Now, I understand what most of you are thinking right now. It's probably along the lines of a verbal (and literal) eye roll that is a precursor to turning off your brain from smug overload. Trust me, I get it. Vegans are all pretentious jerks who only ever talk about being vegan and really need a punch to their self-righteous little faces.
Or are they? I smell a PARADIGM SHIFT coming on...
The first thing I noticed when becoming a temporary vegan is how incredibly easy it is to sound like a pretentious jerk who only ever talks about being a vegan and needs a punch to their self-righteous little face in my day-to-day life. Just the very mention of the word "vegan" immediately fills the air with annoyed sighs from meat-eaters. You might be thinking: but couldn't this be solved if you just didn't talk about being a vegan all the time? No, my readers, no.
As a new vegan, I wasn't confident with my options yet. Apart from salad (which, come on guys, is usually gross and unsatisfying), I didn't know what I could and couldn't eat and therefore had to (gasp!) ask the server what the vegan options were. MOST places, as I found, do not have a good vegan option (They do, however, have ridiculously good and abundant vegetarian options... so I NEVER want to hear any of my vegetarian friends complain about anything. Ever. Not that you do. But IF you did. Pain.). Because vegan options weren't plentiful, I sometimes had to ask (to my great embarrassment) if they could make something special for me (this sandwich on this bread with none of this). This whole song and dance of eating out would regrettably lead to some conversation about the vegan lifestyle with my dinner-mates, thus digging my pretentious jerk hole all the bigger.
Eating at friend's houses wasn't any better. Most of the time I'd politely decline their beautiful party foods, which would be met by persistant guilt-tripping, which would have to be responded with my vegan explanation, which would immediately fill the room with the awkward smiles of everyone thinking everyone else is judging them. Even my good friends who I saw at least weekly always forgot about my vegan diet, bless their hearts. There was simply no way around NOT talking about it unless I buried myself deep in the recesses of my basement and never socialized with anyone ever again while I quietly kept my vegan thoughts secret. Seeing as I just described Gollum, I hope we can agree that's a bit harsh all in the name of not offending an omnivore. Why all this judgement from both sides about who is eating what? Everyone just needs to stop it! Especially you meat-lovin' Mormons because our dietary guidelines essentially describe a mostly-vegetarian lifestyle.
OH THE VEGAN AND THE COW-EATER SHOULD BE FRIENDS!
I get that both sides usually feel pretty passionately about their stances. But can't we find common ground of encouragement and understanding? Yes, vegans, our American diet consists of WAY too many unhealthy animal products, especially from unethical sources that are ruining our environment and economy. And yes, non-vegans, animals can still be treated humanely while providing nutrients, clothing, and shelter for us homo sapiens. How about we work together to create a more harmonized and loving food situation in general? We don't really need to hate each other because we feel insecure about our own life choices, right? Alright, everyone take a deep breath and hug the person with a different diet next to you. We good? Good.
Anyway, off my soap-box and back to my adventures of being a vegan. Here are the following things of interest I experienced in my 27 days of being a straight-up vegan (and the last couple being mostly vegan but sorta of vegetarian).
1. Yep, I feel amazing. My skin looks and feels better. I lost weight without trying (10-15 lbs). I slept better. After the first couple weeks as my body adjusted I had more energy. I only got mild heartburn once (I've had harsh heartburn basically everyday since I was 11 years old). My mood was more stable. I can tell a huge difference in how my body feels. Even starting to slowly incorporate mild animal products like cheese the last couple of days has made me feel more sluggish and "meh".
2. I don't crave meat. AT ALL. At about day 13 I was desperate for a ham-steak-bacon burrito of death from Betos, but that impulse was completely gone by day 15. Even when I had a little bite of meat last night to initiate my return to a meat eating lifestyle, I didn't really enjoy or care about it. I am not at all eager to eat meat as a main dish.
3. I think vegetarianism is very smart. If I wasn't going to Iceland where fresh produce is lacking, I would definitely continue a plant based diet with an occasional non-meat animal product. I also think being flexible is very smart. If I chose to be vegetarian, but I was traveling to Africa and someone slaughtered their goat to feed to me, I wouldn't turn them down. To me, the important thing is knowing where your food came from more than anything.
4. There are some dang good vegan alternatives out there I have grown to love more than the original animal based ones. It is a little more expensive most of the time, but your body is probably a worth-while investment. Besides, if you're not buying steak, you're going to be saving a lot of money anyway. That shiz is expensive!
5. It gets much easier. The first couple of weeks I OBSESSED over food. I thought about what I could and couldn't eat constantly. It stressed me out to get invited to lunch with friends. But after about day 20, I didn't think about it at all. I knew what I liked making at home. I knew what restaurants had good vegan options. I knew to eat before I went anywhere with friends. It honestly just became my way of life.
6. I enjoy my food a lot more. I'm more thankful for it. I put more effort into preparing it. I think it tastes better. I'm more conscious about where it came from and how far away from it's original form it is. I loved the feeling of "full" I got from plants as opposed to animal products.
7. I became a better cook. I've always liked cooking, but when your options are somewhat limited, you learn how to get crafty. Not to mention I don't like gross-tasting things. Nowhere in my life's rule-book does it say I have to eat rabbit food and cardboard to eat healthily.
And yeah, I guess that about sums it all up in one massive and confusing post. I also want to add I was the last survivor from my family to make it through Veganuary. Most of them survived less than 2 weeks! Hooray for bragging rights!
In closing I leave you with how I thought I'd feel by the end of the month, but to my surprise... didn't:
peace,
k.
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