My First Month As A Vegan

For one month now I have been eating vegan.  I wasn’t necessarily intentionally vegan but I have some auto-immune struggles and I have tried several ways of eating to make my life easier, my health better etc… My failures led me to vegan.  I tried to tell myself vegetarian was “enough” but then I realized I still wasn’t feeling as good as I knew I should so I switched to vegan.  I feel much better than I have in a very long time.  My next step would be to eliminate nightshade vegetables but so far I haven’t felt the need to do so and boy do I love them.

I will start by saying I don’t really do anything special for breakfast or lunch.  Honestly for those meals I eat something really quick like an apple and chocolate hummus or tomatoes and salt and pepper.  But supper – I truly look forward to supper all day long no matter what it is.

Here are some of the foods I have been trying…

I find that I almost never eat fast food anymore – after all what would I eat?  Salad?  I can get plenty of that at home and custom to my desires and healthier because I can add in spinach and kale to the greens.  I have had veggie burgers at fast food restaurants but there was something about them that literally made me feel sick three days straight.  Perfection would not define my journey – there were setbacks but every single time I felt physically uncomfortable immediately so lately I would much rather have what I want and purposely bought for myself.

What makes it difficult?  No one else in my house is interested in a vegan lifestyle.  That doesn’t mean I am tempted by their choices – because I am not.  It does mean however that there are different meals that need to be made all the time.

Choices?  I am eating some things that I never imagined I would because I am trying just about anything I can think of.  When I first started I overbought big time because I wanted to try everything.  Now I try one thing new each week and if I don’t like it – I won’t buy it again.  For example – eggplant; nope can’t do it.  Mushrooms however I have always disliked but I am determined to find a way that makes me want them.  Avocados and onions? I seriously could eat them all day every day.

Since switching to vegan I am losing weight without any real effort; my blood pressure which was never high has dropped significantly and 100/69 is more the “norm” now.  I am also not diabetic but since I get my blood checked once every six weeks I do expect those numbers to be even better with my next blood test in two weeks.

Fortunately we have two fridges in our house and I have taken over one for all my vegan foods.  Not that I care if anyone eats them but they don’t want them in the way of what they are trying to eat.  Fine by me… I have my own space.