Today marks the end of our 30-day plant-based journey, and we couldn’t be happier. Going vegan for a month was very challenging in many ways, but we stayed committed and pushed through despite the urge to give up along the way.
Our perseverance has definitely paid off, we can feel it in our bodies and others can see it in our skin.
Tomorrow we return to our regular meat-eating, dairy-loving habits and while the vegan journey may be over, we now face the challenge of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
We both had our share of highlights and light-bulb moments, with the main positive effect being that we are more conscious of what we eat. And, surprisingly, there was no lack of vegan-friendly meals and snacks.
Most of our meals included products from the Fry’s Family Food Company and Checkers’ Simple Truth range. These are a range of great-tasting and convenient food that taste a lot like the real thing, which makes the transition easier for new vegans or vegetarians, like us. It makes life so much easier.
From day one, we both had very different expectations and we realised that our bodies responded differently to the lifestyle change, and we got opposing benefits from going vegan.
Viwe
When I took on this challenge I had no desire to lose weight - in fact, I had been trying to maintain my current weight for two months prior.
But with no dairy products and no meat, avoiding weight loss was a challenge. I had to increase my carb intake by adding rice, bread and starch every day, which I didn’t particularly like eating.
I love sweets and sugary snacks, so disciplining and weaning myself off them has been my greatest accomplishment.
Saying no to food that you have ready access to was something I had to discipline myself to do every day. It was mind over matter throughout the month.
Cheating or making excuses crossed my mind, especially when I got tired, but my body never let me down and easily adapted to the change.
Many people say that it takes 21 days to learn a new habit, but to my surprise, on that day my body rejected all things vegan except fried potatoes.
The following day it went back to my new normal.
In the past month, I had one day when I ate meat, and it’s because I had to attend my bridal shower organised by friends and they refused to adapt the menu for me. I could barely finish the portion of meat even though it was one of the best steaks I’ve tasted, and the next day I felt sickly.
Will I ever consider being vegan? No, it’s a big effort to stay vegan, but I would consider being vegetarian.
What this has taught me is that once in a while I should consider being a vegan for a short period of time, but I might do things better the next time around because I’ll be better prepared for the highs and the lows.
Megan
I can finally scratch “going vegan for a month” off my bucket list. Actually, going vegan was never on my bucket list, but I am happy to say I did it.
I knew excluding meat from my diet wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but I soon realised that dairy was my weakness.
I can’t wait to dig into a bowl of home-made mac and cheese, or any creamy, cheesy pasta dish.
While I am happy to have the freedom to eat what I want, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious about the possibility of going back to my unhealthy habits.
Unlike Viwe, I wanted to lose weight. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, my weight hasn’t changed.
However, I have noticed other changes like feeling lighter after meals, sleeping better at night and my skin looks better.
I like these benefits and I want to maintain them, so this will be my motivation to continue eating better and include a vegan or vegetarian diet in my regular eating plan.
This journey has taught me to take better care of my body and what I put in it.
The biggest lesson for me was having the discipline to say no or stop eating when I know my body has had enough.
There’s no better time than now to apply this discipline as we approach the festive season and all the glorious food that usually comes with it.