Debesyla suggested that I join the challenge and stay vegan for at least a week. Challenges are not my forte as I always slip at the very beginning or halfway through. It's true that if I persevere and find motivation for a goal, I can overcome the challenge without any difficulty.
The cloud girl tells Ieva Jukštaite
This time I took a risk and decided to join this challenge because it would only take one week to change my habits.
I take this challenge very seriously.
I did my homework:
- I chose the most suitable week and informed my closest friends about the upcoming changes. Of course, I got a lot of different feedback: some were supportive, others thought it was a funny and unnecessary experience.
- I consulted with a friend who is a vegan: what she recommends to eat, what dishes she can suggest to try, and so on.
- I surfed the Internet looking for suitable recipes and dreamed of how many delicious things I would make in that week.
- I made a preliminary menu for each day and a grocery list with which I rushed to the store.
So, I rate my preparation and attitude as 9 out of 10 points. Eh, I know you will ask, why not 10 here, after all, the homework is perfectly done.
Okay, I'll admit to you that my biggest bummer was realizing I wouldn't be able to eat eggs. I love to cook an omelet with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes or salmon in the morning... And now for 7 days (maybe for some it's only 7 days, but for me it's all 7 days) I won't be able to eat them...
I tried looking online for egg substitutes, but none of the egg substitutes impressed me. Well, I thought, that's enough, somehow I'll take it.
There was no such problem with meat, because I didn't eat meat for about a year and a half and managed without it as well as possible. I remember not eating meat just came naturally. It was not a challenge or a decision made for any other reason. I just consciously realized that I don't want meat right now and I won't eat it.
So, the first day of the challenge went smoothly.
Second - in the best possible way, there is still full of optimism. I was happy with my stubbornness and good emotions. I told everyone about my dietary changes with admiration and pride. But on the third day, the optimism suddenly evaporated.
My body was screaming, I want an omelette, give me that omelette. No amount of oatmeal with banana and nut butter satisfied me. I resisted the first serious attack.
But by Thursday night, my mood was completely ruined. I ate sweets to make up for the foods I couldn't eat. Oh yes... It took a whole bar of chocolate to be satisfied.
Trying to ease my mood and raise my emotions and motivation, I went to a coffee shop to try my beloved vegan blueberry cake. I bought a piece and realized I didn't want it anymore. I don't want a piece of heavenly flavored cake... This is a serious signal that something is wrong.
Friday has arrived - the mood is without the slightest optimism.
I'm cutting salad - green leaves and vegetables - at my friend's house and I'm drooling over Džiugo's cheese. I keep reassuring myself that there is not much left. After two hours, I say to my friend: "I want to eat." And her reaction makes me laugh: "What shall I give you to eat?" After all, you can't eat anything...".
Saturday - I continue to enjoy sweets, the mood is lifted by a new combination of flavors - fried leeks, chickpeas, garlic, vegetable broth and tomato sauce. Sunday - I wake up with the thought that today is the last day of the challenge. And more and more often the questions come to my mind: what do I want to prove with this? what does this challenge get me? why does this diet throw me out of balance? why did I exchange one pleasure for another? is it worth suffering..? That's right, you heard the word torture.
This type of diet became unpleasant for me at the very end of the challenge because:
- My emotions were swinging like a clockwork pendulum.
- The body felt heavy and the stomach was bloated like a balloon. And I expected a different result - relief.
- I changed the pleasure of "eating eggs" to the pleasure of "eating sweets". What annoyed me the most was that I ate as many sweets in a week as I probably did in three weeks.
I am well aware that if I had continued that challenge for more than 7 days, things would probably have normalized and I would not react so sensitively to everything. But… Eating is a pleasure for me and I don't like to restrict myself too much. So after this challenge I came to the most important conclusion that this type of diet is not for me at the moment. Change should come naturally and not become a pain. We can introduce changes into our lives gradually.
And finally, I'll admit that I can't count on completely completing that challenge. On Sunday evening, I decided not to suffer anymore and ate a piece of smoked sausage with the greatest pleasure. I'm not angry or self-condemning at all