It’s been a while since I last blogged about transitioning to a plant-based diet, so I figured it was time for a six-month check in. Am I sticking with it? Have I noticed any changes in my body? Has it been challenging? Let’s catch up on my experience so far going plant-based.

Over the last six months, I’ve probably eaten 98% plant-based.

Since summer ended and I let go of fish and shellfish, I haven’t had a single bite of meat. That 2% is rare bits of dairy and/or eggs. I don’t think of it as “cheating” or “slipping up” because perfection has never been the goal. I’ve never forced it and have transitioned gradually and naturally over the last several years—it’s not about denying myself of things, it’s about eating in a way that I feel really good about.

When I have eaten a little bit of dairy or something with eggs in it, it’s usually by accident. I’ll be at a party and absentmindedly grab a cookie from a tray and bite into it and then think, “Oh riiiight. This probably has eggs and dairy in it.” Do I spit it out mid-chew and toss the cookie in the trash? No. I finish the bite and then offer the rest of the cookie to Joe. Or maybe I finish the whole cookie. Being perfectly vegan isn’t important to me so I really don’t think twice about it.

It’d be another story if I were allergic to dairy and eggs and eating them made me feel sick, but they don’t (in small amounts). That being said, if I were to sit down and eat a steak or something totally smothered in cheese, I’d probably get a stomach ache and have some major digestive issues since I haven’t eaten those things in so long. Small amounts here and there are fine though.

The hardest part is social events.

I mentioned above that when I have consumed dairy or eggs, it’s mostly been by accident. A few times, however, it’s been because I was at a social event and A. felt rude for not eating anything being served or B. didn’t plan ahead and was really hungry and had to eat something, anything.

Even going out to dinner with friends can be hard if it’s not a restaurant with which I’m familiar. The other night Joe took me out to dinner and the only thing I could get on the menu was a side of sautéed mushrooms. Womp wommmp.

All of this can be avoided by:

• checking menus ahead of time;
• bringing my own plant-based dish to parties so that I’ll have something to eat (and share, of course);
• eating before the party/event so that I won’t need to eat there;
• realizing and accepting that no one is paying as much attention to what I am or am not eating as I think they are.

Yet I continue to do none of the above because I’m an imbecile who routinely makes life harder for herself than it has to be (lol).

I still get defensive when someone “outs” me as being vegan.

I don’t know why I have this frantic need to avoid inconveniencing others with my food choices, but it’s an insecurity I haven’t been able to kick. I don’t like attention being drawn to my food choices when I’m out to eat with friends or at a party, and I hate the thought of people altering their plans to accommodate me.

We’ll be out to eat with friends and Joe will mention that I’m vegan. “No I’m not!” I’ll respond defensively, and immediately will try to explain it away:

“I’m not like super strict about it, I can find something on any menu, it’s really fine, it’s not a big deal, we can still go out to eat anywhere, don’t worry about changing plans because of me, I’m like not even really vegan.”

But … I am.

I know it sounds silly (especially since I’m blogging about it!), but talking about being plant-based makes me uncomfortable in real life. I wrote more about feeling judged for going vegan in this older blog post if you’re interested.

I haven’t noticed any big changes in my body or how I feel (physically).

You read all these articles about going plant-based that are like: “I lost 50lbs!” “My acne cleared up!” “My cancer was cured!” “I have so much more energy!”

But I honestly feel pretty much the same physically. A big reason behind that is going plant-based wasn’t a drastic change for me. I’ve never been a big meat eater, and I went fully plant-based sooooo gradually. I also didn’t have any major ailments or health complaints to begin with, so I suppose my Plant-Based Saleswoman career was doomed from the get-go. “Go plant-based: You’ll feel the exact same.” Not the best pitch.

One thing I have noticed is that I never feel sluggish after eating a meal. I can’t even remember the last time I felt like I needed to elevate my feet and take a nap after mowing down a dish. Eating this way just feels right for me. When I see cute farm animals, it feels good to know I’m not contributing to their suffering (says the girl with a cowhide rug in her apartment—I’m a work in progress, ok?!). Going plant-based has also encouraged me to get creative in the kitchen and experiment with new recipes. It’s fun for me!

I don’t miss or crave animal products. Not even cheese (whaaaat?!).

If you had told me two years ago that I’d be disinterested in cheese one day, I would have laughed in your face. Gurrrrl bye. But now you could put a platter of cheese and crackers (my former Kryptonite) in front of my face and I wouldn’t have the slightest craving to dig in. I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself of anything—I just truly don’t desire meat and animal products anymore.

In part, I’m sure this is just a function of time. The longer you go without eating pretty much anything (sugar, meat, dairy, soda, etc.), the less you’ll think about it and crave it. I think it’s also helpful that I didn’t rush myself and I let things fade from my daily diet when I was ready to be done with them.

And let’s not forget there are some pretty phenomenal vegan versions of just about any comfort food you can imagine. I don’t miss mac ‘n cheese because I can still eat mac ‘n “cheese.” (By Chloe has an unreal sweet potato mac ‘n “cheese” and in the grocery store aisles look for Annie’s vegan mac ‘n “cheese.”)

Ok I probably shouldn’t have bragged about not craving cheese at the beginning of this section because my mouth is actually watering thinking about vegan “cheese” right now …

TBD if I eat seafood this summer.

Throughout the process of going plant-based, I’ve found it interesting to explore the reasons why some animal products are harder to let go of than others. Cheese, seafood and eggs stayed in my diet the longest, all for very different reasons. I think cheese was a straight up addiction. Eggs were just really convenient to eat (no-brainer breakfast, in almost all baked goods, etc.). Seafood, however—and this is about to sound really dramatic—felt like part of my identity.

Growing up on the Vineyard, many of my fondest memories involve seafood. Picking mussels off the jetty as a kid to eat later at home; eating steamers with my dad out on our back deck; shucking oysters at beach parties; the treat of getting lobster for dinner—the list is endless. I plan on spending a significant time on the Vineyard this coming summer, and I’m honestly not sure how I’ll feel about seafood.

On the one hand, it does make me a little sad to think of it not being a part of my summer. But when I really think about it, it’s not the shellfish itself that I hold dear; it’s the people with whom I was sharing it. I can still sit on the deck with my dad and eat something else while he enjoys steamers. Beach bonfires aren’t any less fun if I’m not eating fish. Hunting for sea glass is just as entertaining as hunting for mussels.

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Let me know if you have any questions or there are topics I didn’t cover here that you’d like to know about. 🙂

xo Nicole