I’m just over one 3rd of the way through Veganuary and I thought I’d give an update of how it’s going:
I made one faux pas in the last week which I wasn’t proud of. I stuck a garlic bread in the oven before looking at the ingredients. It wasn’t until I was about to put the first bite in my mouth that my partner shouted “what are you doing? Check the ingredients!” (I love that kinda support). So anyway, I looked and all I could see was olive oil and carried on eating.
It wasn’t until someone asked me what the make was and where I’d got it from that having checked the ingredients again I spotted ‘milk powder’ in the small print, way down the ingredient list. It was a slip on my part but I’m not going to beat myself up about it. One slip in 10 days is a good feat, I think.
Below are some impressions of my time as a vegan so far:
- Weight has stayed the same
- Dizzy spells frequent but this may be more down to a trapped nerve in my neck than the food I’m eating
- My carb intake dramatically increased in the first 5 days because it was easy to make and eat but have reduced this now
- I think I’m eating a lot of sugar but in reality I don’t think it’s actually more than before – I’m just noticing it more.
- While I’m not troughing in between meals (because I don’t anyway) there has been ‘crap’ food entering my daily diet like crisps and chips.
- I noticed I get a bit ‘uneasy’ around meals times because I’m not convinced I’ll have all ingredients in to make what I need (even though my plans are detailed!). So there is something about learning to relax around this diet for sure and becoming comfortable and confidant around prepping and cooking. I hope this will come in time.
- I’m learning to cook new recipes which has been nice although quite time consuming when you’ve been at work all day.
- Everything I cook I double up the ingredients for so I’ve always got plenty left over to freeze.
- Surprisingly I’ve only had one evening when I’ve craved chocolate and that was only because I’d had a rather garlic/salty meal and wanted something sweet afterwards. This is a habitual reaction rather than a need. Fortunately the chocolate I found and bought has proven itself to be delicious. Not as delicious as a Belgian nut bar but good enough to eat.
- Checking ingredients is a must. In fact anything with packaging is easier to avoid altogether than buy and eat, I think. So I’ve cooked most meals from scratch.
- I’ve not felt more energetic, nor felt livelier due to the amount of carbs I’ve packed in. In fact I’d go as so far as to say the paleo diet felt much cleaner (in an indigestion kinda way) at this same point. This just means I need to get in more fresh food though.
- There appears to be a fine line between being a vegetarian and a vegan but actually it’s huge. I’d say it would be ten times easier to be veggie. After this I don’t think being a veggie would be all that hard, but perhaps even more unhealthy (cream, chocolate etc).
- Not one craving of meat these last ten days. In fact I haven’t even given meat or fish a second thought.
- Texture plays a big part in any diet. If you like the texture of food you’re eating (along with smell and taste), you’ll be more inclined to eat it again. I like nutty, crunchy textures so a lot of what I am eating is made up of nuts, corn or raw/partially cooked food (salad/veg).
- The vegan community is VERY supportive.
This is an interesting challenge to take on and I’m still very pleased to be doing it. I’m certainly not counting down the days to the 31st. 🙂
What challenges are you taking up this year? Have you taken the vegan challenge? How easy do you think changing eating habits are?
The Forget-me-Not Cultivation Blog 
still impressed by your will power 🙂 I still need to recover from Christmas parties. You know, eating together in Italy is very very important. You simply cannot refuse foods 🙂 Any way I’ve always thought that I need to drink more water, less ham or food deviated from pigs; more vegetables.
I know it’s a lot of cooking and it’s difficult at first because every recipe is new! But it will get easier and you’ll find some recipes that you really enjoy and they’ll become your go tos when you’re tired or don’t feel like cooking. It’s easy on any “diet” (which this isn’t, it’s a lifestyle) to jump on the junk food wagon. I’ve had my share of chips and I eat more carbs than I should but you’re on track – you’re aware of it and will keep refining the way you eat. I never miss meat – it’s the cheese and dairy that are the most difficult. Have you found that cheese/dairy is in everything under the sun or so it seems? Ha ha. Most breads don’t have milk or eggs. Those good crusty breads are usually just flour yeast and water/oil. I forget where you live at the moment but I want to say it is not in the US. I fall back on Chipolte sometimes – quick easy vegan meal. I’m not sure if they are international. Asian cuisine usually has some options, too – they don’t usually use any cheese ha ha. Do you have a food processor? Makes it much easier. My husband and I invested in a Vitamix (big bucks) but we use it EVERY day and we’ve decided to stay with this lifestyle forever.
Thank you for that, it was helpful. You so right, it does seem quite overwhelming at the moment but I’m hanging in there!
Yes there is a lot of dairy about isn’t there.
We’ve got a bread maker so I’ve been making bread which has been nice but bloats me up somewhat!
No, I live in the UK – going out will be a whole new experience as I don’t live near a big city.
If you like curry there are loads options…. I had daal the other day and chappatis are vegan, too.
Ah yes curry, I am going to have a full curry session this weekend. I love the cuisine. Didn’t realise chapattis were vegan so will be grabbing those when I am next in the shops. 🙂
Oh, I don’t know about the shops – you would need to check the ingredients. I make my own, which are easy enough. Just flour and water – it doesn’t have to be bread flour. Then cook them in the frying pan with just enough oil to stop them sticking.