Crawling on the Floor...My first 2 Weeks as a Vegan
Every time I mention to someone that I am vegan, I hear similar things:
I don’t know how you do it, I like bacon too much! Bacon bacon bacon!...Yuck
I tried it for a while, but it was too hard
Where do you get your protein?
The first one was a sentence that I said more than once (personalized with the love I had for bacon). Like I said in my first blog, there was a disassociation between the love I had for animals and the food I saw on my plate. I now know that the life of the pig is way more important than the few seconds I spent eating a piece of bacon.
The third sentence needs it’s own blog entirely, so I’m not even going to touch it!
My focus today is on the second sentence. “I tried it for a while, but it was too hard.” I ended my last blog with this positive can-do attitude that I felt after deciding to go vegan. Day 1 was amazing, the birds were singing louder, the sun was brighter, and I was super woman. Day 2 was a little harder, my stomach growled from time to time and I was a little sleepy, but I stopped at every squirrel I saw and, through telepathy, told them that I was vegan and would never eat any of their cousins or friends. And then...days 3 through 14 happened. The amount of energy that I felt was sucked out of me was indescribable...but I’ll try to describe it anyway.
Walking was hard. Speaking was hard. Math was REALLY hard. And, while I’m already at this pity party, I’ll say that keeping my eyes open between blinks became the most difficult thing I had done in recent memory.
This was the time that I realized, that people that may not be as deeply connected with their reason for becoming vegan would go back to their old diets. I was SURE that this was what I wanted, but even then, had I not had the support of Big Fuddha (support = accountability), I don’t know how I would have gotten through that time.
Looking back I can see where I went wrong. Some people say to ease yourself into it, but I was already so opposed to eating/drinking any animal products that I couldn’t force myself to do even that. I tried to make some of the same meals as I did before, just leave out the meat and animal products. It obviously didn’t help me as much as I’d hoped.
Here are my top tips for your first few weeks as a vegan:
Sit down, REALLY plan out your meals-- immediately start Googling, search through Pinterest and find recipes from blogs (like our Buttery Vegan Garlic Bread). Having ideas for your main meals, things that looks DELICIOUS to you, makes grocery shopping and your meals so much easier.
Snack like no one’s looking! Pack baggies of grapes, strawberries, pretzels, or carrots. When you first go vegan and you get hungry, you get hungry, hangry, and everything in between. Make sure you have pre-packed snacks available so you don’t feel the need to reach for anything else.
If all else fails, stick to your favorites. If you know you love cooked yams or baked potatoes, spaghetti, and steamed veggies with rice, have those things on hand. After a frustrating day or two of possibly not LOVING your new vegan recipes, it’s nice and reassuring to go back to familiar vegan foods.
The videos or articles that helped you make this decision can make this easier. Watch them or read through them from time to time to remind you why you are doing this...why did this become so important to you? Is it worth getting through this rough patch? Absolutely.
This is truly a journey, the only way to get through it is to take it one day, one hour at a time. I promise, it gets easier...even after day 10, when you consider calling out of work because you aren’t sure if you can walk...it gets easier.
Love,
Little Fuddha
