Ok fine. Veg4Days. Better? This week I decided to try what all my favorite bloggers call home, veganism. I know, it’s crazy, but I just wanted to see if I could pull it off. It was a journey that was cut short by my love for candy, meat, and & normal food. So here’s my week/4 day battle-
Every good trip starts with prep. You wouldn’t just hop on a plane to Paris with no plan (well unless you’re like Carrie Bradshaw or something). Yeah, I didn’t get that memo. I woke up Monday morning and just decided this week I would be vegan. My “prep” was basically reading my granola bar labels and crying because they all contained dairy. Cue week of PB and rice cakes.
Monday: Not going to lie, I woke up craving eggs. But I shoved that feeling down along with some oatmeal & ran off to Cava for the day. I was honestly really excited to tell people I was going vegan for the week. The reception was really great & they wished me luck with my meat and chocolate cravings. Honestly, I was hungry most of the day because I was scared of eating something “illegal.” This resulted in thousands of google searches. “Is hummus vegan?” “Are veggie straws vegan?” “Is water vegan?” I was Googles most active user that day. Pretty sure my award is in the mail. The rest of the day consisted of an easy cava bowl, like 5 rice cakes, and 4 hours at a ropes course challenge with my scholars class. I went to bed hungry. Or should I say hangry.
Tuesday: Woke up hangry and craving eggs again. What is it with the eggs? I swear. No granola bars today so hello PB & apples all day. I missed lunch due to poor time budgeting so just imagine me hungry in my econ lecture stalking pictures of steaks online. I know. I’m pathetic. Dinner was super easy, the dining hall had a ton of options. I settled on a tofu topped salad and lentil avocado bowl. #satisfieduntil11pm… enter pita chip attack that ended with me throwing away a quarter full bag. If you can’t control it, escape it. I am taking control of my pita chip addiction. I also, via the Internet, learned that Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids are vegan. Go fish and kids!
Wednesday: I went into today knowing there was going to be temptations since the Cava snapchat series Hummus Hacks was making a fancy grilled cheese. I tried to stay strong but the harissa and crispy bread was so enticing (I was drooling). I gave in to the craving and honestly it was so worth it. I would fail at veganism 100+ times if it meant I got to eat that sandwich again. Mentally I decided to start over and keep trying; emotionally I was already thinking about the chicken I wanted for dinner. I convinced myself to have a animal productless meal in the end, but that was ruined by the gummy bears I devoured during my study group. I stress eat candy, that’s what was there, totally justified.
Thursday: I woke up and decided to post this today instead of Monday because there was no way I was making it. So I’m writing this to you while eating my chocolate covered protein bar and planning my lovely meat-filled lunch. I had chicken with avocado. My heart is happy again.
Here’s the breakdown- I wanted to give a go at the vegan lifestyles I see on Instagram and blogs all the time. If they can do it, I can do it, right? I’m my head I pictured days full of beautiful açai bowls and fresh fruit with almond butter. Reality- I life in a dorm with no kitchen and less food choices. & honestly, the appeal of the livestyle is more their amazing bodies and inspiring food photography than the actual commitment to being vegan.
When it comes down to it, this really taught me that going vegan isn’t a choice, it’s a lifestyle change and requires dedication and flexibility. It also emphasized that being vegan doesn’t equal a healthy diet. I ate more carbs (@pita chips @rice cakes) to fill in for other things I cut out. And last of all, it requires a motive. I personally don’t see cons in eating animals and I naturally eat a meat heavy diet, so there was no drive in my effort. I was doing it to try something new, but my fundamental beliefs about food and creating a healthy diet remained unchanged.
To wrap this up let me just say go vegans. If you can do it and you believe in it then I applaud you.
It’s not that the vegan lifestyle didn’t chose me, it’s that I didn’t chose it.
Great, now I’m craving a hamburger.
Stuck in my head: Still Sane // Lorde
Snap it: Cava HQ
Note to Dad: you’re probably very satisfied with these results based on how you reacted to my brief middle school attempt at vegetarianism. I get it now. Meat is important to a growing body. Never again will I go against you. Please no retroactive punishment.
THE NEXT CLASSIC. 