Ever since I was little, I never understood why my mother and sister went on diets. I just never was  interested in limiting what I could eat. I don’t know about anyone else, but I love food. I love going to IHOP with my dad and getting a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with hash browns, or going to Buffalo Wild Wings after football games and eating fried pickles and mild wings. I love never worrying about what I’m eating or how many calories I consume.

Over the summer, I met a lot of people who were vegetarian/vegan. Immediately after hearing these people’s diets, I’d say “I could never do this.” This was especially true regarding veganism, because of how much dairy and animal byproducts make up my diet.

After hearing myself say I couldn’t do something repeatedly, I decided I didn’t want to have such a negative attitude. I had to stop bashing something I had never tried. After deciding this, I set a goal for myself to be vegan for the month of September to prove to myself I could do what I always said I couldn’t. I knew this goal would not be easy to reach, and it would most likely be something I hated, but I set it anyways.

September came fast, and I went grocery shopping with my mom for smoothie mixes, snacks, and lots of rice and beans. The first week of veganism went fine. I was hungry a lot, but managed to eat three meals a day. By the second week of September, school started and it was more difficult to get in the swing of things. Everyone can relate when I say I just can’t get up in time to eat breakfast every day before school. Then by third and fourth hour I would be starving. With limited options in the vending machine, I had nothing to snack on. Not having enough money to buy a meal everyday, I would go home for lunch. Being so invested in college applications and school, I got lazy and began eating the same two meals every day for lunch and dinner. I would either eat some beans and rice, or a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Some days I’d eat both, but even when I did, it never filled me up. I was constantly hungry and thinking about food.

The one thing veganism affected the most in my life, was my relationship with food. Whatever the time of day, wherever I was, food was on my mind. After developing a habit of checking the ingredients on the back of products, my eyes began to wander to the calories and fat count. Whatever I ate, I knew exactly how many calories I was consuming because of this.

On top of the mental effect from veganism, the physical effect was just as significant. Finding foods that had enough protein was a constant struggle. I knew I was not getting what my body needed and began losing more weight than wanted. In addition, not having a set exercise schedule did not help me stay healthy. I quickly became weak, and often times found myself feeling lightheaded.

Veganism is not the right diet for me. Personally, I need more protein then I got from beans. When September ended, I was overjoyed to go back to my regular diet and although I didn’t have the best experience with the goal I set, I’m happy I did it. I really challenged myself and pushed through no matter how difficult it got. I stopped saying I “couldn’t do it” and I did it. No longer limited by what I was able to eat, I quickly remembered how necessary food really is. Food should never be an obstacle, it should be your friend.