A couple weeks ago we decided to try going vegan for a week before a big trip to the lake, as sort of a cleanse. Sadly, we do not know how to be properly vegan, so we failed…pretty miserably.
We thought we were adding in enough protein with quinoa and lentils, and snacking on enough nuts and fruits and veggies in between meals, but we were still so hungry.
The first night we ended up literally starving and running to In-n-Out after dinner…granted, our original dinner that night was very small, but still…In-n-Out is a far cry from vegan!
The second night my parents treated us to takeout, and we were ordering salads from Red Robin…but we felt so tired and hungry that I added chicken on top of mine and Cody got a chicken wrap.
We just really needed protein! (At least that’s the conclusion we came to.)
The rest of the week we kept our diets vegan during the day, and ate clean dinners but allowed there to be a lean meat like chicken in the mix.
Needless to say, our attempt at being vegan was a bust.
Any tips for us if we try this again? We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
Hey it happens – the key is that you tried, and want to try again. Going vegan is a process – not something to happen overnight. I would suggest using my fitness pal next time – it’s a great way to track all the food that you eat on a daily basis.
Thank you! That is a great suggestion! We have used My Fitness Pal in the past but didn’t even think to use it during this process. We appreciate your support!
I failed about 50 times before it stuck… the important thing for me to realize was that Carbs were my friends 🙂 potatoes & Rice and some beans on the side will make you full!!! eat more but of the right things and you will be all set 😀
just started following you, I have a vegan recipe/lifestyle & Cruelty-free beauty Blog as well, http://www.veganneeds.com
so glad I found your blog & Happy to connect with you 🙂
Thank you for the support, and for the follow! I will definitely follow back! We appreciate the advice – I do love my carbs, so loading up on those would be easy…a little too easy – I’d probably end up gaining weight which is not my goal! Haha!
haha! I’ve been carbing up for a while now and I haven’t gained any, in my experience as long as you cut out fats and the wrong kinds of food carbs don;t really do much on their own 🙂 thank you for the follow, looking forward to your future posts!
Totally agree: going vegan is a process. The most important thing is to eat carbs. A lot. I prefer eating raw carbs (fruits/veggies) until dinner, and then carbing up on some rice/quinoa/potatoes/pasta/cooked carbs. Also, DON’T WORRY about protein. There is tons of high quality protein in fruits and vegetables, and contrary to usual belief, the body needs only 2-3% of calories from protein (most Americans eat 30+%). If you don’t believe me, eat your protein at dinner, and just focus of fruits and veggies for breakfast. Some great books to check out are: 80/10/10, The Starch Solution, and Skinny Bitchy. (Sorry for such a long response, but I can totally relate to where you are right now!)
Thank you Alexandra! I really appreciate this – this is some great knowledge and advice! I will definitely look into those books as well. 🙂