The Vegan Challenge ended on Saturday night. I made it! It was a great experience for me and I learned a ton about my personal relationship with food. I have to be honest; I definitely cheated a couple times, but nothing huge. I had some crackers with egg whites or a piece of homemade bread with eggs in it. All by accident; I realized it after the fact. Did you know that Vegan’s can’t eat honey…it comes from a bee! Yup, I learned that about half way through the month of March.
I also learned some other things through eating a Vegan lifestyle:
- It is ok to say no to food. I have always struggled with feeling obligated to eat whatever food is put in front of me. I feel like people will judge me if I do not eat it. It was really nice to be able to say, “No thanks, I do not want dessert.” There is barely any dessert food Vegan’s can eat, unless specially made. And, I was ok with saying no and passing on it. If I didn’t start, I really didn’t want it anyway. Once I have one bite, I always want more. Saying no from the start stops the temptation to have more.
- I stopped sampling and snacking. It just wasn’t possible. When we went to the FestEvol there were samples of the new Ben & Jerry’s Greek yogurt, and I typically would have a couple bites of everyone’s so I could try each flavor. But, I couldn’t on the challenge. And it actually worked out for the better. My stomach was happy and I felt better. I didn’t need to snack on the samples; the old me would have dug right in because the food was in front of me, but because it was off limits, I learned I didn’t need to eat any of it, ever (unless I really wanted to).
- I’m way more aware of what is in my food and conscious of what I am eating. Being a Vegan, made me check the ingredients and food labels. I learned so much about what was put into food’s I ate every day. It was really eye opening. There are so many preservatives and random ingredients. I always feel better when I eat fresh ingredients so it made me think twice about what I buy and what foods I eat.
- I did not miss meat. I really did not have any cravings for meat, however I did crave protein. I didn’t do a great job of making sure I was eating a well-balanced diet. A lot of my meals revolved around whole grains and veggies. The protein part was absent. I did not eat tofu the entire month (I did have tempeh)
- I did miss eggs (and cheese, a little bit). I absolutely craved eggs. I never realized how much I liked eggs until this challenge. My first meal, off the Vegan Challenge was eggs and toast. They are so creamy, satisfying and delicious!
The Vegan Challenge was a great experience for me and I am so happy I did it. Moving forward, I am not going to limit myself to a specific diet. I am absolutely going to eat eggs and a little diary, but not a lot of meat. I am not going to say I am a vegetarian, but I think I will lead a relatively vegetarian lifestyle. There is no reason for me to eat meat, when I do not crave it, want it or miss it. However, if I do feel like making chicken or ordering a burger I will. I am not going to hold myself to a specific type of diet.
My first day a non-Vegan involved eggs, pizza and cheese! I think this whole week, I plan to eat eggs for breakfast.
