One Year Vegan
Originally published May 2023
One year ago I challenged myself to eat a completely plant-based diet for 30 days. After being pescatarian for 10 years and contemplating trying out veganism many times, I committed to trying it out to see how this way of eating affected me. Little did I know how passionate and committed I would become to this way of living.
I made the choice to challenge myself for the month, not because of wanting to lose weight or around any other aesthetic, but because I started educating myself more. It was a choice I made to improve my health and longevity, and to do my part to protect our planet. I had begun to learn more and more about the positive impacts of a plant based diet and wanted to see what it was all about.
As I prepared for that first month I had fears about how this journey would play out. Those fears were mostly on the following:
Will I be able to remove cheese? (this was the big one)
I want to spend a moment here to talk about this one. In my year vegan the biggest question I have gotten (honestly bigger than the protein one) is what about cheese? In vegan communities I am a part of beginners are really concerned about giving up cheese. This appears to be the biggest concern for most people and let me tell you I was very concerned too. I was used to blocks of cheese for appetizers, charcuterie boards, and I live in Wisconsin. After this year I can with 100% honesty tell you I don’t miss cheese, it was easy to remove, and now that I’m a year in I realize how unhealthy so many past habits were.
How will I navigate family events, work events, or eating out…?
Will I be able to find more energy eating this way?
How will this way of eating affect my running?
As I look back to my initial posts tracking my journey, I am so happily surprised by the amount of growth I have gone through this year. When I made the choice to take on this 30-day challenge I was concerned with my recovery, sleep, performance, and energy. While those thing are a priority for me as an athlete, my concern around the environmental impacts of our choices has been the prevailing thread through my continued commitment to this way of life.
The spark that grew to a flame is the need for change with the way we are currently treating our planet. I began learning how dramatically our food system and food choices are impacting our planet. Like stated above, I previously chose to eat a pescatarian diet because, I think like many, thought of eating fish as the lesser of two evils. I enjoyed sushi and didn’t think eating fish was a terrible choice. There’s like millions of fish, right. 🤦♀️ I knew that farmed fish was unhealthy but thought that was it. What I began to learn through various research and resources opened my eyes and I could no longer unsee or unlearn. Read more on the impact our current system has on the oceans.
We are causing irreversible damage to our planet. The choices we are making in terms of what we eat, where it is sourced from, the products we use, how much we waste, are all choices that we have the ability to do something about. We need to start doing something.
In the last year I have not only committed to and developed my understanding of a plant-based diet, I have also taken steps in other areas to protect our Earth. Some the habits I have adapted are:
Composting
Buying vegan products
Replacing wasteful products with more sustainable options (i.e. concentrated laundry detergent)
Reducing single-use plastics
There ARE things we can all do on an individual level to heal this place we call home and we need to start taking action. It is up to us to protect this planet and to give a healthy home to future generations.
How a vegan diet has manifested in my health after a year
I am connected with my body on a much deeper level than I ever have been. Once I was able to experience for myself the impact a whole food plant based diet could have I started appreciating my body in a way I never could before.
To simply put it I feel clean. My body is running smoothly, I have not had any running or strength training injuries, I am energetic, and I am in-tune with my body. I used to fall victim too often to incredible stomach aches, often resulting in being sick all night, and I can’t tell you the last time that has happened to me.
The painful bloated, overfed feelings that happened too often (thank you blocks of cheese) disappeared. Since I was now eating so many more veggies and fiber my body quickly showed me appreciation. Those painful bloated moments are no more.
One big win (to squash all the nay-sayers) is that I recently had bloodwork done and every single level is ideal. All of them. No protein issues, no B12 issues, no iron issues, no vitamin D issues…I am in fantastic health!
Bottom line, I FEEL GREAT!
The challenges that I overcame
Work events and family events began as a struggle that took some time to adapt to. What I learned is to always prepare for myself, no one else is responsible for my being and in order to stay focused on this way of life I need to prepare for what I need in all situations. I now always bring a snack or something I can eat to any event. I also want to really say thank you to my family because this lifestyle is not something they get, but they have been incredibly adaptable and open to my journey.
I learned to read labels on EVERYTHING. There is one specific memory of last summer eating tortilla chips, I think they were lime, and right tortilla chips do not and should not contain animal products. Yet, I looked and these had milk powder. That was the first moment I realized I can’t trust what I would expect because of how altered our food products can actually be.
On this note I want to share that you will screw up and it is ok. The world is not built for vegans (let’s hope we get there) and we need to be thorough in checking what we eat. Screw-ups happen, but guess what they actually are just learning moments. Just move on and keep making good choices.
Most restaurants will have something on the menu for you. Do your homework in advance, check how you can substitute things to make a vegan dish for yourself, and be flexible. I too wish every restaurant had a loaded veggie bowl but that is not the reality. We want to eat healthy whole plants but sometimes you just have to deal with the plant-based burger option. It is what it is.
What I’m still figuring out
How to eat enough. As an athlete I am burning roughly 2,000-2,500 calories a day and I find it a struggle to eat enough. I’m trying different ways to sneak in more calories. One strategy I have been trying is adding protein powder to overnight oats and so far that has been working well.
Energy levels. I saw a spike in my energy at the beginning of my journey and now I see to struggle again with consistent energy. I do realize that a lot of this comes from working out a lot and not giving myself the right time for recovery. While I do plan to continue my current workout schedule (plus some) and don’t see my work situation changing anytime soon, I am focusing on how what I put into my body helps with my recovery which leads to energy.
How to not fall back to lazy vegan meals when I’m tired. I know meal prep and freezing leftovers is always an option but sometimes I just don’t. Then I fall back on the vegan prepackaged frozen meals or lazy pasta. One strategy that I have added is instead of buying frozen vegan pizza, making my own with more veggies and healthier toppings.
Choosing to live a plant forward, vegan life is a lifestyle. It isn’t just a diet. It is about making choices that make our world and ourselves healthier. I’m excited to continue to share this journey!
