Something Fantastic

So being vegan has had its downs and ups. It gets hard when you feel like you have a very limited variety of food available to you. Sometimes you're just hungry and stressed and miss just being able to run across the street and grab a slice of pizza and the instant gratification that is connected to it. I am an emotional eater. I love food and how it makes me feel. But I also love myself and I know that I have not been as healthy as I should be. I have read in a lot of different places the importance of plants in a healthy diet. So part of the ups in this experience is taking the time to really evaluate what I eat and how it makes me feel. 

The first week I was totally on board and super psyched. I had a ton of energy and didn't feel deprived at all. The second week I started to have some sugar cravings (after all, I stopped eating the cupcakes that I am surrounded by and talk about all day long.) and I cheated a little and took a little bite of frosting here and there. This last week (the week I went to Oakland to watch my friend's dog) was hard because I'm not at my house with my food so I brought some staples with me but didn't have the comfort of my own kitchen. I was also a bit more tired because I'm still commuting to the city for work and I haven't been able to exercise since I've been here. I'm in my last week of doing the Engine 2 Challenge but not in the last week of incorporating what I have learned and will hopefully keep learning. 

I am happy that I have forced myself to cook more and to experiment with food more. I would have never experimented with seaweed, chia seeds, and cabbage if I didn't do this. I had gotten very lazy with cooking and was relying on other sources like pizza places. I love cooking too so I'm glad we've reconnected. I'm also happy that I have discovered a whole new world of seeds, grains, veggies and fruits. It wasn't that I had tons of choices before and now I don't. I just need to look in a different direction to see the world of possibilities. I'm also getting more comfortable with eating like this and don't have as much trouble "whipping something up." 

Finally, the cherry on top of it all-- I bought a new pair of jeans today and they were 2 sizes smaller than the last pair I bought. I can't give this up. I mean, I bought jeans.