http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/
I decided I'm going to give another go at being semi vegan.
PS. Notice how this food pyramid shows fruits and vegetables to be the main source of energy rather then complex carbohydrates?
Last year in April I "experimented" going vegan. I wanted to see if it was possible or how difficult it would be to go vegan in Japan. Japan is still quite behind on vegetarianism and most people seem to hop onto the vegetarian band wagon as a "posh" thing to do. A lot of vegetarian restaurants are located in expensive cities that are almost double the price of a regular restaurant. Luckily I do live in an area with lots of vegan restaurants and I've gotten used to the cost of eating out in those places, but quite often I feel as though Japan uses vegan health food stores/restaurants as a money making business. But regardless of that, I am quite thankful that there are stores and restaurants where I can eat and shop worry free.
Anyway back to my experiment. As expected, it was a little hard. I soon realized that if I wanted to be 100% vegan I had to mainly prepare meals at home or go to strictly vegan restaurants. About 70% of the time, I managed to do just that. I prepared my lunch for work, cooked dinner and introduced Motozo to different vegan restaurants.
But then there were times when vegan restaurants weren't available and I'd have to grill the waiters on the ingredients in some foods. I read that some pasta is made with egg, so each time we had pasta I had to confirm that the pasta wasn't made with egg. Most bread in Japan is also non vegan so there was another issue there. I got very good at reading food labels in Japanese and learned that some wines are also non vegan.
Even though it was tough, I gained a lot from it. Before I went vegan I was eating too many sweets and junk food. I soon realized that most "junk food" has a bit of milk products in it. The first few days were a little tough, I wanted chocolate, but after a week or 2 my cravings totally disappeared! This was quite a revelation for me because as far as I remember in my life, I always wanted sweets! But now....I honesty didn't want a single thing. My body craved real fresh food.
Another benefit was that my colds completely went away! Last year I had a terrible cough that lasted almost 3 months. I went to the doctor for multiple antibiotic dosages, but my cold never healed up completely. Until I stopped eating dairy! No more stuffed nose or congestion that plagued me.
I also noticed I had a lot more energy, I felt lighter and my clothes got looser.
Long story short....I slipped a few times, had a chocolate cake here and there and instantly cravings for processed sugars came back and I went back to allowing myself to think vegetarian again.
Funny thing is, I haven't touched cheese in over a year. I never had the desire too. If we stay at a hotel or travel I always request for a vegan meal. If there is egg or any milk products in a meal I give it to Motozo.
So I do still consider myself semi vegan...except when it comes to junk food. I've let all rules go through the roof and let myself have that chocolate chip cookie...because well, I'm not 100% vegan.
Well, I decided no more excuses for junk food. I need to stop making excuses for a substance that isn't benefiting me in anyway.
So starting from now (I can't say today because I already had chocolate covered coffee beans haha) I'm back to reading labels and considering myself a vegan.
I have to post this so I can be held accountable haha. I might start blogging more about healthy eating and my progress on this 30 day challenge.
Wish me luck!
Fruits and vegetables - how I love you!
Are you going vegan in just diet or products too?
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ReplyDeleteI basically been vegan with products for years now. That just came about when trying to be more eco conscious. I don't wear/use fur or leather. I use non animal tested cosmetics. I buy recycled toilet paper and natural soaps etc.
ReplyDeleteI would like to start wearing organic cotton clothes, but its really expensive so I've settled on having organic groceries instead.
we order organic veggies online, but here they are quite vegan/vegetarian/gluten free friendly.
ReplyDeleteJapan's real home cooked diets actually have technically alot of veggies and roots in it, they 'supposedly avoid dairy and meats naturally if you were doing real japanese cuisine. Lots of lenkon, soy products and fish. I wouldn't count on eating out either, it's really difficult to do that here for gluten free as well. Substituting vegan for carbs is definetely a swap in health where you're probably better off eating dairy products instead of pure wheat items to fill in the gaps. Good luck with it and let us know if you find any good recipes with veggies. Oh and Legumes are a super good filler mixed with rice!
They have those import indian stores with chickpeas and also in the major department stores they have those organic health shops with bulk specialty items like all these different types of beans and soy products...I'm sure you've seen them all - just a matter of how to cook them! lol
adding that, the pyramid looks good and all, but don't be afraid to stock up on natural fats from nuts and good oils such as olive oil and use generously in diet. It's a total sham what they say about fats in cholesterol levels. Those are the healthiest and very satisfying! Nuts like macadamias and almonds are really good (not cheap nuts like peanuts or cashews)
ReplyDeleteYea, production costs of organic items are high and time-taking, I don't think they'll be able to lower prices. But if you go half organic on clothing I think you actually get a better deal. They mix like 50% hemp with 50% synthetics to get the stretch or softness in the cloth and the outcome is much easier on the skin.
ReplyDeleteDid I tell you about the guy from Portugal that was vegetarian but didn't agree with the bacteria in vegetables so went only on fruits, then found he didn't really agree with the bacteria found in fruits either so he was contemplating a strictly fresh water diet...lol. His girlfriend and friends wouldn't allow it. Poor guy must have such troubled meal times. He took us to a few vegetarian restaurants in Portugal.... verrry delish!
Haha, I think I remember a story like that.
ReplyDeleteGosh, the poor guy...talk about not being able to enjoy food.
Don't you worry about me when it comes to fats Lil. I always have some nuts on hand. No evil peanuts though! If anything I'm guilty of having too much nuts (I love walnuts and pumpkin seeds). Once I start munching on them I can't stop. I always make a nutty trail mix when traveling.
I make my own dressing with flax seeds which are a great source of essential oils.
Right now I'm also getting into Hemp seeds, oil and protein instead of soy.
Basically all soy beans are genetically grown these days and non organic, so its better if I take some soy out of my diet.
I use lots of beans as well. One of my fav things to do is to soak kidney beans and see how it expands! Ha, doesn't take much to intrigue me.
Tonight I'm grilling vegetables, to put into pita breads with home made hummus/guacamole...yum yum
yuummmm guacamole!! Ooo do you get avocados easy? yeah max does the same with soy, cutting them out as it's the worse quality stuff, but if it's organic or if the meat is grass fed he's game.
ReplyDeleteRight now seems to be avocado season as its SO easy to get perfect avocados. Cheap and just about everywhere.
ReplyDeletehttp://crueltyfreeshop.com.au/?cPath=3_18_72&main_page=index
ReplyDeleteDon't give up chocolate it's good for you
http://foodgawker.com/?s=cake&cat=29
ReplyDeleteEat Cake
Thanks for the cruelty free shop site. Very resourceful.
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