Vegan: What I’ve learned…

I wasn’t sure how to title this post: The One In Which I Failed Epically or perhaps How to Not Be vegan, or perhaps How to fail in more than one way at once.

See I’m sitting here, sort of watching Because I said So and eating chocolate. Sugar (goes against this challenge I set for myself for February) and most definitely not vegan, which goes against the challenge this week.

So what went wrong? There are a few reasons I can point to why being vegan this week wasn’t incredibly successful for me.

• No plan: usually my life doesn’t require a meal plan. Mainly because vegetarian food is readily available and I’ve been eating it for so many years it’s just what I do. However, I think for veganism, I should have had more of a plan.
• Life: where I’m at now, the life I’m living didn’t fit the vegan lifestyle this week. Most of my friends aren’t into food in the same way (into experimenting or trying healthy food). This is when having an action plan would have helped.
• No Passion for the cause: being vegan is something I think you really have to care about to stick with it. And to be honest, my heart just wasn’t in it. I wanted it to be, I wanted to care, and in fact a lot of what vegans care about is stuff I care about. And I can see myself one day being pretty much vegan since so many meals I already eat are vegan.

What have I learned?

• Lots of foods I don’t give a second thought to eating aren’t vegan (margarine? I just assumed it was made from vegetable oils…)
• Without a game plan, if you aren’t surrounded by people living a healthy vegan lifestyle, it can be tough to be “strong” and stick to it.
• When it comes to something like a vegan diet, or any significant change in diet, it takes energy and thought; you can’t just eat what you’re craving.

I know a lot of the other 7 Day Vegan Challengers have been doing awesome on the challenge and congrats to all of you! I’ll definitely participate in the twitter chat tomorrow (as long as I remember the right time!) but I think I’m unfortunately done with the challenge itself.

What has been the biggest obstacle for all of you this week? What have you learned from the challenge?  

PS While yes, I had some chocolate today, I still think my “Sugar and Coffee Free February” is going really well because my overall consumption of both has gone down significantly. I’ve been drinking 1-2 cups of black or green tea, and I have been feeling fine. I’d like to try a day or two of caffeine free days this week, and see if I get any withdrawal symptoms.

2009- Reflections

I can’t believe this year is coming to an end! It’s crazy.

I usually take some time to just reflect on what I’ve done this year (ok, this isn’t just regulated to the end of a year for me, but this time of year it’s just more prominent in my thoughts.).

This year has been crazy for me. And if you add in fall 2008 (sometimes I think in terms of “school years”) it’s been super crazy. But let’s just stick with 2009…

What have I done in 2009?

• I was a floor rep for my Council, and then ran and won (due to lack of opposition) for president.
• Went to Arizona for a leadership conference as a result (seriously, so cool…).
• Applied to dietetics, and was rejected (sadly) but they fortunately give second chances.
• Challenged myself and went tree planting for a second time. Learned my limits, physically and mentally weren’t as good as they were my first year planting.
• Started my presidency at my residence in UBC. This has already taught me so much.
• Got sick at least three times this year. Not necissarily something I’ve “done” but relevant to health and balance I think. I even had food poisoning for the first (and last hopefully) time.
• Tried out for a musical. Oh man, was this crazy/fun/insane. It was just a little too far out of my comfort zone. The main problem was people just interested in a, say, chorus roll, had to try out with the people interested in leading rolls. Nerve racking.

There’s been more too, in terms of emotional and social journeys that might be hard to understand for a lot of people. I used to be a shy quiet girl who would watch life from the sidelines, and 2009 has definitely been a year of stopping the wallflower behaviour and really participating in life.

What did I learn as a result?

• I’m so much stronger than I give myself credit for. This is in terms of emotions, and as a leader. I never knew I could make choices and boss people around the way I do.
• If I put my mind to it, I can pretty much do anything. I won’t be the best,  but at least I tried right?
• In the same vein, I’m beginning to learn my boundaries, the line I draw between being too comfortable, and going too far into the wilds of world. If that makes sense. I used to stick so close to comfort zones, now I’m exploring how far I can go.

 

Man this year has been crazy! For me anyway, add in all the little things you never think about every day, and really it’s been quite the year.

I’ll see you all in 2010, with some of my goals/resolutions for 2010!

Happy New Years!