Plant Based: 30 Day Vegan Challenge--COMPLETE!

On February 1st, 2012, I successfully completed my first month of eating a plant-based, whole grain diet.

Epic Winning!

RECAP:

Physical~

• total weight loss: 4 lbs
• total inches lost: 6
• More restful sleep; easier to fall asleep/wake up. (Still have progress to make.  Monday mornings are torture, and I'd still like to go to sleep earlier.)
• INCREASED ENERGY!  After my morning juice, I feel energized and bouncy.  I know this is a result of both my diet and my workouts, and was definitely what I had been missing.  It feels awesome!
• My tastes have transformed quite a bit.  I don't crave super sugary food or greasy food (ie cake, candy, sugary drinks, burgers, fried food, etc).  I never really ate very much of that food anyway.  My cravings for cheese have not yet waned, but I've been shocked at my ability to resist it.   I don't crave milk at all; soy milk and rice milk have kept me very satisfied.
• The first 2 weeks of working out, I didn't feel much transforming, just a lot of discomfort.  It was HARD.  The 3rd week, I felt my body changing--running farther without stopping, less winded, less soreness, lowered resting heart rate, etc.  
• At the end of the 3rd week, I felt the first real endorphin boost while working out.  I get a good kicker in the middle of most workouts now--it feels great and is super motivating.
• Clothes fit better.  That's nice.
• Significant decreases in feelings of "bloating".  Awesome.

Mental/Emotional~

•  Eating this way is not nearly as "extreme" as people think it is, or as people told me it was.  Now, it seems like the "typical American diet" is a lot more extreme and a lot scarier.  I'm not really talking about people who eat fast food every day, because I've never done that, and we all know that is an extreme way to live.  I've increased my awareness of ingredients, I see processed foods that I once thought of as "healthy" in a different way now.   It has become increasingly prevalent to me that most of the processed food we eat is just corn, fat, and sugar pressed into different shapes.  Take away the color and a few different sweeteners and a pop-tart is the same as an oreo is the same as Coco-Puffs is the same as Chicken nuggets is the same as Grape soda....etc etc.'
• I realized how many vegetables I wasn't eating before.
• I proved to myself that I can make significant changes in my habits and lifestyle, and that 30 days is long, but not long enough to permanently change habits or thought patterns.  It is going to take much longer than 30 days to erase years of false info, misconceptions, and acquired tastes.
• I feel pretty jerked around by the scale.  I'll be down 4 pounds one morning, and up 5 the same night, then down 3, then up 2, then up 4, etc etc.  I wish I weren't so concerned by the numbers, but you know, I'm a woman, so, there's that.  Pretty lame.

I could continue to pontificate, but I think you've got the gist.  I've decided to continue with this new way of life.  I did allow myself a slice of pizza, a looser approach to vegetable oil,  and a few deserts since I completed my 30 day goal, but those were just rewards for a job well done.  I'm refocused now, and have no intention of deviating.  (I proved this to myself last night when I could have ordered my favorite chicken dish at the Indian restaurant, but ordered vegetarian instead. That is dedication!)

My friend Kim has an awesome blog, where she has written about a lot of topics related to a vegan lifestyle.  She writes about recipes, projects, workouts, and informative pieces about everything from protein to high fructose corn syrup.  READ HER BLOG!

Thanks for following my little experiment!  Its been great, and will continue to be great.  My next experiment, a 10 Day Juice Fast!  More on that later....