37 Days of Vegan Eating!

In June, I started considering veganism. I had been feeling really sluggish and had some joint pain and headaches, and a frequent upset stomach. In the early part of June I started eating vegetarian meals. By June 19th, I was eating completely vegetarian. The vegetarian eating was actually ok, so July 1 I decided to give vegan eating a go for a month. I do feel much better. The most noticeable things for me have been the increase in energy I have had, the lack of headaches, and the fact that my stomach is no longer upset. I have to be honest, I expected that a vegan diet would go hand in hand with weight loss, since there are so many things you cannot eat. All products with any form of an animal product are out. You'd be surprised how many foods have to be cut out! Since I started I lost 4 pounds. Kind of disappointing.... but I do feel so much better. I do not like a lot of the meat replacements that you can eat when you are vegan. I have been getting my protein from soy products, nuts, beans, legumes, etc. The meat replacements that I do like tend to be higher in carbs than meat would be. Also I have had to take a supplement tablet to get my iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B12, omega-3s and iodine.

All in all I have not had a bad time eating vegan food. I didn't intend for it to be a permanent lifestyle but I was curious to see how I would feel after a few weeks. I feel so good that for now I plan to remain a type of vegetarian--I will leave out dairy, but I will be adding fish to my diet. Out of the list of the types of fish to eat that are best for you, I like tuna. Lol!! I am going to start trying to enjoy salmon, as well. :-/ I don't so much hate the taste of salmon but I do not like the smell in the house. I can't stand that fishy smell. My favorite fish is swordfish, which is not a very fatty fish (therefore not as good for you as other fish) but I will have to learn to like salmon. After the different foods I have developed a taste for in the past several weeks, I think learning to like salmon will be a breeze.

I enjoyed my dinner tonight with a side of tasty tunafish. I put in smoked chipotle peppers, vegenaise, chipotle mustard, a bit of relish and salt & pepper. Yum!