- Joined
- Jan 10, 2016
- Reaction score
- 0
- Age
- 38
- Lifestyle
- Vegan newbie
I decided to do Veganuary basically on a dare. I'd mentioned reading about it to a friend and joked about doing it and she replied with, "You'll never manage to stick out being vegan for a month." Being one of the type of people who doesn't like being told what they can and can't do, I decided I had to prove her wrong.
It has all been a bit of a shock to me because I thought I was going to endure a month of terrible suffering and craving and then go straight back to my omnivorous ways on the 1st of February but I'm now seriously considering becoming vegan long-term. I still stay at home and had made a deal with my parents that they would support my vegan 'experiment' in January so long as I ate an omnivorous diet in February as we have a freezer full of meat that they don't want to throw out. After that, if I want to go vegan, then they'll support me.
I'm not missing meat at all and, in fact, the thought of eating it again in February is making me feel a bit sick. The only things I'm missing at all are tuna and cheese although I'm currently experimenting with vegan cheeses but I've been recording all I eat in My Fitness Pal and keeping an eye on my protein levels and they are nearly always way too low.
I'm not too worried about it now as I'm sure I've got enough reserves to see me through the month but if I'm going to make the change longer term, it could become an issue. I feel like I'm consciously trying to eat protein all the time but still not hitting my protein targets for the day unless I eat something like Linda McCartney sausages for dinner and I'm not keen on the idea of eating processed "meats" too often. I bought some tofu to try but I suspect I might not like it and I'm also a bit reluctant to rely on too much soya-based foods in my diet. I feel like I've been eating a tonne of nuts which probably isn't all that good for me and I'm still not hitting my protein targets. And as much as I love black beans, I feel like I can't eat many more of them for dinner or I might turn into one!
I've been reading about seitan and tempeh but they don't seem all that easy to find in the UK or maybe I just don't know where to look for them?
So any tips for a newbie? I'm considering finding some sort of vegan protein powder as an emergency stand-by if I do decide to do this for life so any tips on that will be welcome, too.
It has all been a bit of a shock to me because I thought I was going to endure a month of terrible suffering and craving and then go straight back to my omnivorous ways on the 1st of February but I'm now seriously considering becoming vegan long-term. I still stay at home and had made a deal with my parents that they would support my vegan 'experiment' in January so long as I ate an omnivorous diet in February as we have a freezer full of meat that they don't want to throw out. After that, if I want to go vegan, then they'll support me.
I'm not missing meat at all and, in fact, the thought of eating it again in February is making me feel a bit sick. The only things I'm missing at all are tuna and cheese although I'm currently experimenting with vegan cheeses but I've been recording all I eat in My Fitness Pal and keeping an eye on my protein levels and they are nearly always way too low.
I'm not too worried about it now as I'm sure I've got enough reserves to see me through the month but if I'm going to make the change longer term, it could become an issue. I feel like I'm consciously trying to eat protein all the time but still not hitting my protein targets for the day unless I eat something like Linda McCartney sausages for dinner and I'm not keen on the idea of eating processed "meats" too often. I bought some tofu to try but I suspect I might not like it and I'm also a bit reluctant to rely on too much soya-based foods in my diet. I feel like I've been eating a tonne of nuts which probably isn't all that good for me and I'm still not hitting my protein targets. And as much as I love black beans, I feel like I can't eat many more of them for dinner or I might turn into one!
I've been reading about seitan and tempeh but they don't seem all that easy to find in the UK or maybe I just don't know where to look for them?
So any tips for a newbie? I'm considering finding some sort of vegan protein powder as an emergency stand-by if I do decide to do this for life so any tips on that will be welcome, too.