bout six years ago I attempted to go completely vegan. And, I did it! For just over a month… At that time vegan YouTubers and influencers who only ate three servings of fruit a day were very popular. My 13-year-old mind, with disordered eating habits of my own, was really attracted to the lifestyle that they were promoting. However, I wasn’t eating enough protein, I constantly felt tired, and could tell that my body was not getting the nutrition it needed. Needless to say, at that point in my life, going vegan was not the right lifestyle choice for me.
However, now I’m 19 years old and see the global benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. Instead of seeing veganism as a way to deprive my body, I view veganism as a form of environmental activism. Just watching our planet deteriorate is not something that I feel comfortable with. With that being said, I knew I wasn’t quite ready to go completely plant-based overnight.
Akin to habits like “Meatless Monday,” I decided to go completely plant-based two days a week for a month. I learned a lot about my body and my lifestyle through this little experiment. Here are my main three takeaways:
My Body’s Reaction
My body’s reaction to eating plant-based was, by far, the most surprising part of this little experiment. I genuinely felt so much better during the days where I ate completely vegan. I can’t quite tell if it’s the traces of dairy in my diet or the meat that I eat, but my digestion hasn’t felt this good in a long time.
Veganism and My Current Lifestyle
This was the absolute hardest part of this short (but impactful) journey. I realized that I wasn’t really set up for success as far as eating vegan. Since I’m always on the go and eating vegan is harder than eating animal products, it was hard to remind myself to be proactive and plan my meals ahead. I work a lot and I drive a lot so I couldn’t successfully eat plant-based without planning ahead of time. It was definitely a point of transition for me.
I’m not saying it wasn’t worth it, but it also wasn’t necessarily easy!
The Environmental Impacts
Now let’s talk about my carbon footprints and how this project impacted the environment. According to the Vegan Calculator, in just 8 days of being vegan, I saved 9,580 gallons of water, 348 pounds of grain, 174 pounds of CO2, 261 square feet of forest, and almost 9 animal lives. That is wild!!! Quantifying the impacts of veganism, even if it’s just for a short amount of time, really proves how much of an impact ONE person can make.
I encourage everyone to implement a plant-based day or two into their routines because it really could save our planet, and maybe even your body, too!
