The meat-eating vegan.

So as you may or may not know I do these 30 day challenges where I try something that forces me outside my comfort zone for, well, 30 days. The only way to become a more well-rounded and enlightened person is to challenge yourself so I attempt to do just that every month. This month I decided to eat vegan for 30 days. No cheating, no honey, no secret cheese on anything because the only person I would be lying to is myself.

Growing up in the 90’s hardcore scene almost everyone was vegetarian or vegan and even today a good portion of my friends still maintain the lifestyle. Now I have heard a million things about why going vegan is good for your health and the planet but honestly, I like pizza and steak and I’m selfish and lazy… which why eating vegan for 30 days is the perfect challenge for a dude like me who thrives off of pizza and hot dogs and peanut M&Ms.

I plan on keeping you guys updated every now and then with my progress. Actually, it’s day 6 and this is a lot easier than I expected. Everyone who says going vegan is hard either never tried it, is completely ignorant or is just outright lazy. And before the haters chime in and say, “WHERE WILL YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN!” Try reading the labels on the crap you eat and you’ll see just how simple it is to get protein and so many soy milks and tofus are fortified with b-12 so slow down. Ever notice how it’s always the people who eat like crap who are the first to chime in about how vegetarians and vegans aren’t getting enough nutrients, as if the doritos, hot wings and hamburgers are doing wonders for their immune system. I know this because I was one.

So I won’t bullshit you guys. If I don’t feel better, I’ll admit it. If I feel weak and tired, I’ll report back. I want this to be as unbiased as possible. Now I understand that the true benefits won’t show up for a few months but almost everything I have read says that I should start to feel the effects in as little as one week.

To report:

As of day 6: I have lost 5 pounds, I have slightly more energy (but that might just be in my head), I can breathe a little easier but my sleep is still awful. I’m not starving myself and I’m eating these fruit and spinach shakes my girl Gina told me all about and surprisingly, they’re not just tolerable but good. Also, this whole process has been made exponentially easier due to the fact that Hot Doug’s veggie dogs are vegan and Ian’s pizza makes super cheap (albeit stupid triangle) vegan pizza, whuuut!