Prompt Retirement

I wrote here how I wanted to experiment with Veganism for 30 days. Unfortunately 2 days in I ate meat, and had to restart.

First Week:
Starting out was difficult as cravings are constantly testing your willpower, and at time you fail. Furthermore it doesn’t help that friends go out and will eat meat with almost every meal, if not every single one. However if you want something, perseverance is key. My first couple of days were nothing but cravings, and having to throw out lots of food because it was meat or dairy based.

Second Week:
Following the first week the cravings went away and it became easier to go out and not salivate all over the meat menu. It also becomes much easier to talk to those close to you and admit that you aren’t into meat. It amazes me how much peer pressure can play into making you follow certain trends. During my first week I couldn’t look my friends in the eyes and admit that I don’t eat meat or cheese.

Third Week:
This is where things start to become odd. At first you crave meat, then the cravings stop, and then you start to dislike meat altogether. Throughout this week it was difficult to imagine myself eating meat, and my mind actively starting to shun it. It’s also noteworthy that this week my taste buds started to enjoy vegetables more.

Fourth Week:
During this last week, nothing of major importance happened.

My overall thoughts:
There are a lot of health claims touted for being vegan or becoming vegetarian. I’ve found most of these to be false, however two major things stick out. My energy levels have fluctuated a good bit, however after a large meal a nap will be necessary. Before napping occurred once or twice a day. Hunger cravings have changed from more sweet things like chocolate, and candy to clementines, bananas, and other sweet fruit. This could be attributed to eating more fruit with every meal which is more of a dietary choice than anything else.
The main takeaway here is that forcing yourself into good lifestyle habits will trump any diet or fad out there. This is evidenced in the book, Blue Zones.
Finally, veganism is the ultimate goal, however try eating out on a corporate business trip. It’s difficult to do, and it’s not always ideal to shun dairy products. While out there, my best foot is put forward.

Give being a vegetarian a shot and see how much you enjoy it, if anything switch back. Oh yeah, while donating blood it was shown that there is plenty of iron in my blood. Who would’ve thought?

I’ve been vegetarian and vegan before, but I gave it up due to pressure or losing too much weight. Now I’m back into it, this time for good, and I’ll be sharing my adventure as I live it. My reasons aren’t to protect the world, nor to help the animals, rather I’m doing this to become more healthy and have more energy.

Day 1:
Today wasn’t too bad. This morning I had some fruit and oatmeal with peanut butter. Lunch was lentil soup and cantaloupe. Dinner was cucumber, tomato, humus, with bread and small amount of black salt. Finally for dinner it was all about white grapes.
Emotionally speaking I didn’t feel too deprived of food, nor were cravings evident. With this new way of eating (for me, nothing new about veganism) I’ll be able to lose several pounds that I probably don’t need to. Maybe I’ll look good in a speedo?