I finished my vegan challenge and I figured it was time to evaluate and draw some conclusions. How much weight did I loose? Did I manage getting in enough proteins? Was it tasty? How did I feel? What were the responses? Am I still running? Did I cheat the challenge?
How much weight did I loose?
I started this challenge weighing 61 kg. I made a terrible picture one day one which I took off when I noticed that more people that I could imagine were reading my blog. So no more pictures. But I can tell you I'm now steady 59 kilo. My goal was a few kilo less, but hey it was only 30 days and I was still eating carbs and refined sugar, although less than before. I'm hoping with the running I will lose another 2 kg in the next 30 days, and then maybe once more. And then I'm happy.
What about protein?
I got this question a lot. I may be repeating myself but most people are eating a lot more protein than necessary. If worrying about getting enough protein and staying healthy is the only reason to not go vegan - don't be silly :-) Veggies are packed with them, you just need to make sure you mix them a lot. And there's even more protein to find in beans, proteins and nuts. Confused? Here's an info-graphic. (A big image, but there's more blog underneath!)
Was it tasty?
It was! I would never have managed without hummus though. Something brilliant happened too, I was used to craving dairy products but that totally disappeared. Every time I felt like eating something unhealthy, it was something vegan. I was craving dark chocolate, smoked almonds, oreo's or salty crisps. Knowing I could still go all out and snack if I wanted to made this challenge easy. And bloody tasty. I can't believe I didn't miss cheese, even though it was in front of me almost every day at work lunch.
How did it feel?
It felt GREAT. Pretty much everything I used to eat (so so so much cheese) got substituted by something healthier. Especially when I had low-carb or carb-free vegan lunches I really noticed the change in energy. I was used to have cheesy toast for lunch with just two slices of tomato to represent vegetables. No surprise I used to get after-lunch dips. All I wanted to do is nap on my desk afterwards. Eating better made that I didn't want to nap, but felt excited to make plans after work. And that is what food is supposed to do - give you energy.
Plus of course the running added a lot to my energy levels, what a great feeling. I really noticed all the endorfines running about.
What were the responses?
Because me and my brother did this challenge together it was quite the subject within my family. My sister got inspired and my mum has also cooked quite a few vegan meals.
The general response outside of my family is quite nice but always ends in a ''I could never do that''. I don't say it out loud, but right now I feel like I couldn't go back to eating meat, I couldn't get the image of the hurt behind it out of my head. I hope my blog inspires more people to try this challenge themselves. It's not hard and you might loose a kilo or two. An official challenge that will start soon you can find here. No pressure ;-)
Am I still running?
Hell yes, I have tried running many times and was always demotivated. This pod-cast from Evy Gruyaert had finally motivated me. I can't wait to run 5k.
Did I cheat the challenge?
I hope not! I have been easy with wine as it doesn't say on the label if it's made with gelatine. Also I have been easy when bread doesn't have a label with ingredients. So it must have been once or twice that I ate something not strictly vegan - but never on purpose. I didn't bite into a chunk of cheese or anything like that.
Anything else I want to share?
Most definitely. I want to share what I found in these 30 days by watching documentaries, soul searching and reading. I want to share a very valuable lesson that I've learned. Eating animals and their products is not a personal decision - you're forgetting someone. You can't live without meat and dairy? Neither can animals.
Remember that every time you buy something you're voting. Whut? Yes. Every time you buy something, you're telling the shop to keep buying this product. The shop buys more of it from the distributor and more gets distributed. The food industry is a democracy. The farmers make what we buy. And I decided to stop voting animal cruelty. I am staying vegan.
What were those documentaries again?
Words don't convince as much as visuals. Please consider to watch these documentaries:
- Forks over Knives
- Vegucated
- Food Inc
Was this the final blog?
No! I loved writing this blog. Whenever I find a cute little vegan place, have some new insights or do a new challenge (who knows I'll go raw vegan for a while to loose the extra kilo's) I will write a new post. The best vegan recipes deserve a blog.
Thanks so much for following me.
X
How much weight did I loose?
I started this challenge weighing 61 kg. I made a terrible picture one day one which I took off when I noticed that more people that I could imagine were reading my blog. So no more pictures. But I can tell you I'm now steady 59 kilo. My goal was a few kilo less, but hey it was only 30 days and I was still eating carbs and refined sugar, although less than before. I'm hoping with the running I will lose another 2 kg in the next 30 days, and then maybe once more. And then I'm happy.What about protein?
I got this question a lot. I may be repeating myself but most people are eating a lot more protein than necessary. If worrying about getting enough protein and staying healthy is the only reason to not go vegan - don't be silly :-) Veggies are packed with them, you just need to make sure you mix them a lot. And there's even more protein to find in beans, proteins and nuts. Confused? Here's an info-graphic. (A big image, but there's more blog underneath!)
Was it tasty?
How did it feel?
It felt GREAT. Pretty much everything I used to eat (so so so much cheese) got substituted by something healthier. Especially when I had low-carb or carb-free vegan lunches I really noticed the change in energy. I was used to have cheesy toast for lunch with just two slices of tomato to represent vegetables. No surprise I used to get after-lunch dips. All I wanted to do is nap on my desk afterwards. Eating better made that I didn't want to nap, but felt excited to make plans after work. And that is what food is supposed to do - give you energy.
Plus of course the running added a lot to my energy levels, what a great feeling. I really noticed all the endorfines running about.
What were the responses?
The general response outside of my family is quite nice but always ends in a ''I could never do that''. I don't say it out loud, but right now I feel like I couldn't go back to eating meat, I couldn't get the image of the hurt behind it out of my head. I hope my blog inspires more people to try this challenge themselves. It's not hard and you might loose a kilo or two. An official challenge that will start soon you can find here. No pressure ;-)
Am I still running?
Hell yes, I have tried running many times and was always demotivated. This pod-cast from Evy Gruyaert had finally motivated me. I can't wait to run 5k.
Did I cheat the challenge?
I hope not! I have been easy with wine as it doesn't say on the label if it's made with gelatine. Also I have been easy when bread doesn't have a label with ingredients. So it must have been once or twice that I ate something not strictly vegan - but never on purpose. I didn't bite into a chunk of cheese or anything like that.
Anything else I want to share?
Remember that every time you buy something you're voting. Whut? Yes. Every time you buy something, you're telling the shop to keep buying this product. The shop buys more of it from the distributor and more gets distributed. The food industry is a democracy. The farmers make what we buy. And I decided to stop voting animal cruelty. I am staying vegan.
What were those documentaries again?
Words don't convince as much as visuals. Please consider to watch these documentaries:
- Forks over Knives
- Vegucated
- Food Inc
Was this the final blog?
No! I loved writing this blog. Whenever I find a cute little vegan place, have some new insights or do a new challenge (who knows I'll go raw vegan for a while to loose the extra kilo's) I will write a new post. The best vegan recipes deserve a blog.
Thanks so much for following me.
X
Thanks for sharing !!
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