30 Days!

It's been 30 days on my plan. I did it! I made it the whole month without eating meat or dairy.  Well okay, with the exception of cheating once :-)

I have relied alot on processed food this month.  The next month, I am going to concentrate on making things from scratch, more often.  I am looking forward to trying my hand at making seiten.  So yes, this means I am sticking with the plan!  I've discovered so many products and tons of recipes that it was relatively easy for me to stay on this plan for the entire 30 days. Everything you can think of with meat in it, there's an alternative vegan product for. Even chicken fingers and ice cream sandwiches!


Things I've Missed

Chocolate.  Milk Chocolate.  It was difficult dealing with a chocolate craving as I had nothing in the house and didn't really know where to find non-dairy chocolate.  That's when I cheated.  Then, I found the Rice Dream Chocolate Ice Cream.  YUMMY!  The weather is warming up so I'll probably be eating more Rice Dream.  I'm thinking once a week for my friday night treat. 

Milk. To a certain extent.  I made toast for breakfast one morning and really wanted a glass of milk to go with it.  It's hard not to pour a glass when you have it in the fridge but I did resist.  The craving passed quickly and I settled for a cup of coffee.  I've found myself thinking more than once that I would love to take a big ol swig of milk from the jug, though.  Then I remember the cows and realize that by not drinking milk, I am not buying as much milk anymore so I just might be helping a cow in the long run.  That makes it worthwhile.

Things I Haven't Missed

Meat.  Honestly, I haven't missed meat in the least!  I do confess to thinking it might be difficult to continue this lifestyle but it passed quickly.  That was in the beginning.  Now, the sight of meat makes me a little queasy.  Today, my son wanted to buy some fried chicken at Walmart.  So we stopped to get some, he got in the car and the second the smell hit me, my stomach turned.

When I was pregnant, I was vegetarian.  I couldn't stomach meat at all.  To make things worse, I worked in a sub shop where I was surrounded by meat and had to cook it daily.  I was queasy all the time and that's how I am now;  The thought of eating meat makes me ill.  I will cook it for my family, but don't make me eat it.

Things I Didn't Expect

The Cleanse.  I lost 7lbs the first week and then 1lb a week after that.  I'm certainly okay with a pound a week.  What I didn't expect was that I was going to explode from every pore in my body!  Holy Acne Batman!  Around the third week, I broke out all over my body.  What a sight that was!  Now, everything is finally beginning to clear up but it was kind of embarassing to go out into public with zits all over my face. Sheesh, I haven't been like that for ages!

Lets see...how to put this delicately...Doctor Oz's favourite subject; poop. I'm used to going once a day. Yup, that's about it..  I also had bouts of diarhea and constipation.  I never knew from one day to the next how my bowels were going to behave.  I was begnning to think I had a disease like irritable bowl syndrome and I was getting worried.  It was one of the reasons why I went vegan.  Now, I am pretty darn consistant.  I have that 'S' shape every single time, at least twice a day. The thing is, though,  the first week I was going ALL THE TIME.  Who needs a colonic when you have veggies!  I swear half the weight I lost in the first week came from my colon.  Doctor Oz would be proud :-D

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So, today begins another 30 day journey.  I'll learn more and eat more delicious foods!  I've lost 10lbs so far and hopefully I will continue this weightloss.  As it stands right now, I don't care if I lose alot of weight. I am feeling so good inside and out that I cannot justify any other way of life for the time being.  I hope you stick with me through the next 30 days as I think it's going to be an awesome journey.