Vegan May in review

We have about 3 hours left of Vegan May and I think I can saefly say WE DID IT!

It's been fantastic too, the thing which has been the biggest eye opener is how many of the foods we eat contain animal products. Why is this necessary? Why do some sliced loaves of bread contain milk solids? Why are lollies made from ground up hooves? Just becoming aware of what goes into various processed foods has been an extremely useful exercise.

Eating a vegan diet was not difficult and I would recommend anyone to try it for a month. I can honestly say there was absolutely no downside for me. I wouldn't say it was difficult either, it just required:

a) Creativity. Coming up with new dishes to cook or substitute ingredients) which was a very good thing to bring me out of the rut of always cooking the same meals

b) Awareness. Always looking at the ingredients in processed foods, asking questions in restaurants, actively enquiring about what is in the things you put into your body. This is also an incredibly helpful practice to develop.

c) Planning. Only going to restaurants you know have a vegan option. If you're going to dinner at someone's house either informing them or bringing your own food if you feel it would be a hassle or an imposition on them.

Where to from here? Milk I wasn't drinking anyway, sucking on a cow's teat seems too weird and I prefer soy anyway. I don't think I'll go back to yoghurt. I love it, but I don't feel like I need it anymore. Same with eggs. They were an essential part of my diet, but I've broken the habit of eating them so why go back? I wasn't eating meat anyway and I'm not about to go back to that. I had a terrible sweet tooth and awful self control when it came to cakes, muffins and other baked treats, so I think sticking to not eating these can only be good for me.

Cheese? Hmmm. I'm going to try my very best! But I will have a pizza tomorrow in the name of science to see how I feel about the dairy and also take careful note about how my body reacts to it.

On a sidenote I also gave up alcohol for the entire month of May. That wasn't so hard, I wasn't drinking a lot anyway, but of the two "deprivations" I felt like a drink more often than I felt like eating cheese or yoghurt or eggs.

In summary - energy levels high, looking and feeling healthy. Training has picked up again - I did two really hard runs this week and just got back from a 110km bike ride this morning and have been feeling strong and recovering well.

Back with the "return to cheese" report soon!