Challenge

Let me start by saying my wife is not vegan per say but she doesn’t eat that much meat. You can say that this journey was triggered by my lovely wife.  She was the catalyst as she challenged me to go vegan for 45 days. This new regime started when we got back from our trip to Cancun in mid-January.

Initially, I wasn’t enthusiastic about it. The lack of optimism mostly stemmed from me foreshadowing how miserable I would be throughout the entire time. Needless to say I have a love affair with food. I use it for comfort and more often as an outlet. If I’m depressed, I eat. If I’m celebrating something special, I eat. Now I wasn’t totally vegan…I had fish about once a week. Furthermore, I made a request to have Super Bowl Sunday be exempt from the challenge – there was no way I was going to watch the big game while eating celery sticks and a kale salad. Also I have to admit, I did cheat once when I went over a friend’s to watch an NFL playoff game and he ordered a meat lovers pizza for us…I could not resist. But all in all it wasn’t too bad and as a result, I have reduced my meat intake. Honestly what I missed more than meat were eggs.

This challenge forced me to work on my discipline. I believe that discipline is a loaded word as it embodies so much more than resisting certain cravings and staying on track. When you are disciplined you take responsibility for your actions which makes you accountable for your failures as well as your accomplishments. During these 45 days I did more than just reduce my meat consumption, I also reduced my sugar intake. I refrained from eating too much bread, rice, potatoes, candy, juice and soft drinks. Additionally, I kept track of the days which I had no sugar. On average I would eat sugar 2-3 times a week (which was a victory for me since I used to have sugar almost every day). My meals consisted of mostly raw vegetables, some fruits and beans. I drank mainly water as there are no real substitutes for juice or soft drinks.

By the end of February I lost about 15 lbs. I was back in the 250’s. The weight loss was great but the way I felt was more beneficial. I felt less bloated and the inflammation in my joints, especially my knees, had diminished. It dawned on me that certain bad habits had to be eliminated while some good ones had to be introduced if I was going to get past this barrier – all of which would get me out of my comfort zone that had troubled me for the past fifteen years.

Lenard Sémajuste