The Vegan Diaries: A Retrospective

Now that my month of veganism is over, I can finally look back and analyze exactly what happened. To be honest, it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. There were moments early on where I had cravings for certain foods, like soft drinks, sweets, and dairy products. But that only lasted for about two weeks, and after that, all cravings completely disappeared. Shoot... I'm done with veganism, and I still haven't had the hamburger or milkshake I was predicting I'd be jumping all over.

It was actually a weird experience going to a supermarket today, because now I have an unlimited choice of foods to pick from, and it's frightening. I about couldn't handle it today, so I resorted back to buying the "safe" foods I've been living off of for the past month. I feel like Tom Hanks' character from "Cast Away," where, after being on a deserted island for years, I'm resorting back to my old barbaric ways of eating now that I'm back in civilization. Just looking at a frozen pizza or package of hamburger meat sickens me. I don't think I can go back to that stuff after this experiment I just had.

But there will be some foods I'll go back to, like yogurt, cheese, fish, chicken, and eggs. I'll also buy cow milk again, but probably not as much as I used to. Soy milk wasn't as bad as I had first thought, so I'll be adding that to my diet occasionally. I'll also be eating more rice and bean dishes, and I'll definitely be eating more specialty breads. I've been hooked on dipping French-style breads into olive oil lately and eating it, which is something I never did prior to this experiment. And for snacks, I'll probably be eating more healthy foods than I ever did before. I've become so accustomed to eating dried fruits and nuts this month that it seems normal to me now.

So overall, I'll go back to being an omnivore but dabble in vegetarianism every now and then. It was good to try out veganism because it really forced me to think about what I was eating, which is something I've never done before. It really opened my eyes to other foods that are out there, and it made me more conscious of how other people live. But for my active lifestyle, veganism just isn't a good fit for me. I need to be putting certain nutrients in my body that I can only get through certain animal products. I probably lost a few pounds over the past month while trying this experiment out, which isn't a good thing when I'm already skinny to begin with.

Veganism was also socially difficult for me at times, and I really didn't care for that. As I mentioned before, in my home, I have no problem being a vegetarian or vegan, but when I'm outside of it interacting with others, I'm going to be an omnivore to avoid being the odd-man out. Besides, there are a lot of good foods out there in the world to try, and it'd be a wasted life not to experience some of these due to a strict vegan lifestyle.

Well, I guess that wraps it up for "The Vegan Diaries." For all of you out there who've been following along this month, I hope you enjoyed it and it gave you some new insights into a different way of living. I'll be taking a break from blogging for a while to figure out what my next challenge will be. So until next time, you all take good care of yourselves, enjoy life, and eat healthy!