My Month of Being Vegan
You may have read my previous post on vegan experimentation. I was still curious about any health or other effects of a longer term vegan diet, so just before Christmas 2019 I decided to be (mostly) vegan for as long as I could last. I had been hoping to do this for a few months, but it turned out to be just over a month of vegan meals with one strong exception made for non-vegan desserts.
I had high hopes. I had started running again, and I hoped that cutting nearly all animal proteins out of my diet might reduce inflammation and keep my soft tissue healthy as I increased mileage and distance. Instead, I probably ramped up training too quickly, again, and even got a hip injury I've never had before. So I suppose it was a fail in that area, but that was probably my fault. I did have lots of energy until I got sick the last week of my diet. The running, combined with 30-40 hours of overtime at work, and sick people around me, probably contributed the most to me getting sick. I wouldn't attribute any injuries or sickness to the veganism.
What did happen is I started cooking more. I'd plan a couple things to make and pick up ingredients throughout the week. I usually cooked on Sunday afternoon, after a long week of work and some rest, and made enough food to take for lunch to work. Since I was working late, we usually went to Whole Foods for dinner, where I could get lots of hot vegan food and ideas for my next home-cooked meals. I also ate more vegetables and pulses than ever before -- even more than when I had been a vegetable farmer, if you can believe it.
I had heard the term "eating clean" before, and that's the best way I can describe the way I felt on a vegan diet. I felt like my body was getting nourished but was never deprived. A huge part of that may have been my dessert exception. I have a major sweet tooth, and I don't know how I would have fared if I felt deprived of sweets all the time. Still, I know cutting out refined sugar should be a major feature of any dietary restrictions I place upon myself next.
Since going back to a normal, animal protein diet, there are days when I've felt I had no leafy greens, which made me feel as if I hadn't eaten a proper meal. Some people feel that way when they have no meat in each meal. I like that my mind has switched to craving things like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and spinach. I did feel my body wanting to eat some meat and eggs, though, especially when I caught a cold near the end of my vegan diet period. I'm not sure whether that happened because my body needed proteins or other nutrients in those foods or if I'm still programmed to crave certain comfort foods when I'm not feeling great.
Being cooped up at home due to COVID-19 has given me more time to cook. Although I haven't gone back to my vegan diet, I've been in the kitchen a lot and eating home-cooked meals every day, which I think is fantastic. I'm sure other households are finding they have time to cook now and can actually sit down for meals together. There will be many lasting impacts of this COVID-19 pandemic, but I hope this more subtle shift in family life, self-sustainability, and wellness will outlast the negative economic and social impacts of the pandemic.
I had high hopes. I had started running again, and I hoped that cutting nearly all animal proteins out of my diet might reduce inflammation and keep my soft tissue healthy as I increased mileage and distance. Instead, I probably ramped up training too quickly, again, and even got a hip injury I've never had before. So I suppose it was a fail in that area, but that was probably my fault. I did have lots of energy until I got sick the last week of my diet. The running, combined with 30-40 hours of overtime at work, and sick people around me, probably contributed the most to me getting sick. I wouldn't attribute any injuries or sickness to the veganism.
What did happen is I started cooking more. I'd plan a couple things to make and pick up ingredients throughout the week. I usually cooked on Sunday afternoon, after a long week of work and some rest, and made enough food to take for lunch to work. Since I was working late, we usually went to Whole Foods for dinner, where I could get lots of hot vegan food and ideas for my next home-cooked meals. I also ate more vegetables and pulses than ever before -- even more than when I had been a vegetable farmer, if you can believe it. I had heard the term "eating clean" before, and that's the best way I can describe the way I felt on a vegan diet. I felt like my body was getting nourished but was never deprived. A huge part of that may have been my dessert exception. I have a major sweet tooth, and I don't know how I would have fared if I felt deprived of sweets all the time. Still, I know cutting out refined sugar should be a major feature of any dietary restrictions I place upon myself next.
Since going back to a normal, animal protein diet, there are days when I've felt I had no leafy greens, which made me feel as if I hadn't eaten a proper meal. Some people feel that way when they have no meat in each meal. I like that my mind has switched to craving things like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and spinach. I did feel my body wanting to eat some meat and eggs, though, especially when I caught a cold near the end of my vegan diet period. I'm not sure whether that happened because my body needed proteins or other nutrients in those foods or if I'm still programmed to crave certain comfort foods when I'm not feeling great.
Being cooped up at home due to COVID-19 has given me more time to cook. Although I haven't gone back to my vegan diet, I've been in the kitchen a lot and eating home-cooked meals every day, which I think is fantastic. I'm sure other households are finding they have time to cook now and can actually sit down for meals together. There will be many lasting impacts of this COVID-19 pandemic, but I hope this more subtle shift in family life, self-sustainability, and wellness will outlast the negative economic and social impacts of the pandemic.
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