The Challenge

I’ve been a cheatin’ vegan for almost two years now.   Vegans are one step up from vegetarians who just don’t eat meat or fish.  Vegans also don’t eat dairy or eggs or anything coming from an animal.

I only buy and cook fat free vegan food because my husband has heart disease and it’s proven to stop its progression.  Adding the “fat free” in front of vegan puts it on a whole new level, as he can’t eat nuts, avocados, coconut, olives or oils of any kind. 

I’ve become the household garbage disposal for all the food that comes into our home that Kory can’t eat.  Fearing he’d be tempted, I make it disappear quickly.  We had half a tin of Cougar Gold cheese left at our house a few months ago and my son and I woofed it down in five days flat.  This is where the “cheatin’” part comes into play. I knew then something had to change.

Since the New Year always provides opportunities for fresh starts, I’ve taken up the challenge to see if I can go 28 days eating a fat free vegan diet.  It has nothing to do with supporting my husband.  It has everything to do with my own willpower.

I have no known health problems, and I feel pretty good, so I don’t have much motivation to eat as healthy as he does, but I read a book that convinced me that after just 28 days, I’d feel “better” if I went fat free vegan.  

The last time I went to the doctor was 15 years ago when I gave birth to my son.  My personal take on the whole healthcare thing is that if I go, they will find something wrong with me, so I just don’t go.  Fortunately, I haven’t needed to, either.  I like being low maintenance.

My plan to start the “challenge” on January 1^st didn’t happen.  I was invited to a brunch that morning and even though I showed up with my own food and herbal tea, I couldn’t find a way to not offend the hostess.  I caved and even ate the egg casserole she’d prepared, even though I haven’t eaten eggs in years.  But I did start on January 2^nd.  The only temptation that day were the cookies offered after a funeral I attended, but I held back.  Book club was more difficult with a few varieties of fudge calling my name, but I remained strong.  I went to a retreat this past weekend so I took my own food and had to pass up homemade cinnamon rolls, but I was no worse for the wear.

It’s now been five days and I’ve yet to feel any different, except a bit more confident, knowing that I do have some willpower left in me after all.   I figure the real test of whether I’ll “feel better” by month’s end is - if when I drop something, I’ll actually have the desire to bend over and pick it up.