One Month of Veganism - Results

Today is the last official day of “One Month of Veganism.”  Out of the 30 days in June, I stuck to full veganism and followed the other prescribed “rules” (low salt, whole grains only, etc.) on 17 days.  For 8 days - I definitely “cheated” either all day or for parts thereof.  And the other 5 days, I didn’t keep good enough records to know for sure which way it went.  So, depending on how you look at those 5 mystery days (lumping them in with the 17 or the 8), I either succeeded 73.33% of the time, or succeeded 56.66% of the time.  Splitting the difference, let’s say I was vegan and followed the parameters an even 65% of the time.  Not great, but I made my choices knowingly, so it is what it is.  And it’s okay.  I’ll call it more positive than not.

Now, it wasn’t that it was difficult to stay on plan.  I wasn’t suffering in any way whatsoever.  I didn’t feel deprived or hungry – not in the least.  In fact, I really, really enjoyed this time.  We explored lots of new recipes, learned some new concepts, and picked up a few new cooking techniques.  It truly was an awesome adventure.

Food was SOOO good.  I mean, seriously, just lookit all them pretty colors!!  <--- pssst, click the link to see my Facebook album about all of this. 

Did I lose weight?  You bet.  On the days where I was consistent, I averaged -0.9 pounds per day.  But then I would cheat, which would either stop or temporarily reverse progress.  When all is said and done, I dropped about 10 pounds total (1/3 of a pound per day)….without exercising for one second, mind you!  It’s not as high a number as it could have been if I didn’t jump on and off the wagon the way I did, but that’s alright, because more importantly, at this stage, other changes in my body are pretty clear: clothes are fitting looser, cellulite is disappearing, things that were previously lumpy are flattening out, other stuff has tightened up, and while I haven’t had any blood tests or anything like that done, I do know that my resting pulse has dropped to below 70 (I just measured it right now).  That’s certainly an indication of improvement.  I have a regular doctor’s appointment in August, and will have everything else (cholesterol, liver values, kidney function, sugars, blood pressure, etc.) re-tested then.  Bottom line – I just feel great and I am happy.

So, what have I learned (or reinforced for myself) overall, insofar as eating goes?

1. My body just feels better eating this way  -- less sluggish, more functional; seems more balanced, consistent and steady.  Also (TMI warning) -- less gassy, bloated, and....stiff, if that makes any sense at all.
2. I am lactose intolerant.  Gluten?....I can say for sure has some effect on at least my gut that isn't nothing, though not at all anything major or serious or probably medically diagnosable or to the point of unhealthy/dangerous or that will make me stop eating gluten-y things entirely.  Same for lactose-y things.
3. Most of the time, I like to think of animal products as a side dish rather the main event.
4. We don’t need animal products every day, and because of that, we can be much, much pickier about where those that we do eat come from.
5. Food is not a cure for boredom.
6. Eating shouldn’t happen just because it’s “time to eat” or because there’s a spread looking you in the face at a party or somemsuch – i.e. only eat when you are actually hungry.
7. Cooking at home is almost always better and tastier than eating out, and of course it's much easier to control things at home. 
8. I need much less meat and cheese than I had been previously providing myself with, to be satisfied by them; the flavors go a long way without so much physical volume.
9. I don’t tend to feel stuffed after meals anymore, and I require a lot less food in general than I used to think I did to be completely satiated.
10. There is no need to suffer, or be deprived, or miss out, just because you are “eating right.”
11. There is, of course, a time and place for total indulgence.  ;)

There's probably more but that's all I can remember right now.

I am not where I want to be weight-wise yet, and that’s my own fault.  I could have been much closer to it by now if I didn’t waver.  But I’ve landed myself on a very good trajectory, as expected, and as I stated in my original post, while I can't say "I am a vegan now" or that I will cut out any particular thing or set of items completely (frankly, I think it's unreasonable, and maybe too hard, and definitely no fun, to be that strict) -- I do plan to continue eating Nutritarian (pure, clean, whole, mostly vegan, low salt, low sugar, low fat) the majority of the time, and permanently, if for no other reason than it feels good and right to me.  I simply like it.  Thoughtful moderation. Sustainable personal choices.  It will bring me to my final goals sooner or later (probably sooner – like by the end of the summer, I truly believe).  And sure, I’ll stray when it’s rare and appropriate.  Like now, I just got back from a sushi lunch celebrating the month wrapping up.  Cheers!!

PS:  I know a lot of this sounds pretty food snobby and hippie-ish, and maybe preachy.  Sure, I am a food snob....and a bit of a hippie, I accept and embrace that -- but what I'm not is a preacher.  If someone asks me for advice or for my thoughts, I'll give them.  But I am not here to judge anyone else.  For example, if I go to an event and there's food, or someone cooks a meal and serves it to me, or I'm at a restaurant where I don't want to be a huge pain in the ass -- I'm not going to start asking questions about where the ingredients came from or how it was made, etc.  I will gladly and appreciatively take what is given.  Food is love.  And I love food of all kinds.