Zoe Soul currently stars as ‘Kaci’ on Reed Between The Lines (BET) opposite Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Tracee Ellis-Ross. But behind the scenes, this 16 year old actress, dancer, and model (signed with the best, Ford Models) is all about making maintaining her healthy lifestyle a main priority. Her route along the healthy path has slightly shifted as Soul recently made the switch from vegetarian to vegan and is loving every moment of it. So much so that this PETA supporter was more than happy to share a bit about her lifestyle and give some tips to those considering being vegan as part of Young Insight. Check it out:
Turning Vegan:
I knew that I wanted to become a vegan around twelve years old. I was dancing really hard at that age so I told myself that since I still needed protein, I’d become a pescetarian, which is somebody who eats fish but no chicken, meat, only fish. I did that for a couple of years and then decided to become a vegetarian. I did that for a couple of months but I was so anxious to become a vegan so I did that kind of right away when I was fifteen. I’ve been a vegan for about six months now. I just don’t think that it’s right to eat anything that is an animal. It definitely translates into the products that I use and the things that I wear. I don’t wear any fur. Even when I wasn’t a vegetarian, I didn’t wear anything with animal skin and use anything that was tested on animals.
Favorite Places To Eat:
I have one favorite place to eat, Cafe Sunflower in Atlanta. I love that place, it’s so amazing. Out here, I just go to Whole Foods and make my own food, I love that!
Getting Support:
I live with my mom and my brother who aren’t vegan or vegetarian but they are so supportive. Sometimes they’ll cook separate dishes for me and them which is a lot of work and sometimes they’ll eat what I like and like it. My friends are so supportive as well.
When I was on set for Reed Between the Lines, I wasn’t a vegan yet but I was vegetarian. It was pretty easy to find things to eat. But when I became a vegan, it became a whole different diet plan and craft services thought it was really cool, so they bought vegan butter right away and made all of the sauces with that. They were so supportive and made separate meals. All of the people on set probably don’t know that they were eating food with vegan butter. (laughs)
Health & Fitness Advice:
I would say really look into this, make sure you have a good plan. Especially if you’re exercising and staying active, really do your research and talk to other vegans to collect as much knowledge as you can. Otherwise, your body will not respond correctly. I know people who became vegan and vegetarian and got sick because they weren’t taking in enough protein and stuff. So really do your research.
Being healthy is a big part of my life and being vegan definitely does not mean that you are healthy at all. As a vegan, you can still eat a lot of candy and you can over-eat which is not good. Really, what stops me from things like that is knowing what is good for me and knowing what isn’t. Even though I don’t take in animal products, I still have cravings. You just have to look at the calories and stuff like that because it’s not about “I want to be skinny,” it’s about, “I want to be healthy.” You really have to pay attention to what you are putting into your body, vegan or not.
As for fitness, I do kickboxing but I think that anything you are doing when you are moving your body is helpful. You could walk on the beach for an hour or so and that’s really helpful. As long as you’re moving. I’m not big on running on the treadmill as I get antsy and bored…dance is a great way to get in shape. When you’re dancing, you’re having so much fun that you don’t even think of it as exercise. Along with dancing, there’s Zumba and yoga… anything like that is the perfect thing to do. Going into the summer, just go for it! Have fun with your friends and go to a class. The weight will come off like that because you’re having fun and not even thinking about it. Look at your meal plan too. What I’m going to start doing is keep a food journal to see what I ate, even the stuff that I am not proud that I ate and I’m going to cut back. And if you can walk to the store, don’t drive to the store, walk. Walk to the coffee shop. As long as you’re moving.
Catch Zoe Soul on Reed Between The Lines on BET and stay tuned for news as she begins to record and put together her debut album.