When I started off on this challenge April 1, I knew it wouldn't be easy. I knew it would be just that - a challenge - in every sense of the word. But I also knew that I had to do it 100% for 30 days or I wouldn't know if it truly worked. I also knew that my will power is not very strong and I was doing my best to set myself up for success.
After 30 days of 100% WFPB eating, I have learned:
- Spices are key to this way of eating. There is absolutely no flavor to the majority of these foods and having a pantry full of necessary spices like cinnamon, crushed red pepper, cumin, oregano, basil, thyme, garam masala and garlic saved me.
- Having a mixed bag of raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds help me from slapping someone when I have hunger pains during the day at work.
- Dairy, soy and nut-free vegan chocolate chips are surprisingly delicious and don't taste any different than normal chocolate chips.
- Lentils are still strange but they make me full and can pretty much be added to any recipe. They are the only food that caused bloating though. I like them in sauces when they are pretty much hidden; not in cold salads where they are disturbingly nasty.
- I could live off of homemade pita chips and guacamole and pico.
- Chickpeas are overrated. Sure they have a ton of protein but they are tasteless. When roasted, they are better but still not worth the time it takes to roast them;
- I need at least two Surfin Spoon dairy-free "ice cream" cookies - preferably the macadamia pistachio one- in the freezer at all times, just in case of emergency.
- Dave's Killer Bread and almond butter were lifesavers on some mornings. Smoothies are yummy but time consuming and I would rather sleep.
- I've always liked black beans and black bean tacos are acceptable, especially early on in this challenge, but if I eat one more black bean I'm going to scream at this point!
- Sweet potatoes in chili are interesting. Not bad but just interesting. Baked sweet potato fries with crushed red pepper and turmeric without oil, though - delish.
- Vegan meals and desserts made by Chef Amanda at Salt Box Café deterred me from jumping off a bridge many times.
- Riding on the Harley, passing restaurants during dinner time and smelling meat cooking/smoking on a grill and not being able to partake was just downright cruel!
- This way of eating is extremely time consuming - from grocery shopping to meal prepping to actual cooking and even cleaning. I think I used every measuring cup and spoon every day!
- There is no need for olive oil when sautéing in a pan. It takes some finesse and practice but water or vegetable broth works just as well and is better for you. You just need to use more of it than oil and constantly watch what is in the pan so it doesn't stick.
- No amount of days without meat would coerce me to eat a processed veggie, quinoa or black bean burger - blasphemy right there.
- I still hate carrots!
- Vietnamese summer rolls are not that hard to make and that makes me happy because I love them!
- Dairy-free, natural smoothies and acai bowls at Mom's Sweet Shop stopped me from becoming jacket-ties-in-the-back-crazy! (Thanks to TF for that one!)
- You can take your tofu and sho....well .. ok, you get where I'm going!
- I must be unique because everyone I talk to who eats in this way states they "feel so much better" and that "the food tastes so great". They must be great actors or borderline insane. Perhaps they felt a lot worse than I did when I started and had more to fix! I hope my taste buds haven't all died.
- Thank God, I love spinach, avocados, mushrooms and berries!
- Cutting out processed foods (which I never did eat much of to begin with) is a huge key to this way of eating!
- When I got frustrated and angry at a meal not coming out the way I wanted it to, it was just a natural outburst to say, "Let's just get pizza". Pizza never makes me angry. Pizza always understands!
- While I am a superfan of high quality cheese, the garlic cashew parmesan I made served its purpose pretty well.
- Giving up all alcohol at the same time as eating in this way was one of the dumbest things I have ever self-imposed upon myself!
- Equal consideration should be given to the type of food I was eating, as well as the fact that I wasn't eating as much food, in regard to the factors that contributed to my weight loss of 8 lbs (maybe more - that was the last time I checked over a week ago).
- Brown rice pasta and buckwheat noodles are not that bad. I still would rather have "real" pasta but at least I didn't have to give pasta up completely.
- No amount of nuts, lentils and spices will ever replace the love of real meat on a taco for me.
- I really am a true foodie because I love food and the last 30 days I did not love food one single bit.
I'm sure you're thinking that I'm glad this challenge is over and I can eat whatever I want now. Well, I sure am glad this challenge is over but I'm not going to go out and just devour half a cow, inhale a triple chocolate mousse cake or overindulge at the Pizza Hut lunch buffet (ew, that's gross. I do have standards, especially when it comes to pizza.) I might eat a block of cheese and drink an entire Napa red though. No, I won't.
While I'm glad these 30 days are in the past, I have no regrets. My bloodwork numbers went down substantially and are normal now and I met my initial weight loss goal so I know that this works. While it works physically for me, it also brought much angst and misery to me daily. There were many days that I was wrecked emotionally and ready to throw in the towel. Life is short. Lick the spoon. That's what I say. Well, I sure as hell didn't want to lick any of these nasty spoons!
With all of this being said, I am not giving up on this way of eating - on this lifestyle. I will not be 100% compliant any longer though. If I completely gave it up then these last 30 days would be for nothing - a waste of time - and my health would decline again. My plan is to eat WFPB breakfast, lunch, snacks and treats. Dinners are the toughest for me and actually, like it or not, I consider them a reward to myself. I enjoy everything about dinners - prepping, drinking a glass of wine while listening to Big Band Music while I cook, tasting and tweaking as I go. It's an experience and an escape that my mental health desires and needs. I plan to incorporate the obvious and good, no-brainer concepts I learned from these last 30 days but, God forbid, I'm also going to eat some grilled chicken or grass fed beef every once in a while! I will not rob myself of what I enjoy but, at the same time, I will take care of this body that God has so graciously given me. I feel that complying with WFPB 90/10 instead of 100% of the time will help me reach this balance.
What is THE most important thing that I took away from these 30 days?
While I did not enjoy this challenge and feel it was frustrating, time consuming and often brought on bouts of low self esteem and unnecessary depressive moods, I did it! I succeeded and, in knowing that, I am positive that should the day come that my health declines rapidly due to heart disease, cancer, or any ailment in between, that I CAN and I WILL immediately get back 100% to the whole food, plant-based way of eating. There is a difference in WANTING to do something and HAVING to do something. These 30 days proved that food therapy is powerful and these 30 days also confirmed my belief that natural healing is definitely the way to go!
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