Yesterday, I completed the 21 Day Plant Based Diet Challenge.
Photo courtesy of Strong Hearts Cafe
As the song “For Good” from Wicked goes, ♫ I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason. ♪
Well, the following special people stepped on my path, planted a seed, and raised my awareness of choosing healthy food. Because of them, I have been changed for good. Thanks to:
- Peg Haust-Arliss is a fellow coach and holistic psychotherapist. Peg has always been there whenever I had a question on anything vegan.
- Kristin Earle works in advertising at CNYCentral.com Kristin took me out for my first vegan meal. She’s a Generation Y with lots of energy and heart.
- Joanna Giansanti is a master talent in print and web design. She quietly, under the radar, without fanfare, schooled me on healthy eating. Joanna’s already challenged me to go vegan for another 21 days. Grrrrr. 😉
- Saraswati Om is one of my yoga instructors and owner of Dharma Yoga Syracuse. She’s been vegan for over 20 years. Saraswati says the transformation to a plant based diet is a process. True that.
- And finally, a very special thanks to Michelle Grandy who created the 21 Day Plant Based Challenge. Michelle cured her asthma by going vegan. If it weren’t for her, I would have never tasted the vegan experience. She inspired the group to stay the course and filled our lives with yummy plant based foods and recipes.
Here’s a few random thoughts about my vegan experience over the last 21 days:
- The third day was the most difficult.
- I made frequent trips to the grocery store because I was inhaling lots of fruits and vegetables.
- Read food labels. The shorter the list of ingredients, the healthier it is for you.
- The video, Earthlings, recommended by Saraswati, changed my perspective on animal products forever.
- I don’t like walking through the meat aisle of the grocery store.
- Mock meat such as tempeh, seitan, and soy are very satisfying.
- Fruits and salads taste so much better. They’re full of water.
- “Forks Over Knives,” recommended by Michelle, was an eye opener regarding the correlation of food and health.
- I’ve dropped a few L B’s.
- Energy level is significantly higher.
- Strong Hearts Cafe has lots of tasty vegan choices. LUV the cupcakes!
- I no longer grunt when performing the the bow pose.
The biggest ahha moment?
Once you pass the third day, and, the goal is in alignment with your values, you can accomplish anything.
What’s next?
I’m considering these 30 Day Challenge ideas:
- Abstain from sweets of all kinds, again, for 30 days.
- No posts to my Facebook personal page.
- Play the piano, 30 minutes a day.
- Be a vegetarian.
- Read 30 pages a day.
- Read a novel. (I never read fiction.)
- Spend 30 minutes a day learning a foreign language.
- Joanna Giansanti’s suggestion: Rinse and repeat.
What about you? What can you do or give up for 30 days?
I’m honored to make the short list! Did you ‘celebrate’ with that burger? I’ve been toying for a while with going vegan after being vegetarian for ages. Maybe I need a challenge!
Didn’t have the burger. I wasn’t craving one. Kind of odd, yeah?
Today I had fruit, raspberry herbal tea, a hard boiled egg, an organic cheese burrito, and an ice cream sandwich.
After I had the egg and burrito, I became sleepy. Just like you said I would Joanna.
I’m going to give your rinse and repeat serious thought.
In regards to going totally vegan, give it a go! I’ll be rootin you on!
Good for you Steve. I knew you’d get through it because that’s your style. I was also betting you’d feel different, and I’m glad that worked for you as well.
Right now my life is in so much flux because of travel et al that I’m not close to considering a 30 day anything except to survive. However, in my past I’ve done such things, most longer than 30 days, and I’ve come to the conclusion that, one, a person has to want to change, and two, feeling better is relative. I’ll explain that one in person some day. lol
I hear that. You gotta wanna.
I can attest to feeling different.
Today’s lunch after yoga, I had a hard boiled egg only because it’s been three weeks since I had any dairy at all.
I also heated up a Wegmans Organic Bean and Cheese Burrito.
Those foods almost put me to sleep.
Before this challenge, I wasn’t eating much meat. Now that it’s ended, I’ll be eating even less.
Looking forward to having lunch again soon.
Thank you, Steve, for you posts throughout the 21 Day Vegan Challenge. I appreciated them. I will continue to eat mostly vegan although the next 3 weeks will be difficult since I will be travelling and staying with people who aren’t in the same place. I still have Michelle for support and encouragement and am pleased to call her my friend. Thanks to you too! We are both healthier for knowing Michelle.
Thanks Cathy! It was interesting and fun.
What was the most difficult part of the challenge for you?
Sounds like what you really miss is eggs and cheese. Not meat?
Karin, that’s right.
I promised myself a Five Guys Burger when the challenge was done and decided not to go.
Well I am honored I made the list! you know I Love to help! Good to hear your listening to your body and noticing what works and what doesn’t. A food diary is really helpful if you haven’t started one already. Keep us posted 🙂
Peg, in just two days I’m feeling the sluggishness of food. I’ve had a few eggs, cheese burrito, ice cream sandwiches, and cheese on my healthy Sprout Burger. My energy level has dropped.
I’m glad I have the reference point of what it feels like to eat a plant based diet.
Transformation is a process.
Thanks again!
“You gotta wanna”, I love that.
Goes well with what I tell people all the time. “I don’t do should’s”
Being conscious makes life better.
I like it Rasheed.
I like your thought on “should’s.” When I hear a client saying should way too often, my response is “You’ve got to stop shoulding all over yourself.”
Conscious and intentional. Nice.
Thanks for your comments Rasheed.