Finishing 2019 strong is my mission. I’m so on fire for starting 2020 even stronger.
Rachel Hollis put out this last 90 days challenged. I challenged myself to remove meat for the month of November. I changed my whole eating plan. I wanted to see if a Vegan Diet would change how my body felt.
I have seen the documentaries and thought to myself, if it’s true that you have more energy, sleep better, GI tract works more effectively, healthier skin and improved mood, I’m in.
After watching 3 documentaries and finishing of my double cheeseburger, I put the beef away and started my no meat no dairy journey.
It actually was way easier than I thought, I replaced meat with beans and vegetables. What I wasn’t prepared for was the changes in mood and the brain fog. The first week was filled with up and down moods and I felt out of sorts. The positive was I felt less full and gassy. My body felt lighter and I had more energy.
Here’s some of the transformation of my food that I made. I have been eating a smoothie bowl for the last several months so breakfast was easy. Here’s a short video of my smoothie bowl process.
Pinterest was my best friend. I found so many recipes the transition was easy. The only issue I ran into was my family was not all onboard. So, I had to make 2 sets of meals, yep you heard me right TWO SETS OF MEALS. This was the real challenge. I started to prepare 2 weeks worth of meals so we would have meals for the meat eaters and the non-meat eaters. Talk about crazy...SMH! But it was worth. it still took a bit more research to find out what I was missing and why I had so much “BRAIN FOG”. I learned that sometimes when you cut out meat you lose some micro nutrients like vitamin K, D, E and B. So, I added in a multivitamin, Vitamin E,D and B12 and after a couple of days I was back to my normal self. Hallelujah!! My mood was back to stable and my mind had clarity again.
I’m now in week three and it’s definitely doable. There's more cooking and most of the dishes are simple and have more seasonings. My guess is to replace the satiation of meat and add more flavor. But I feel better, I’m sleeping great and my body feels light and I’ve even lost a few inches around my waist and hips.
So all in all It’s been benefited me in so many ways. Will I stick to it after November? I may start adding in fish and seafood but keep my diet mostly whole vegetables and minimal dairy.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. Taking this challenge and give up one Food Group for one month. I gave up 2 this month and it showed me that I can push past discomfort to do something I didn’t know I could do.
What besides you is something you need to push past? Food is a great start.
Keep Reaching for your Sweetest Life.
Stephanie J.
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