The halfway point - thoughts

I've been an omnivore since I was born over 40 years ago. I hadn't known what it was like not to ever put milk in my cereal, eat scrambled eggs on a Saturday morning, or put grilled chicken on my salad until 2 weeks ago. Here it is, the halfway point of my 31-day vegan challenge. And I've made it so far. I'm still alive, all in one piece.

So.... what do I think? Do I feel any different? Miserable? Just fine? What were people like? Could I do this for longer than 31 days?  Here are some thoughts and ramblings out loud on what it's been like so far.

1. People think I've fallen off the deep end. To my statement that I'm now vegan I've gotten such a wide range of reactions. Everything from "Oh wow, that's really gonna be hard..." to "Man, I could NEVER do that" to "Wow, good luck with that!!" to the very perplexed "WHY???" and "WHATINTHEHELL... WHAT??? What do you EAT???" As far as the world is concerned, I've gone crazy. 
2. People think that because you're vegan, they are automatically entitled to mock you, ridicule you, and automatically assume that you've also joined a cult that dresses in orange bed sheets, that you've ceased to wear shoes, you now buy incense by the case, and you now have some new-found flexibility allowing you to assume the lotus position at the drop of a hat.  People are funny like that.
3. People think that going vegan and taking out all meats, all dairy, eggs, honey, and refined white sugar leaves you with a great big empty black hole with nothing taking the place of those things. A lot of people think that vegans eat not much else besides fruit and vegetables. There isn't a whole lot of awareness that there's plenty of substitutes, after all, those people are eating the meat, dairy and eggs. They haven't had to search out for substitutes so they don't know substitutes exist and the black hole gets filled.
4. One difference I started noticing towards the end of Week 1 was my sense of fullness. I just never feel full! I can eat until feeling satiated now, and an hour later I no longer feel full. The sense of fullness lasts a lot less now compared to when I was an omnivore. I mentioned this to a vegetarian coworker during Week 1, and he said he snacks on a nut mix frequently, which provides him a sense of fullness until the next formal meal.  I've been doing that as well. As an omnivore I would get really sleepy after a good, hearty meal. That's not happening anymore.
5. Energy has changed. As an omnivore, after a hearty meal I would feel sleepy, then when that went away there would be a lingering sense of sluggishness. I find myself now with more of an "Energizer Bunny" sensation. I just don't feel tired. Like housecleaning, for example. I just keep going and going and going and don't feel tired or sluggish. The dynamics of my energy level are starting to change. I didn't notice this as much after the 1st week, but toward the end of my 2nd week it was starting to become noticeable.

I think a great deal of open mindedness is needed to do something like this. I say this because it's important to be able to embrace the new foods for what they are instead of expecting them to be something they're not. No, seitan isn't going to taste like meat. But here's the thing: it isn't meat. Nutritional yeast doesn't taste just like parmesan cheese; but it isn't parmesan cheese. Soy milk does not taste like cow's milk; it isn't cow's milk. To make this change successfully one needs to understand that the substitutes are not going to be exactly like the regular items. One needs to embrace the new items for what they are, then judge whether or not you actually enjoy their tastes, instead of expecting them to be something that they're not.

Has it felt strange? I have to admit that the first week I found myself in the kitchen in the evenings after work going "Um.... what do I eat."  I figured that might happen so that's why I had wanted to have enough things on hand to get me started. But I had to reinvent how I cook a little bit, and that took some adjusting. I mean, all I've ever known is a life with meats, dairy, eggs... it's bound to feel a little strange at first.

Have I felt deprived? Not a whole lot. The first week I have to say I missed my greek yogurt with clover honey, and my beloved eggs. I would keep hardboiled eggs on hand, and had scrambled eggs pretty regularly on the weekends. But there are now new things to their place, and after having discovered coconut milk yogurt I think I'm a convert forever.

It has been lots of fun discovering new ingredients, making seitan, thinking of uses for tofu (an old friend), discovering tempeh.... and I know there's a lot more out there. Since I love cooking so much, this aspect has been tons of fun.

If there is one change I haven't fully adjusted to, it's the whole socializing/eating out thing. I was never one of those that had that "special diet" need. I certainly have never been the one that goes to a restaurant and goes on an endless list of finicky special requests for the chef: "Can you please cook this in olive oil, not butter? Can you make the sauce without any dairy, if not then leave the sauce out altogether? Can you just bring me oil and vinegar?" I've always hated having to be fuzzy about anything. I was never the one in the group for whom "special food" had to be ordered. I was never the one that said "Oh, sorry, I can't eat there." Never did I think twice about going to ANY eatery; I could eat anything anywhere. People brought stuff to work? I could taste it. I got invited to a friend's home for a get-together? I could eat whatever they were serving. That aspect of life is different from what it's been for my entire life. If one wants to adhere to veganism to the strictest letter of the law, the new social panorama takes a little getting used to, and it's definitely still a work in progress for me.

Could I do this for longer than the 31 days? Hmmmm.... ask me on January 31st. But so far I'm not hearing "OMG I can't wait to go back to regular food" in my head yet.