Livin' La Vida Vegan

Yeah, I'm not too sure where the title came from either. Perhaps Ricky Martin is dancing around my subconscious. Be that as it may, I'm loving my vegan life. I still have a lot to learn, and I definitely need to learn some more vegan recipes, but overall, it's enjoyable.

So, it's been almost 6 months now. That's the longest I've stuck with anything for my health. Even my beloved Wii Fit is sitting unused most days. I've found "going" vegan to be a lot easier than I expected--except maybe when I'm out. Last weekend, my mother-in-law was going to serve me pork, then remembered I don't eat meat, so then she offered me cheese. It was cute. I just said "No thank you" and my 8 year old said, "Grandma, Mama doesn't eat anything that comes from animals!"

It kind of reminded me of one of my favourite scenes from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with Aunt Voula:



Here are some things that I've noticed. I don't feel hungry as much as I used to. It's surprising how filling a plant based diet can be. My pants are fitting better and I've lost some of my belly. The other day, I looked in the mirror and noticed that I only have one chin! I don't know how long it has been since I had a single chin. I am now able to wear the ring my husband gave me for our second anniversary, and I'm hoping to eventually be able to wear my wedding bands. PMS symptoms have improved a lot. Very little bloating, and next to no mood swings. This is a huge plus right there because in the past, PMS was at times debilitating, making me feel miserable.

I'm still getting headaches, but not as many as I was. The headaches I'm getting seem to be tension headaches or migraines. And I still get stressed out, but I feel better equipped to deal with the stress. That may be because I'm also sleeping better. Now it's not so much a problem of falling asleep as it is to stay asleep. I guess eating better and drinking more water contributes to my night waking because I have to get up to go to the bathroom often. And of course, being a Mom, I often have the kids coming in during the night if they are having a bad night. And I must add that being vegan also helps to keep one regular. All that fiber is a good thing.

I've also become a compulsive label reader. I thought I checked nutritional content before, but now I know I was just scanning the label. I'm reading ingredients all the time now. I was able to tell a friend that Cracker Jacks had molasses in them and I think she was a little surprised. I guess it was a bit of a weird factoid, and she doesn't know that I have a reason to check the label.

I haven't weighed myself for some time, mostly because I don't know where my scale has disappeared to (it's around here somewhere, likely hidden by one of the kids), but I'm not as focused on losing weight. The weight is coming off slowly and I'm feeling better, and I'm happy with that.