It's been a hot minute since I've gotten to post a blog, and my god I have plenty to say! I'll save my rant on Anthem (fucking anthem...) and how the government controls our fucking lives for another post, because I only have 40 minutes or less to type this, and lord knows how long that might take me.
But for now, I'll keep this post light with some observations I've noticed in my diet the past few days since having gone vegan(ish).
You see, in a non-vegan world, you can find just about anything "reduced fat" or "fat free." And I've grown soooo accustomed to that. Mind you, "fat free" does not mean "healthy" since it contains more random chemicals and sugars than one's body should probably consume. However, if you're gonna buy Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese (which is fantastic by the way), you're kind of stuck with the original, full fat version. At least, from what I've found.
But, upon tracking my food intake (and fat intake), I noticed another reason the amount of fat I consume has gone up. Prepared foods. Ellwood Thompson and Whole Foods make some kick ass prepared foods, and several of them come "vegan friendly." Favorites include Homestyle Tempeh Salad (Vegan Mock Chicken Salad) and Tokyo Buckwheat Soba--which I ate for lunch today.
Now, pre-vegan days, I almost never...never ever bought prepared foods. I typically prefer to cook or prepare my own foods, or eat simple no-work-required snacks. However, I don't really know a lot of vegan dishes to make (since my cooking almost always involves seafood), and I'm still learning what I should/shouldn't eat.
So I'm wondering, is my increased fat intake a result of switching to all-natural, no-chemical-added products? Or is it simply a result of eating prepared foods that use more oils than I'm used to?
I'm sure it's a combination of both. But now the question is, what do I do about it? Obviously, I need to start cooking more rice to keep in the fridge so that I can make quick meals. (I'm not sure why I said "obviously," you have no reason to find that statement obvious.) And I need to eat more veggies and fruits and work harder to balance what I put into my body. (Okay, that statement was the obvious one...) And I need to research the sh*t out of soy since that's almost EVERYWHERE in vegan foods, and I'm starting to worry about all of the studies that have been done. (Blog idea!)
But the good part is, it's day 9 and I'm still feeling really good. Chocolate temptations have decreased--for now, my energy is up (except for that whole morning thing...life should begin after noon), and my digestion is wonderful. So I'll keep going on this path, since my body is clearly responding positively!
Post Script: I have no idea whether or not it's related to the foods I'm eating, but my appetite has decreased severely. I'm hardly ever hungry anymore, and I'm wondering if it's because my body is actually satisfied with the foods I'm eating or if this is something that's not so good. I'm going to need to monitor that...
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I would think it would be all the fiber (because isn't vegan mostly plants like soy, and rice and the obvious ones like fruits and veggies) and if you are staying hydrated with water then that adds to it also...so I would think your appetite should decrease...and as long as you are getting your required calories/vitamins you should be fine.
ReplyDeleteErin J