week 1 ...

Well week 1 is officially in the books!

Made it through with flying colors and nobody got hurt!! Well almost nobody...I did have a few moments where I thought I could kill somebody as my cup of coffee
has NOT been the same since I started this challenge. I've searched high and low for a vegan alternative that would come close and honestly not much is helping.
I've ended up at Starbucks twice getting Soy lattes just to get a fix. I feel like a damn junky. One thing that will not change after this challenge is my love and
need for a good cup of coffee. I will NEVER ever EVER betray myself in that way again. Yes I'm being overly dramatic lol but no bullshit my coffee sucks!

Physically, I feel great! I've had a few days of nasty headaches that I thought were good and gone, until this morning. I'd like to blame the lack of good coffee but
I honestly think this might be allergy related. I feel a little stuffed up and have had dried blood in my nose the last two mornings. Maybe our heater has been kicking
on too much at night? I hope either way it's a one day thing.

Saturday morning I had paid the price for straying off my usual morning get up and go breakfasts. I decided because ...

it was the weekend I would do some Vans waffles instead. They tasted like sawdust and did NOTHING for me. Shortly after eating I felt very unsatisfied with my meal, even
though I was full. I had no energy whatsoever and felt myself trying to go back to sleep. There was a full feeling of eh. Didn't want or to do much. I think the fact that I didn't have my morning poop yet didn't help either. We had planned to
take my youngest step son to the park to feed the ducks, I'm glad we did. If it wasn't for the beautiful weather I'm pretty sure I would have crawled into bed. We ended up
walking the pond and getting a little bit of exercise. It felt really good and felt a little bit more refreshed.

This morning I woke up and weighed in and found that I had lost 2lbs! Out of curiosity I weighed myself mid week and found that I had actually gained a few pounds, I was instantly in panic mode. WTF all these damn veggies, pooping 3 times a day...and I've gained!?! Needless to say I was a tad peeved. But in the end I told myself I haven't exercised as much as I could be and reminded myself that this is the healthiest I've eaten in a long time. The benefits outweighed the 3lbs by far.

I'd say that mentally I kind of hyped myself up for this HUGE change and all the major things I'd have to eliminate from my diet, only to find that it's coming naturally. Very easy to remove the "bad stuff" I was scared to make the change based on my love of food. I told myself can't be good if it doesn't have cheese, because of course vegan cheese tasted like dirt and toenails. (relax I'm kidding) I have noticed that I am seeing meat in the stores and the drool factor as dropped. I think my nose is still working against me though. I can't help it when I smell Carls Jr. I'm so tempted by the smells. Knowing that I can prepare a meal that is free of animal products and it can still taste good is cool. I have told a few people already that I don't intend to be repulsed by food or foods containing animal products. As I stated before my husband and our kids have not taken on this challenge themselves, and I still cook regular meals for them. I don't intend to be angry with myself for enjoying half and half in my coffee nor do I plan to give up my favorite protein shakes. I'm ok with not taking the title of a True Vegan. (yes I will finish my challenge though)

Family and friends have been very open and super supportive. I actually had an hour and a half long conversation with my sister talking about the foods and changes I've been feeling so far. It was actually very cool to have her be so into it and encourage it further. I've had the kids and Travis try the foods I make and was told that all the foods I made were "amazing so far" coming from a 15 year old boy who likes to eat crappy food I take it as a compliment. I have a few friends that are vegan and have been so excited about my challenge, they've been sending me messages and recipes and totally encouraging me every step I love it. When you go into something new you have to go in with the mindset of I can do this! Going into it with full support from those around you there is no stopping you. It's a badass feeling. Full throttle baby...