Trying Veganism

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These are just a few examples of what I ate during the day. Since all animal products are restricted, my diet included a LOT of fruits and vegetables.

Day 1 (Monday)

Breakfast: Glass of Almond Milk, Rice Chex, strawberries
Lunch: Spinach salad, sweet potato fries, ketchup, mixed nuts, apple
Snack: Popcorn, handful dried pineapple
Dinner: Costa Rican rice and Beans recipe

I woke up feeling excited to start the challenge, but also sluggish and unmotivated from the weekend. This was my first time trying any sort of non-dairy milk, and surprisingly the almond milk was my favorite part of breakfast. Lunch was just ok, my stomach felt almost full, but in my mind I thought I should be eating more. Halfway through fourth period I ended up feeling slightly hungry so I ate a handful of my friend’s dried pineapple to get me through until dinner. By the time dinner rolled around I was super hungry, but had to wait until I could cook my dinner. The most annoying part of eating vegan was all the preparation. It was also annoying how long it took to plan and make all my meals for the next day. First, I plan out what I’m eating, then I gather it all, wash and cut up the fruit and veggies, and portion all the other food. Talk about time consuming! My dinner, while the rice and beans tasted pretty good, got old…fast. In order to get my serving of carbs and protein for the day, I had to eat a substantial portion. While the first few bites tasted good, the meal became bland pretty quick. Overall, it was difficult adjusting, but day one was a success, and I’m ready to go on!

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Breakfast: Glass of Almond Milk, vegan protein bar
Lunch: Leftover Rice/Beans, apple slices,
Snack: 3 vegan peanut butter crackers
Dinner: roasted broccoli, carrots, and sweet potato, vegan mac n cheese
Dessert: Strawberry Sorbet

Today I woke up feeling groggy and tired as usual. The Almond Milk wasn’t as good as the day before, but I still drank it all. Today, I was able to wait until lunchtime to eat, but the meal was unsatisfying. In order to get a sufficient serving of carbs and protein, a decent portion must be eaten, and after having the rice and beans for dinner, I wasn’t excited. I ended up only eating about half of what I portioned out because I wasn’t feeling it, and didn’t want to force myself to eat. The vegan peanut butter crackers were a nice pick-me-up after track practice, and dinner was surprisingly filling. Being frank, I was hungry the entire day; all I wanted to eat was everything I couldn’t. Part of it was the fact all animal products are restricted and so my mind wants what it can’t have. On the other hand as a student athlete, I could feel my body becoming fatigued and wanting to refuel, but since meat is restricted, my body could not get the necessary protein. Day two was slightly harder than the previous, but I’m ready to trek on and enjoy Veganism.

Day 3 (Wednesday)

Breakfast: Almond Milk overnight oats
Lunch: Carrots, pretzels, Bagel
Snack: 3 vegan peanut butter crackers
Dinner: 2 slices of pizza ( I cracked)

Once again, I woke up feeling dead tired, with no motivation to get out of bed. My vegan breakfast was just ok, I make the overnight oats frequently for breakfast but usually with regular milk.

While the almond milk didn’t alter the taste, texture-wise the oats weren’t as creamy and overall just weren’t as good. My lunch was about the same, a lot of more bland food with a side of boring. The bagel helped to spruce up the meal, but I didn’t feel full afterwards. Next comes my mistake at dinner, I didn’t realize what I was eating until I halfway through my first slice of pizza. I had a moment of panic because I cheating the diet by eating almost everything I wasn’t supposed to! By then it was too late to go back to a vegan dinner, so I went with it and ate another piece of pizza. I went to bed finally having a full belly, but with a heavy conscious knowing I didn’t eat vegan.


 

I didn’t make it. I tried my best, but honestly, being vegan sucked. It seemed as if I basically could only eat grass. I understand why people eat vegan to save animal’s lives, and I now have a high respect for those who partake in the diet.

However, unless you have a motivating reason to still be vegan, it can very difficult. I was able to only last two and half day! Reflecting on the few days I spent as vegan, I learned that virtually everything contains some type of animal product. Whether the cookies contain two eggs or there are trace amounts of milk in the crackers. I also learned vegans must block out time each day to plan and prepare meals, planning ahead definitely becomes your best friend! It was easier for me to plan out what I eating that day and bringing all the food with me, that way I still got to choose what I wanted to eat while knowing it was vegan.

Overall, I was excited to start the challenge, and while I didn’t last very long as a vegan, I gained an interesting perspective.

But I’m now looking forward to enjoying a nice steak dinner!

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