How hard can it be? Veganism has been taking the world by storm for over a decade and, being a meat and dairy lover, I avoided it at all costs. Lately, however, a number of like Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and even Beyoncé have been eating vegan. Before I could take on the challenge, I had to figure out what being a vegan entailed. Unlike vegetarians, who don't eat meat, , like milk, dairy, and even eggs. Think full-on PETA style. Keep scrolling to see how my week as a vegan went. My typical go-to breakfast items are milk and cereal, Greek yogurt, bread with Nutella, or some kind of egg dish. All of these are vegan no-nos, so I really had to put some thought into what I was going to eat every morning. I thought I had solved my problems by eating cereal with soy milk, a vegan alternative. I realized, however, that because they contain vitamin D3 derived from sheep. Although there are vegan cereals out there, I ultimately opted for a bowl of rolled oats with fruit and almonds or a vegan granola bar in the morning. Despite having fewer options, I wasn't complaining. It was still pretty tasty. Spaghetti is a staple dinner in my apartment, so I was excited I could still indulge. I grabbed some vegan tomato basil marinara sauce and Trader Joe's vegan meatless meatballs and was ready to dig in. Surprisingly, the meatless meatballs tasted really good. After I drenched them in the marinara sauce, they almost tasted like meat. When I wasn't eating spaghetti, I made sautéed vegetables over white rice or more tacos. I have a massive sweet tooth, so I was super distraught to learn that many chocolates aren't vegan. Luckily, after consulting with my vegan friend, I discovered the wonders of vegan ice cream. Coconut milk chocolate ice cream from Trader Joe's quite literally saved my life. But the hints of coconut in it are delicious. It's so good, I still opt to buy it over other ice creams. It's also less calories: a true win-win. Although I tried my best, I couldn't make it an entire week being 100% vegan because there are a lot more regulations than I realized. Even foods that seem to be totally vegan can still have trace amounts of animal product in them. I probably didn't even make it an entire day on the diet due to the Cheerio fiasco earlier in the week. Despite all my failures, however, I still noticed some benefits from going vegan. I felt like my energy level significantly improved from eliminating meat and eating a plant-based diet. I typically drink a cup of coffee every morning, but I didn't need coffee when I was on the vegan diet. I woke up feeling more alert than ever before, and that energy carried over to my workouts, helping me feel stronger. This shouldn't have been a total surprise. Studies have found , because your body doesn't have to use as much energy for digesting food and the absence of added sugars, saturated fats, and carbohydrates which can slow you down. My skin also seemed to clear up on the diet which makes sense, because eating vegan is from eating more fruits and vegetables are high in essential vitamins and antioxidants and from avoiding dairy products which are often a contributing factor to acne. These could be coincidences, but I definitely believe the diet had something to do with it. My wallet also benefited from going vegan because meat products tend to come with a larger price tag than veggies. Despite the many benefits I noticed, I'm not vegan anymore. It's mostly just due to poor self-control on my part. I have, however, started limiting the amount of meat and animal products I use in my daily life. For example, instead of dairy milk, I now use soy or almond milk. I rarely eat meat, unless I have a big craving for it. And I still opt to eat vegan meals when I eat at a restaurant that has a lot of options. By the end of the week, however, all I wanted to do was dive into a big cheesy pizza—and that's exactly what I did.
