Last meat and testament

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with daily blog about my 7-day vegan challenge.  I was kind of crazy busy at the end of last week and over the weekend.  I have lots of updates but I will try and keep them brief.

First and foremost, in regards to my last post and the topic of GMO, organic soy - is generally GMO-free. I was referring to non-organic soy and trying to avoid it in my last post.  See if your brand is part of the non-GMO project at http://www.nongmoproject.org/ and/or download thier iPhone app.  Let them be your expert on this topic, not me.

I would love to have the willpower to be vegan but I also like being someone who can go to any restaurant and try new foods, even tofu!  So I am torn, I felt great last week but I really don't think I could sustain a vegan lifestyle.  However, with the bloat that has come back into my life I am going to try hard to keep it at a minimum. 

Oh, I cheated on Saturday night so I made it 6 days as a vegan.  Sunday was a complete loss!  I want to do this again but plan more home-cooked meals.  What I realized, I was eating a lot of processed vegan foods, not just pasta but Gardein stuff is also processed.  I would like to try gain with more recipes that I make myself.  I'm thinking about doing this for another week or maybe 21 days. 

I am posting my challenge results below.  I think they are partly due to the vegan diet but also, with veganism comes many rules about what you can and can not eat so some tempations like, In n' Out, ice cream sandwiches and pastries at Starbucks are a no-no.  I just ended up eating less because I didn't have an option and cheating wasn't an option.  Since my goal wasn't to lose weight, not that it is ever an unwelcome side effect, cheating for ice cream as much of a temptation.  I think if I ever need to diet, being a vegan is more likely to get me my desired result than just plain old eating less calories, blah, blah, blah. Being a vegan actually restricted me and I followed it because it was black and white as to what I could and could not eat. 

My next challenge will be a 21 day vegan diet.  I thought about the 21-day cleanse but that just seems like a set-up for failure.

Vegan 7-Day Challenge Results:
Pounds lost = about 5
Pounds gained since back on meat products = 5
Bloat around belly = was gone but has now since returned
Energy = Great on vegan diet

Brands I liked on my challenge:
Organic So Delicious non-dairy ice cream made with coconut milk is unbelievably creamy and good.  Even when I am not being vegan, I choose this kind when given the option.  So yummy!!  I have been drinking the coconut milk too and enjoy that and might make the permanent switch.  I will try the lower fat version though next time. 

Gardein meat-less protein is yummy, not quite the real thing but yummy nonetheless.  Best substitute I have tried so far.  Comes in lots of flavors that make you miss the real thing less.

Earth Balance non-dairy butter "spread." I use this ALL the time unless I'm baking.  I don't notice any difference with taste so I'm going to keep using it.