If you've been kind enough to be ready my blog over the last few months you'll know that I'm meant to be removing dairey products from my diet because of the problems milk can cause when you have PCOS. You'll also know that I've been watching documentaries like Cowspiracy and Food Inc as well as educating myself on the food industry and the negative impact animal agriculture has on the environment. And with the most recent information on fighting climate change and habitat loss indicating that making changes to your diet, especially removing animal products from it, is one of the leading ways in which we can do our bit it seems logical to me to start transitioning my diet from a vegetarian one to a vegan. I've been thinking about this for a while, but for some reason the momentum to do it has really begun now.
I've already been taking steps, without necessarily noticing it, in that direction, but these have all been the easy ones. One of these has been increasing the amount a fresh vegetables I get over buying processed food which is likely to contain an animal product. This has been very easy as vegetable are yummy so why wouldn't you want to eat as many as is humanly possible. I've also been swapping products to vegan alternatives such as plant based milks and the cheeky Quorn vegan products which I add to my suppers. I've also added some ingredients that are important for everyone to have in a healthy diet, but are especially important when it comes to vegans. I already love marmite, but nutrional yeast has been a great addition to ensure that I'm getting all my needed B vitamins. It doesn't taste of cheese (I don't know why people say that), but it is pretty yummy and good to add to a range of things.
There have been some things I have found suprisingly easy to start removing from my diet. Firstly milk. Milk used to play a big part in my diet, in fact I craved it when I got home at night and would down a big glass of it. But since removing it I haven't missed it at all. It's not just that I've found an alternative that I really like, it's that the cravings have completely gone. I'm not even particularly keen on the taste anymore and happy reach for water instead. Then there's cheese, another item I thought I loved dearly. I still have this in my diet now and then, but this has usually been when someone else has been picking the meal or when there is no other option on the menu (I'm going to find better ways of getting round this). It was something that I enjoyed selecting at the supermarket and eating on a weekly basis, but now that I don't eat it weeks at a time I find I don't miss it at all. Lastly there are eggs. Who doesn't love a boiled or fried egg, or even eggy bread (oh eggy bread). It used to be my weekend treat but I realised the other day that I hvedn't had any of those for a few months now and didn't even noticed. I was like I just stopped choicing it as an options. I know eggs are little power houses of goodness, but they obviously weren't as important to my body as I thought they were and I haven't even noticed not having them.
So where am I struggling? The answer to this is going to be boringly obvious. To begin with there's chocolate. I don't eat this anywhere nearly as regularly as I used to, but I still eat this enough. I don't even really enjoy it when I eat it, I think it's just the sugar rush I get over anything else. On the good side I have found alternatives I can eat when I want something chocolately and I really just been to get off my arse and let go of the milky goo. Then, of course, there's ice cream. Now this is really my addition and I just can't seem to say no. It's my end of the week treat and I find myself eating an entire tub of this, but it's full of the dairy I'm supposed to be giving up, is highly processed, and high in that additive sugar. As far as I can see there is no non-dairy alternatives that have the same creamy texture, but that's fine as I'm supposed to be removing sugar from my diet anyway. It's time to stop making excuses and just give the stuff up.
One habitat that I do keep forgetting is to check the labels of the products I'm buying. It's usually when I'm hungry and doing the random grab anything you can find from the shelf, but there are other times where I've been guilty of assuming something won't contain any animal products and then finding that it does once I've got it home. I need to make a mental note that when I pick up any food items I check the ingredients first before I buy, even if my stomach is shouting at me.
One extra added motivator for me is that on weeks when I have managed to have a complete vegan diet I've had far more energy and felt much more alert. It might not be the case for everyone but I believe that a vegan diet might be the right diet for my body. It helps that when I am completely vegan I tend to eat much more fresh vegetables and less processed foods and I don't think it's going to be too difficult to make the final steps I need. I just need to give up those sugary additions I shouldn't be eating any way, so that'll be 'hello' to the little sugar monster running around in my brain for a few weeks.
Do you have any tips on being vegan? Are there any products that you would really recommend to people wanting to take this diet? Please let me know, it would be very helpful.
No comments:
Post a Comment