Vegan Update 3/30/17
OK, it’s been almost a week now since I made the decision of going vegan. There are a couple of things I would like to share with you all including my first impressions, challenges and successes I’ve had to face ever since day one.
First Impressions — I can definitely say that my first week has been great. We all have our ups and downs and sometimes you can get back up. Unfortunately, some of us clearly cannot resist eating that fresh meat hamburger from the deli or fast food place. In my case, I don’t think going vegan is hard but there are some things that can get in the way of you succeeding. For example, having to go vegan is very different, especially for Hispanics, since we all consume a significant amount of meat.
Challenges — The wonder of going vegan can be enchanting for some, unfortunately not so much for me. For instance, I’m Hispanic and meat is basically all my family eats. It maybe took me some time to adjust going vegan but it didn’t take long. Also, going to the store and having to stay there for a long time looking at the ingredients list and make sure that there isn’t any animal products listed was time consuming. Another struggle, particularly in my school, is my classmates and I have to make a log of how we feel every day until our DOT Project finishes, which is really time consuming too, especially trying to find out how you feel without being repetitive. Lastly, going on the web and searching for simple meals to make while vegan takes too much time and unlike people say, I don’t have all the time in the world to be looking at recipes! It’s boring and since my school doesn’t have clubs every week during the project, then I can’t have my science teacher, Ms. Riggen, find easy recipes to make!!!
Successes — There aren’t many successes to going vegan, but I’m trying guys, bear with me. One success that going vegan has it that if you have arthritis, eliminating dairy consumption has long been connected with alleviating arthritis symptoms, but a new study indicates that a combination of gluten-free and vegan diet is very promising for improving the health of those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. In my case, the successes that going vegan brought to me was:
- Increased sleep — I was sleeping very well in every night since Monday. Must’ve been that almond milk.
- More energy throughout the day — I was tired throughout the day. I’ve been eating nuts (don’t think dirty) and this gave me more strength and energy to keep myself from falling asleep.
In conclusion, this week has been OK but more things can be happening in the next couple of weeks.
