My week as vegan – Day 6
Coffee – Breakfast – Lunch = Unsatisfying but manageable – Yum – Yum
No big changes in the first half of the day then. I know I’m not quite finished my week, but today I want to talk about how I feel since going vegan.
My energy levels have been consistent. I don’t feel like I have way more energy, but I haven’t had any slumps either. You know the 3pm, fall asleep on your desk crash that afflicts most of us office workers. It’s kind of hard to explain but I feel like a brighter, fresher version of myself. I feel clean, if that makes sense. Mark says I’m just excited about doing something I’m passionate about and that’s probably true as well. But I definitely feel fresher.
I have a theory about this. Animal products take longer for the body to break down than plants. We use way more digestive energy to extract nutrients from meat and dairy. I’m not expending that energy this week, which explains the lack of slumps and that fresh and bright feeling (I sound like an ad for dishwashing liquid). As for feeling clean, I think that’s as much mental as it is physical. My reasons for doing this stem purely from compassion for the animals who are harmed by my meat and dairy consumption, so when I remove that from the equation, my conscience is suddenly clear. The physical detoxification is complimented by this mental cleanliness. I’m basically a human Sunlight Liquid.
That’s not to say there haven’t been some moments where I’ve gone, aaah ffs this vegan thing. The coffee, of course. The fact that I can eat Marmite, which I like, but I can’t have Bovril, which I love about as much as I love chicken wings. Seriously, put me on a deserted island with Bovril, chicken wings, slap (hot) chips and sushi and I’ll live happily ever after (although – how? Bovril-dipped chips? Chicken wing california rolls? I could have chosen more complimentary dishes). So there are some things which are tough to give up. But the will to do so comes from a deep place within me and I’m pretty sure it can override any minor discomforts.
I’m writing this on the last day of my vegan week. Last night I had dinner with a friend at our local pub and they don’t have a single veggie dish on the menu, so I opted for fish and chips. Honest truth: I enjoyed that fish more than anything. It really hit the spot. So we’ll get to where I go from here tomorrow, but there’s a few things to consider before I start waving vegan flags all over the place.
For today, I’m going to concentrate on making it to the end without cracking on my afternoon cup of coffee.
Catch up!