my food intake 90% of the time. Surrounded by protein-obsessed “meat-heads” and personal trainer know-it-alls, I wanted to prove you could get plenty of protein from plants. I had developed what I now call “carb-phobia” and focused on packing in the vegan protein. The other 10% of the time, as a result of the food restricting, I would give in to temptation and binge on vegan food. I remember eating an entire jar of peanut butter one night! And of course binging triggers intense feelings of guilt, shame, and so the cycle continued and I’d be back to restricting to make up for the binging.

Another issue I was facing was that I had developed insomnia over the previous few years. The condition had been getting worse and worse until it got to the point I could never fall asleep without the use of either self-prescribed drugs and alcohol, or hard core sleeping meds the doctor prescribed. vegan mma fighter

The insomnia was, I now believe, caused in part by hormone imbalances that I was creating by my eating and exercise habits, and in part by the stress caused by the pressure i was putting on myself. Stress increases cortisol levels… It’s supposed to. But extra cortisol production is meant to occur in short bursts during times of extreme stress. I had created a system in which I was basically stressed and anxious all the time which created chronically high cortisol levels.

My insomnia was aggrevated by the chronic hightened cortisol. Cortisol levels are supposed to drop in the evening to allow you to fall asleep. When cortisol drops, production of melatonin increases to also help you maintain a regluar sleep cycle. I had destroyed this intricate system. I knew I was in trouble when I decided to experiment and see how long it would take me to get some sleep without the help of meds… 8 days later I was such a zombie I gave up, and I do NOT give up on anything easily!

Looking back, it seems like somewhat of a miracle that I was functioning at all, much less enjoying life. But the truth is, that despite the inner turmoil, I still see those years in my 20s as incredible and unregretable. I was free to explore ME, on my own. As many “issues” as I had, I felt fortunate to be where I was, having started off my life in South Beach with a bad break-up that left me homeless and jobless with only a suitcase to my name!

The positives: Since moving to Miami I had found another passion (Muay Thai), worked my way up the ladder to a decent job that afforded me a decent apartment, formed several different groups of kick ass friends, taken full advantage of the SoBe party scene, and explored different layers of me as a human being.

The not-so-positives: I had developed disordered eating habits and body dysmorphia that felt all-consuming at times. I had horrible insomia and couldn’t sleep without drugs and/or alcohol. I was dealing with depression, anxiety, and an overall feeling of unfulfillment. I used Muay Thai as my sole form of “therapy” which meant I felt I was “tough” enough to handle what was going on inside me without sharing.

Can you believe it took me over 12 years to “come out” and talk about my struggles? Being the seriously determined individual I am though, I did not sit by idyl, allowing my life to spin out of control. I’m a problem-solver, and I had quite a number of problems I wanted to solve.

Behind my persistence was a primal drive to be the best person I could be. I had a mission that was far from being fulfilled. I just needed to take care of ME first, so that I could put all my energy into saving animals…

To be continued!

09 Sep 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Holistic Health, Vegan Fitness

Tags: body dysmorphia, body dysmorphic disorder, diet mentality, disordered eating, eating disorders, vegan diet, vegan lifestyle

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From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 2

Part 2 of my journey starts in my college years, where the diet mentality kicks in and disordered eating starts to snowball out of control…

Part 2: Journey into Diet La-La Land

[If you haven’t read PART 1 of my multi-part “From Disordered Eating to Empowered Living” series, I invite you to start there.] During my senior year in college at UNC-Wilmington, I became addicted to exercise and ephedra… What a combo! I would take “Diet Fuel” pills and get all my studying done while doing cardio at the local Gold’s Gym. Me at Gold's Gym college years

It was at that gym that I met my later-to-be fiance. Unlike the other boyfriends I had during college, Brent had his shit together. He was several years older than me and owned a gym consulting company. When I graduated, I started working with Brent. Life and gym became synonymous. We would travel to different gyms for 3 months at a time doing consulting work and membership drives.

Having an awesome body is the best advertising for anyone working in the fitness industry. Knowing that, I started taking my workouts to the next level. As my workouts became more intense, I started experimenting with my food intake.

Being an ethical vegan, there was never a thought of eating anything but plants, but there were plenty of ways to create dietary “rules” even as a vegan. Vegan protein shakes, consuming tons of soy and legumes, and cutting out grains was do-able. In the tradition of the fitness buff persona, I experimented with being super strict 6 days, and allowing myself one “cheat day” per week. This is a totally “normal” dietary routine for bodybuilders, figure, and fitness competitors, Even though I wasn’t competing at the time, my desire for the “perfect body” was becoming stronger.

My lifestyle supported my obsession with diet and exercise, so I did not look at my habits as problematic. Everyone else was doing it (in their omnivore way) and I felt I fit in. It’s funny because I had spent the previous 8 years emphatic about NOT getting married. All of a sudden though, my life had become so enmeshed with my boyfriend’s and with our work, I started to think marriage wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

So Brent and I ended up getting engaged, and moving to Miami to open up a new line of women’s health clubs. It didn’t take long for shit to hit the fan… but that’s a juicy story for a different day. Let’s just say we split on bad terms and I all of a sudden found myself in the heart of South Beach without a job and with literally a suitcase to my name.

What came next seems like a whirlwind looking back. Setting the scene, let’s take it back 20 years… I was a 2-year old who was so determined I fought to put on my own diapers. When I was 6, I gave a strong case as to why I should be allowed to drive a car. Needless to say, no matter how upset I was about the break-up, there was no way I was bailing on Miami to take refuse back home in North Carolina.

Long story short, I crashed on my friend’s couch in the huge condo “commune” called the Flamingo in South Beach. Thousands of people lived in this community, ranging from professionals to drug dealers and porn stars. If you ask anyone who has been in Miami Beach for a long time, chances are they started out at the Flamingo. It was in a perfect location right on the bay, with pools, docks, markets, and a super nice gym. So I finagled my way into a job at the gym, starting as a front desk attendant and quickly moving up the chain until I landed the Fitness Director position, pretty much running the show! Muay Thai Vegan Practitioner

During that time I also caught the attention of an MMA world champ, Pat, who was teaching classes at the gym. It was like he could see right through me. No matter what tough front I put on, he saw my emotional weakness and took me under his wing as my Muay Thai coach.

Pat’s teaching methods were unconventional, though I wasn’t really aware at the time. You see, he didn’t believe in sparring gear. He believed in learning to block punches and kicks by being punched and kicked enough that blocking became a reflex pretty damn quickly! If you know Muay Thai though, you know that shin on shin blocking is no fun for either party. I took to the training quickly. No amount of physical pain could compete with the emotional pain I was in. Muay Thai became my form of moving meditation. When sparring, I had no choice but to be present in the moment. If my mind wandered, I paid for it! Needless to say it did not wander much after the first few weeks.

For the first time since high school, I had discovered a sport I could practice with a group of passionate people who became a family to me. In many ways, the next several years of my life were the most exhilarating years of my life. Hangin’ with a group of fighters who ruled South Beach… how could it not? We partied it up and trained hard core. I practically lived at the gym (I had rented a studio at the Flamingo as soon as I had the money).

As incredible as those years were, there was a dark side to my life I was not apt to share with anyone. I had taken the feeling of being powerless over my break-up, and found a sense of control through food and exercise. I was working out like crazy between the Muay Thai, classes at Crunch gym, weight lifting, and cardio.

The purpose of the cardio at that time was to burn calories. I wanted to be leaner, but couldn’t see how l lean I already was. I looked in the mirror and saw fat that simply wasn’t there. I was happiest when my stomach was empty and flat. I measured my oatmeal, set timers to let me know when I was “allowed” to eat, and picked at salads when going out to eat.

Looking back, I qualify myself as experiencing body dysmorphia and disordered eating at that time because my thoughts and anxiety around my body and food felt all-consuming. Whether or not I would have been officially diagnosed as having an eating disorder or body dysmorphic disorder I don’t know because I was not sharing what was going on in my head… And really, who cares. I have no desire to be labeled. It was what it was and, spoiler alert, there’s ultimately a happy end to this story!

At one point I decided to play a game with myself to see if I could drop below 100 pounds. Now that you know more about me, you can probably guess… I won! I remember getting on the scale, seeing 99 pounds, and feeling proud of my achievement. How I was able to maintain a body fat percentage that couldn’t even be measured with calipers, and workout as hard as i did, I really have no idea. But again, leave it to me to prove I could defy the odds!

On that note, I am going to press pause on my story. Part 3 is coming soon, so stay tuned! (If you want to be notified when I publish my posts make sure to sign up to receive my newsletter.)

05 Sep 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Going Vegan Tips, Holistic Health, Vegan Fitness

Tags: dieting, disordered eating, eating disorders, empowerment, vegan diet, vegan fitness, vegan lifestyle

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From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 1

The time to share my journey from disordered eating to plant-empowered living has come!

Part 1: Intro

I’m ready to come clean…

What you are about to read is Part 1 (an introduction) to the multi-part “coming out” series I am going to be sharing with you over the next few weeks. I will be telling you parts of my journey that I’ve never shared openly before. I’m thrilled that I am in a place in life where I’m able and willing to get REAL and RAW, which means being transparent about the struggles that have made me who I am today!

Up until recently, I put A LOT of pressure on myself to be the shining example of a fit, healthy (physically and emotionally) vegan. It’s been my mission to bring veganism into the mainstream for over 20 years, and up until recently, the misinformation about plant-based nutrition, and the stereotypes about vegans in general, were so intense I purposefully made it my job to focus on only positives.

I’ve been vegan 22 years (vegetarian 30 years), and in large part, when I got sick or didn’t feel well, people were quick to blame it on my vegan diet. As ridiculous as that is, (I mean really, how many omnivores get sick and don’t feel well sometimes… ummm… everyone!), I did everything in my power not to give people any reason to associate anything negative with being vegan. I felt this is what I needed to do to help the most people become motivated and inspired to make the transition to a vegan lifestyle.I felt my own personal struggles were irrelevant, since they had nothing to do with me being vegan, and everything to do with my mental and emotional health.

Well, times have changed, and so have I!

Jump ahead to 2016 for a moment (don’t worry, I will be sharing all the juicy details about my years of disordered eating shortly)…

Last year I began a new chapter in my life and career. I created and launched my first online coaching program, making it possible to coach people all over the world through a structured process for transitioning to a fit vegan lifestyle. This was also exciting for me because it was an opportunity to finally put my counseling skills (from my Master’s in Social Work) to use. The program is holistic in that we work on nutrition, fitness, and emotional health together, since each affects the others.

The program also gave me a great deal of insight into the issues people face on their journeys to simply be healthy and happy. One such issue includes different types of disordered eating. The diet mentality, and the pressure society puts on us to have the “perfect body”, is so ingrained in our culture, that most of us have totally lost touch with our innate ability to eat without trying to follow self-imposed “rules” that dictate what, when, and how much food we consume. If you really stop and think about this concept, it’s mind blowing!

Countless people, who understand logically that diets don’t work, feel totally lost without a “diet” to follow. Most are also fearful that they will lose control of the shape of their bodies without self-imposed dietary rules. They are scared of “getting fat” and/or losing muscle. These fears are heightened when switching to eating plants exclusively since this usually means more carbs and less protein (in this carb-phobic protein-obsessed world in which we live)!

These disordered eating issues are certainly not exclusive to omnivores. Although I’ve been plant-exclusive for my entire teenage and adult life, I too have struggled with disordered eating and an impaired body image. I could truly relate to these people I was coaching.

It has been a long, agonizing journey for me to come to terms with, and work through, my disordered eating issues. At one point in my twenties I played the, “how lean can I get” game, in a subconscious attempt to gain control of my life. I am strong and lean at 120ish pounds, so can you imagine what I was like at 99 pounds? Looking back at photos is quite terrifying to me now.

In fact, as healthy as I am now, I consider myself in recovery still, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I continue to feel I’m “recovering” for the rest of my life. To me, this simply means I am empowered to continue to practice existing and new tools for emotional growth to which there is no ceiling. It also means I couldn’t be more excited to be launching my new Plant-Empowered Coaching Program. Here the focus is learning to eat consciously, mindfully, and intuitively as part of building a PLANT-strong body, heart, and mind.

My purpose for sharing my story, and putting my heart into this coaching program, is to empower people with similar disordered eating issues to “come out” and get the help they need to become PLANT-Empowered too!

I invite you to stay tuned for Part 2 of my story. I dive into what went on behind closed doors all the years I was drowning in my own diet hell…

28 Jul 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Vegan Fitness

Tags: fitness challenge, vegan challenge, vegan fitness

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Vegan Fitness Challenge for August 2017

Time to announce our Vegan Fitness Challenge for August, 2017!

If you want to get and STAY motivated to challenge your body and mind, and you have not joined our Vegan Fitness Challenges Facebook group yet, now’s the time!

Our Vegan Fitness Challenges Facebook group was formed in May, 2017, and so far, we’ve completed challenges for the months of June and July. (If you haven’t read the first blog post introducing the group, you may want to read that post before continuing.)

Hey everyone, Ella here, and we are getting ready for the August Vegan Fitness Challenge!

Fitness Component:

I want to first introduce what we are going to do for the workout component. We will be doing 100 lunges, that’s 50 lunges on each side, every single day. There’s going to be a different type of lunge to perform for each of the five days that we’re doing this vegan fitness challenge. In addition to those 100 lunges you’ve also got 100 plank jacks per day to perform.

Take a look at the video above for a demonstration of each of the five different types of lunges. Keep in mind I’m giving you these options to, number one, add variety to your workouts. Number two, to work your muscles in different ways in order to build functional strength and tone. And the third reason is to increase the difficulty of the challenge for our more advanced participants.

Also remember, if you are a beginner, and a basic lunge is challenging enough, you’re free to stick to one type of lunge during this vegan fitness challenge. I always set the bar high so that you have something to work towards, and so that the more advanced participants will be challenged as well. Last, keep in mind that the other way to step it up is to add weights/dumbbells.

Diet Component:

For the diet part of the vegan fitness challenge we are of course going to eat vegan, but we’re going to step it up a notch this month. I want a minimum of five servings of green vegetables eaten every single day for those five days. For optimal vegan nutrition, we should ideally be doing this anyway, so if you’re not in that habit this is a great opportunity to practice getting in tons of greens every day!

Mindset Component:

Now for the mindset component of the challenge. We’re going to work on turning every negative thought into a positive one. For example I came down with a cold the other night so I’m not feeling my best. I could easily focus on how crappy I feel, how my performance is suffering, and how annoying it is to work out when I can’t breathe well. OR I could turn that around and say, “You know what? This is a perfect opportunity for me to take it easy for a couple days and let my body rest and heal.”

I have a tendency to overtrain, and I’ve got a shoulder injury that I’ve been struggling to heal completely. Spending less time training will not only give my body a helpful break, it will also allow me more time to get tons of work done.

Just like in my example, I want you to work on catching yourself when you have a negative thought. Once you catch yourself, you can then take a step back in order to become the observer of your own mind and the watcher of your own thoughts. Only then can you consciously make the choice to create a new, positive thought to replace the negative thought. We often can’t change our circumstances, but we do have total control over the thoughts that we have about those circumstances. Our thoughts are what cause our feelings, our feelings dictate our actions, and our actions lead to our results. If we start by taking control of our thoughts, we are suddenly empowered to reach our goals through our actions. See how that works?

Sharing

We start the Vegan Fitness Challenge on the first Monday of every month, so this month we begin on August 7th. I’m giving away a copy of my book, The Six Weeks to Sexy Abs Meal Plan, to the person who not only completes the challenge, but also puts effort into sharing their experiences throughout the week with our Facebook group, with their own Facebook friends, and on Instagram (#veganfitnesschallenges @sexyfitvegan).

Let’s Do This!

24 Jul 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Vegan Recipes

Tags: cauliflower, easy vegan meal, easy vegan recipes, healthy vegan dishes, Quinoa, tabbouleh, vegan diet plan, vegan recipes

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Quinoa Cauliflower Tabbouleh

I was thrilled that my quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh creation turned out FANTASTIC, so of course I have to share it with you!

I was about to try my hand at making cauliflower tabbouleh when I thought, “What if I combined cauliflower rice with quinoa to create a hybrid recipe for quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh?”

I’m glad I had that thought because this easy vegan recipe I came up with is super refreshing, satisfying, clean, and nutrient-packed. I have officially labeled it as a new “go-to vegan meal” on my list of meals I see myself making on a regular basis.

As much as I love convenience, I decided to make my own cauliflower rice, as opposed to buying it pre-made in the freezer section. From my experience, the frozen cauliflower rice (which may or may not be found in your local mainstream grocery stores) is great for cooking with, but for raw vegan recipes, it just doesn’t come out right.

Most tabbouleh recipes contain red onion. I’m not generally a fan of raw red onion because I feel like no matter what I do, I can taste onion in my mouth for the rest of the day. Red onion does add a nice crunch to dishes though, so I decided to add cucumber to this easy vegan recipe instead. I was pleasantly surprised how well this worked out! I did use garlic and onion powder in my recipe, but not enough to make you un-kissable 😉

I’ll admit, there is a lot of chopping involved in this quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh recipe, so I suggest making a double batch and snacking on it all week. I actually doubled this recipe and ended up eating half of it in just one day! I love making simple vegan meals that are guilt-free like this, knowing it’s doing my body good.

By the way, if you want to make this more of a meal than a side dish, I’m guessing lentils or chickpeas would be a great addition. And for my fellow fitness freaks, although quinoa contains complete vegan protein, adding legumes will up the protein content significantly.

Let me know how you like it!

Quinoa Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Ingredients

1 cup cauliflower rice
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 medium lemon, juiced
6-10 mint leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
Black pepper to taste

Instructions for Cauliflower Rice

Option 1:

Place cauliflower florets in your high speed blender
Cover with water
Pulse blend until the cauliflower has been chopped into rice-size pieces
Strain thoroughly
Allow time to dry or use a paper towel to pat dry

Option 2:

Use a box grater with the medium-size holes to grate the cauliflower florets into rice-size pieces.

Instructions for Tabbouleh

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly… That’s all, you’re done!

Enjoy!

06 Jun 2017

Ella Magers, MSW

Traveling Vegan

Tags: how to be vegan, travelling vegan, vegan lifestyle, vegan travel

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Vegan Travel Made Easy

Vegan travel is not as difficult as you may think!

I’m headed off to Europe for a 3-week vegan travel tour that I will vlog about as I go, showing you exactly how you can have a blast as a vegan on the road!

You can watch the vlog post or read the blog post below to get all my top tips for preparing for vegan travel…

Hey guys, it’s Ella here with Sexy Fit Vegan. Tomorrow I am leaving to go to Europe for 3 weeks so I wanted to do a post about traveling as a vegan. This is my longest trip ever and I’m super excited! I’m going to Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and Switzerland, then down through Italy, and finally leaving from Milan to come back home.

Fitness Routine and the Vegan Traveler

One thing I do is work out super hard 2 weeks in advance of my trips. I do plan on getting lots of exercise on my trip, but I don’t want my trip to be about exercise and making sure I keep my body in the best tip-top shape. I do want to experience new cultures, new sites, see new things, have fun and enjoy myself and not be stuck to a routine because that’s what home is for.

Planning for Vegan Travel with Social Media

I’m going to lots of different spots and will need to figure out what I’m going to do, where I’m going to stay, and traveling as a vegan, I will need to figure out how to maintain my health vegan diet. The first step is research. Connecting on social media gives you lots of info about fun things to do, where to stay, which neighborhoods to visit, and all that fun stuff.

Social media makes it so easy these days. I got into Facebook groups that are composed of vegans in Berlin, London, and Amsterdam. I joined these groups to ask questions and everyone was very receptive. On Instagram I was also able to connect with people with similar interests. From one post I found on Pinterest I went to the authors profile to see what her posts were to see if I related to her. I reached out because she had a lot of cool pictures like doing yoga and exploring vegan-friendly restaurants but she also had a few pictures that were fun, going to local spots and bars, and other things I want to do with the locals

Vegan-Friendly Places to Stay

I’m staying primarily at Airbnb. Why? Because that’s also, to me, a fun adventure and you can have a kitchen! I want my own place, not just my own room, so I have access to a kitchen and have my privacy. I love having a kitchen so that I can have big meals while I’m out and have leftovers always available if I want to just chill at the house for a little bit and recuperate between Adventures.

Also, remember there are always places, no matter where you go in the world, to get vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains so that you can always have something healthy at the house. My philosophy is, as long as you’re stuffing your body full of the most nutrient dense foods possible, especially calorie light dense food, you don’t have to worry about how mulch you’re eating. When I go on vacation, I work to eat healthy most of the time, but then know that I’m also going to have fun and eat some foods I might not normally eat, and be okay with it.

Packing for Vegan Travel

It’s always helpful to pack some vegan raw food or vegan protein bars or powders for emergency purposes. You don’t want to get to that point where you’re so starving that you get grumpy. If you’re like me, I get grumpy when I’m hungry. Bottom line, you know that you’re not going to starve to death, but it is an uncomfortable feeling.and you need a plan so you don’t just go and pick the very first thing you see just because you’re that hungry. I’m not a huge bar fan (I’m talking nutritional bars here – I am a fan of pub-style bars ;)), but having some nutritional bars with you can tide you over until you get to a place that has more choices that are agreeable with you.

Preparing for the Plane Ride, Vegan Style

It’s important to make sure you are prepared on especially long plane rides in case there isn’t anything available to eat that is plant-based or vegan. You can call ahead for long international flights to see if they have a vegan option for you. It’s a good idea to bring snacks for the trip just in case. For my trip I’m planning on bring baked tofu that comes in packets. The tofu can sit around for hours without going bad, it’s already flavored and works great for a high-protein, delicious substantial snack. Crackers or popcorn may be available in the airport, but even if they’re vegan and fun to snack on, they’re not really going to satisfy you for any length of time. The tofu and hummus with some veggies, if packed in a little cooler, can be a life saver!

There is a catch: you may have your hummus confiscated! On one of my travels I did have my hummus confiscated. This was quite upsetting, as funny as it sounds, but when you’re in a hurry and you’re getting on a long flight and you think you have a snack and you’re hungry and they take that snack away from you and you have to run and get on the plane anyway knowing you’re going to be really hungry, it’s just very disappointing! Bottom line: pack a few good options.

Planning Activities for the Vegan Traveler

Using Facebook and Instagram connections, I was able to find out about the historical sites that I don’t want to miss while I go to such historic cities. I want to experience the culture and also really get to meet with the locals and not just hit the tourist spots. You can always check traditional travel sites like Yahoo Trip Advisor, but I have found that the best way for me to find a cool spot by just asking around, as opposed to planning everything in advance. I also search for local fitness opportunities. This trip, I am nursing a shoulder injury and will probably stay mostly with yoga studios.

Eating Out, Vegan Style

For me, it’s not necessarily important to go into only vegan exclusive restaurants. What I want to do is stay as mainstream as possible and find restaurants that can offer me vegan choices, even if they’re not vegan restaurants. I find it to be an adventure to communicate with the staff at mainstream restaurants and see what they can do to come up with some options for me.

Of course, I also enjoy going to the vegan friendly spots. I have found lots of vegan bakeries that I plan on flirting a little bit with on my vegan travels. At home I have been off of sugar for quite a while, but when there are vegan donut spots that I’m going to come across as I travel through Europe, I’m going to be tasting some donuts!

I hope these tips help on your next vegan travel trip!

Author Archives: Ella Magers, MSW

Why I Chose “Sexy Fit Vegan®”

Top 7 Vegan Thanksgiving Swaps

I’m writing this post about vegan Thanksgiving swaps for anyone who, like me, is choosing convenience this holiday season!

So with that all being said, I have put together a list of my top vegan Thanksgiving swaps for you…

From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living Part 5

We ended part 4 with the question, “If you were so passionate about animal rights Ella, why weren’t you out there taking action and protesting?”

From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 4

Part 3 of my journey left off when I was somewhere around 26 or 27 years old, managing the Flamingo Athletic Club, living it up in South Beach with my Muay Thai crew, while struggling behind closed doors with disordered eating cycles, depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and insomnia…

From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 3

I’ll start by setting the scene (where we left off from Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 2)…

From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 2

Part 2 of my journey starts in my college years, where the diet mentality kicks in and disordered eating starts to snowball out of control…

Part 2: Journey into Diet La-La Land

From Disordered Eating to Plant-Empowered Living: Part 1

The time to share my journey from disordered eating to plant-empowered living has come!

Part 1: Intro

Vegan Fitness Challenge for August 2017

Time to announce our Vegan Fitness Challenge for August, 2017!

If you want to get and STAY motivated to challenge your body and mind, and you have not joined our Vegan Fitness Challenges Facebook group yet, now’s the time!

Quinoa Cauliflower Tabbouleh

I was thrilled that my quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh creation turned out FANTASTIC, so of course I have to share it with you!

I was about to try my hand at making cauliflower tabbouleh when I thought, “What if I combined cauliflower rice with quinoa to create a hybrid recipe for quinoa cauliflower tabbouleh?”

Quinoa Cauliflower Tabbouleh

Vegan Travel Made Easy

Vegan travel is not as difficult as you may think!

I’m headed off to Europe for a 3-week vegan travel tour that I will vlog about as I go, showing you exactly how you can have a blast as a vegan on the road!

Fitness Routine and the Vegan Traveler

Planning for Vegan Travel with Social Media

Vegan-Friendly Places to Stay

Packing for Vegan Travel

Preparing for the Plane Ride, Vegan Style

Planning Activities for the Vegan Traveler

Eating Out, Vegan Style

LEARN MORE!

AWARDED