At the end of my first semester (AKA when I started to really notice the start of the Freshman 15 effect), I decided I needed to change things up and do something positive for my body. As someone with no time for the gym, I figured exercise wasn’t going to be my way out. Cutting down the amount of food I eat wouldn’t do the trick either since I love food. Instead, I decided to focus on the type of food I was eating and went vegan. I cut out all animal products – meat, eggs and dairy.
The first week is the hardest…
I was miserable the first week of eating vegan, and it’s probably because I didn’t do very much to prepare for it. I went into the dining halls with zero clue of what I could and couldn’t eat, so for the most part, I stuck with white rice, salad and fruit. It wasn’t bad, but I felt so weak after the second day, and I was constantly hungry. A few days in, and I was considering giving the whole thing up.
But it gets better quickly.
Once I started to get a grasp of the things I could eat and what would be more filling, I started to feel better. By the second week, I was feeling healthier than I had in such a long time. I had more energy, better concentration, my skin was clearer and I started feeling less stressed. Just one month in, I had already lost a whole pant size and looked visibly thinner.
You get to eat more, not less.
My favorite part of switching to a vegan diet was that it hardly felt like a diet at all. Though my choices in foods were restrictive, the amount I ate wasn’t. Today, I eat so much more every day than I used to. This is in part due to the fact that I need more food to keep my energy up, but also because the foods I’m eating are healthy. I burn calories so much faster now.
It's so much harder if you can't cook for yourself.
Being stuck with a meal plan in the dining halls makes your options more limited. Most of the meals that are prepared don't meet the requirements, and you're often stuck with a meal composed of only side dishes and salad. You learn to get creative with the options, but it's still difficult.
There aren’t many deserts available, unless you make them yourself.
Almost every desert has dairy or eggs in it, which has been the most disappointing part for me. However, if you have access to your own kitchen and can bake things on your own, there’s a vegan solution to almost any recipe – just look one up online!
Careful of carbs.
Pasta and bread are two of the easiest ways to stick to a vegan diet but are definitely not the healthiest. Try to limit pasta to one meal a day, or even less if possible. There are so many other options for meals; they might just take a little bit more effort.
It’s OK to have cheat days.
This is really a personal choice, but I don’t see the harm. If you’re becoming a vegan for moral reasons, you probably shouldn’t have cheat days. However, I made the choice to be vegan solely because I wanted to see if it was healthier. I’m pretty good about sticking to my diet, so I don’t feel as bad when I eat a chocolate chip cookie or have a waffle in the dining hall. As long as your cheat days are fewer than the days you stick with it, you’re still making a positive change.
It’s worth it.
I can’t describe how much healthier I feel in every aspect of my life. Since I’ve started eating vegan, school has been easier for me to focus on, I’ve started exercising more because I have so much extra energy and I look better. Although I sometimes get cravings for a slice of cheese pizza or a burger, they’re often pretty easy to ignore (and one every once in a while won’t kill you).
I don’t regret my decision to go vegan. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ll do forever, but for the time being, it’s something that has made a positive difference, so I’m happy about that. I highly recommend giving it a shot if you’re struggling to find a way to make a healthy change in your life. You’d be surprised just how easy it can be, and just how much of a difference it can make.
