A Whole New World

It’s been almost a month now since my decision to be vegan and while there are still struggles I am amazed at how easy it has been so far.  In my last post I talked about how my tastes have changed.  That plays a huge part in the ease of my adjustment to this lifestyle.  I enjoy things that are better for me and have fewer and fewer cravings for things that are no longer part of my lifestyle.  I’m learning to understand my cravings as my body telling me what it needs (iron, protein, etc.).  But it’s more than that.  I’m discovering other vegan options that excite me even more in this journey.  There were two such discoveries this week that I would like to share with you. 

On Tuesday I went with some friends to a store called Lush.  I’ve been there once before about a year ago, but didn’t realize the full mission of the business.  Lush sales hygiene and cosmetic products that are entirely vegetarian and heavily vegan, all for the purpose of fighting animal testing and providing cruelty-free products for their customers.

While we were there I struck up a conversation with one of the sales associates who is also vegan.  It was so encouraging to talk to someone on the same page as me and I feel like it opened up a whole new world of not only products but even community.  I know I’m not the only one out there, but it’s so refreshing to meet others who understand where I am and the journey I have ahead of me.

My sister and I also discovered an entirely vegan restaurant nearby called Loving Hut, which again is more than just the product they provide, but the community they encourage by bringing people together of like minds.  The staff is wonderful, the atmosphere is pleasant and the food is incredible.  And there are Loving Hut restaurants all over the world, too!

Both Lush and Loving Hut have a reach beyond the local market and these are just two ways that we can get connected with other vegans.  We have more resources available to us than I ever realized and it’s so exciting!  I’m sure this is just the beginning of even more amazing discoveries that await me on my vegan journey J

Oh, and if anyone is interested, I tend to post a number of pictures on my Instagram account when I make these discoveries and little victories.  Follow me!  User name: stepheranne

Little Victories

I have a new fascination in my vegan journey… my tastes are genuinely changing.

First, after almost three weeks I still don’t miss meat.  I would never have thought I could or would live without meat, but I have no desire for it anymore. 

Second, I enjoy more fruits and vegetables.  I’ve always been more of a fruit person, but even with fruit I was picky.  I never really cared for melon before, but I actually like it now.  With vegetables I was always more picky, but now I actually eat a wider variety and even if I don’t love them just yet, they’re not bad! I can tolerate vegetables I used to dislike.  I hated cucumber and believe it or not, I can eat it. I still don’t like it (lol), but I can stomach it much better than I used to.

Third, I get full more quickly on things that most people consider side dishes.  For breakfast most days I pick at grapes while I’m at work and because I’m not scarfing it down I also feel full with just that.  I do find that I get hungry more frequently, but just a small handful of my homemade trail mix (also not scarfed down quickly) and I’m good to go!

Fourth, when I eat things that are “technically” vegan but aren’t necessarily healthy (excess bread or potatoes, vegan chocolate, too much of my pretzels with hummus, anything too sweet… you get the idea) I can feel the difference.  I don’t feel as energetic, but kind of heavy and sluggish.  Not extremely so, but I can definitely feel the difference so I’m learning to be careful to have such things in small amounts and not too close together.

Fifth, artificial sweeteners definitely give me more noticeable sugar cravings.  I knew they did this, but I never noticed it so much before.  I’m much more content and satisfied now by just drinking water or even iced tea without sweetener.  If I ever do use artificial sweetener it’s in very small doses, but I’m quickly reaching the point of giving up on them.  It’s not worth the “munchies” and headaches it gives me.

I know my tastes and preferences will continue to change and I love seeing my continuing progress on this journey.  I’m still a work-in-progress vegan in some ways, just because I’m so new to it and there’s still so much to learn, but every day is a little victory and I’m just so excited to share these little victories with all of you :)

To Diet or Not to Diet...

What better time to make changes than for a milestone birthday! On July 5^th I turned 30 and it marked almost a week since my decision to go vegan.  I made an exception for some birthday cake (which of course had some egg and/or milk so it was still vegetarian), but otherwise, with all my other food, I stayed true to a vegan diet. 

When I say “diet” I don’t mean diet in the sense that someone goes on a diet like Adkins or South Beach or *insert trendy diet of choice here*.  I mean it in the sense of simply what a vegan eats on a regular basis.  I don’t want to confuse it with something as temporary as a “diet”.  In our culture a diet is something that ends.  It has a set of rules; a list of do’s and don’ts (mostly don’ts). It’s like cramming for a test. You do as much as you can to force your body to do what you want it to do in a designated amount of time, all the while counting down the days until it ends so you can see your results and go right back to eating just like you used to.

This, my friends, is a recipe for disaster.  Yes, you lose weight, but you aren’t getting healthy. Unless changes are made that stick with you, how can a “diet” make you healthy?  If you go right back to how you were eating before, nothing has really changed and the weight lost will find its way right back to your hips.  I’m not saying that everyone has to eat a vegan diet (though I do believe we would be better off), but if we want to be healthy we need to make lifestyle changes rather than attempting the next fad “diet” that comes along.

I truly have no desire for meat anymore. Occasionally I will crave cheese, but then I remember how bad it is for me (I believe I may be slightly lactose intolerant) and how processed it is and I decide I don’t want it, no matter how much I think I’m craving it.  I WANT to eat better foods for me. I DON’T want to put all the processed junk in my body anymore.  One of the documentaries I watched recently (more than once, I’ll admit) called Hungry for Change said something that really stuck with me.  There’s a tremendous shift that happens in the brain when we can go from “I want that but I can’t have it” (fad diet) to “I can have that but I don’t want it” (lifestyle change).  The choices in what we eat and don’t eat become effortless rather than making yourself stick to a set of rules.  And as you make better choices, your tastes and preferences will change some as well.

After not even 2 weeks I already can’t stomach all the sugar I used to eat.  I don’t want it anymore.  Oreos are technically vegan (some of them; I check them with my handy-dandy little “is it vegan?” app on my phone), but they aren’t healthy of course.  We got some thinking it would be a nice sweet treat to have from time to time, but I don’t even want them anymore because the sugar in them is too much now.  It amazes me and excites me that my body has adapted to the changes so quickly. Maybe it’s because this is how we are intended to eat.  I’m finally giving my body what it truly wants and needs and it’s excited and reacting positively in response.

I haven’t started incorporating exercise yet, though I do have more energy in general, but through the changes I’ve already made in just 11 days I’ve already dropped 5lbs.  Without even really trying!  It’s not a struggle because I’m not writing out a list of do’s and don’ts for myself.  I genuinely don’t want the things I used to want, I WANT things that are better for me.  I’m sure it won’t always be easy, I’m not expecting it to be, but I’m really excited about the changes I’ve made and that I’m on the right track to better myself and my health.

Extreme Makeover: Vegan Edition

I’ve tried so many different things to lose weight and get healthy.  I make some progress then gain the weight back or, if I’m lucky, stay stagnant for several months because I’m too lazy (or poor) to keep up with whatever the most recent healthy attempt had been.  Over the past 7 years I’ve lost 117 lbs, with lots of fluctuation, but I now weigh less than I did in high school. However I still have a long way to go and I have type 2 Diabetes.

My weakness: the convenience of fast food.  I always seem to fall back on that.  A quick breakfast sandwich from a drive through on my way to work always made life simpler since I struggle to get up and moving in the mornings.  That all changed on Friday, June 26, 2015 when I got food poisoning from a Carl’s Jr. sausage egg and cheese biscuit (that also had a hair in it, mind you, so I didn’t even finish it).  I’ve never experienced food poisoning before and I pray I never do again.  I was sick for four days and missed almost 2 whole days of work. I was miserable.

While I was home sick and unable to do much, my siblings and I started watching documentaries on Netflix, starting with “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” by Joe Cross.  Joe’s journey was very inspiring as he turned to juicing and healthy living to reverse his poor health and disease.  I was amazed at the results various people shared.  So my siblings and I started looking into it more and decided we need to make the change.  We ordered a juicer (which is taking forever to get here) and started planning out our health and wellness strategy.

We continued watching documentaries and ended up watching “Vegucated” which documents 3 people from different backgrounds as they attempt a vegan lifestyle for 6 weeks.  Vegans, like vegetarians, don’t eat meat.  But vegans, unlike vegetarians, don’t eat any animal byproducts.  Meaning no meat OR dairy, as well as excluding other animal byproducts.  Throughout their time they learn various aspects of veganism and the food/meat industry.  It was incredibly eye-opening and by the time it was over, my sister and I were ready to swear off all meat. 

Extreme? Maybe. Emotional response? Definitely. Crazy? No. I continued to research and to watch other documentaries about the food industry and have come to the conclusion that there is no way that I can go back to eating how I used to eat knowing what I now know. I can’t with a clear conscience eat animal products knowing not only how they are treated, but what the industry does to the product before it gets on my plate.

I’m not going to go into all the different reasons I’m doing this right now.  But as I continue to post, I will share tidbits I learn, videos I’ve watched, recipes I find, successes and struggles on the journey, funny stories and anything else I feel is relevant or noteworthy.  I’m so excited to get started on this journey.  I made the change to become vegan on June 30, 2015 and I’m not going back. :)