Five months ago, she went vegan. Today, she confesses all.


vegetables - assortmentFive months ago, the supple and brilliant Lauren of harbknocklife decided to go vegan. For a whole month. Vegetarian Awareness Month, to be precise.

And she did it. And kept on doing it.

Matter of fact, a month later she was so into being a vegetarian that she was trying to figure out how to deal with the relatives who, predictably, were having a helluva time dealing with her new diet.

And now it is five months later. Wonder what our Lauren is eating? Well Lauren is back and ‘fessing up to everything on her plate these days.

The five-month vegan
By Lauren

As of March 1st, I’ve been vegan for five months. I never expected I’d make it this long and that it would feel so natural and effortless. Especially because, at first, I couldn’t figure why I was doing it or how it was affecting me. In fact, in the first two months of cutting out meat, my skin completely broke out and I didn’t turn into some scary-thin hippie like I half hoped/expected. I wanted immediate confirmation that, ethical and moral implications aside, I had made the right choice. I didn’t want to have to explain to people I was vegetarian. I wanted them to look at me knowingly and say “oh you look vegan. Have you always been so thin and radiant?” I wanted to feel like a different person, a better, more energetic version of myself. I wanted clarity of thought. I wanted my nightly nightmares to turn into long strings of dreams about unicorns making sweet love in grassy fields. I wanted cows to look at me, knowing I wouldn’t eat them, and say “good effort, we appreciate it.” Basically I wanted my sacrifice to pay off in every imaginable way.

A cow has yet to commend me on my efforts, but in all fairness, I haven’t seen any up close and personal since I went vegan. Starting in December my skin cleared up, though, and by January it was, if I may say so myself, sort of glowy and healthier than ever before. My hair and nails seem shinier and stronger, too. I still have bad dreams every night, but that’s because I’m neurotic and can’t help but fall asleep to a mental list of worst case scenarios. My sleep has changed for the better in some ways. I now fall asleep easily, stay asleep all night, and wake up energized at a reasonable time. I used to drag myself out of bed and required cup after cup of black coffee to stay awake. Apparently my body likes digesting plant and grain proteins better than animal proteins, so it doesn’t have to work so hard to rest. I don’t even need my daily overdose of coffee for energy anymore.

Maybe the biggest difference I notice is that my level of commitment is increasing. I used to say, “I’m vegan for now but I’m not sure how long it will last.” Now I’m just vegan. And I’m pretty pleased with it. I love what I eat. (And I love what I don’t eat). I love how I feel. (And I don’t miss how I used to feel). Is it forever? I still don’t know. It’d be hard to go back to my old ways now that I’ve experienced my new ones. Especially since all the rewards and benefits seem to unfolding slowly over time. I wouldn’t want to miss out on a good cow conversation or a unicorn love scene.

Lauren is a regular contributor. Well, really, sort of irregular (heaven help the girl, but she insists on leading a life). Still, we lure her back as often as we can. So stay tuned. She will return.

Oh, and if any of you would like to guest post, let me know. I love opening my blog to more voices. Look at how good Lauren’s voice is, after all!

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{ 8 Comments }

Comments

8 Responses to “Five months ago, she went vegan. Today, she confesses all.”

  1. Ricki

    I love stories like this one. . . congrats to Lauren! :)

  2. harbknocklife

    thank you Ricki! I appreciate the support!

  3. clickonit « harb knock life

    [...] all about unicorns getting laid. And me, five months into [...]

  4. Mr. Gunn

    Just dropping in to say that animal proteins are digested more easily by all humans, so that’s probably not the explanation.

    Glad it’s working for you, though.

  5. Kendall Butler

    oh wow you sound a lot like me! except im not vegan, im vegatarian. and ive been for… 2 months. :D but thats only because the first few attempts failed. not beacuse i couldnt resist meat, because i forgot pizza rolls have pepporoni. lmaooo! =]

  6. Rebecca

    I loved reading this. I’m a vegetarian. My kids and husband aren’t but I’m slowly converting my husband for health reasons. This was funny and very inspiring :) Thanks!

  7. Amy

    My husband is almost vegan… been vegetarian since January and it’s affecting my diet too since I cook dinners. I’m slowly coming to vegetarian side because I see sooo many benefits in hubby already! He’s dropped 42 points on his cholesterol just since January!!!! Who needs cholesterol maintenance meds (if you have high cholesterol) when you can make this change in your diet/lifestyle!? He looks and feels great… dropped about 20 lbs! and one pant size. He has gout so it’s been about health for him — to prevent gout attacks (ankle) so he’s completely committed to doing this for life. I’m so proud of him and I’m “flirting” with being vegetarian b/c of him.

  8. Katherine Campbell

    I am also a vegetarian and my body has never been in a very good shape. Being a vegan can really make you much heathier.:,*

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