The Vegan Experiment: Day 9

Major changes noticed so far after eating a vegan diet for nine days: none.

Digestion: slightly improved; that is to say, things seem to be moving through better, if you catch my drift. Probably due to the extra fiber I am eating.

Weight loss: none. I attribute this to the increase in bread consumption to make up for the loss of meat.

General health: terrible. I got a severe cold from the kids I teach and have been hacking up my lungs for the last few days. I don't think this has anything to do with diet. It may have more to do with the gin & tonics I had while out on Saturday night that were the last straw for my immune system.

Negative effects: none. No loss of energy (except due to the cold), no cravings for meat, no problems eating out (order salad), no urges to wear hemp, grow dredlocks and protest downtown.

Foods I have discovered I like:

• Soy sour cream. Yum! Makes a baked potato taste the way it should be. Not any less calories than real sour cream, so not much advantage here, unless you have some clear reason for avoiding dairy.
• Boca burgers. One minute in the microwave makes a tasty sandwich.
  
• Peanut butter Odwalla bars. Need I say more?
• Tapioca pudding made with coconut milk. A real calorie and fat bomb, but a tasty vegan dessert.
• Sweet potatoes- otherwise known as "yams"- the dark orange ones

As you can see, I haven't been suffering at all. In fact, there is not much that I miss except for cheese. Most soy cheese contains "milk proteins," so I am staying away from it for now, just so I can say I haven't cheated.

Honey is technically ot considered vegan, but that is only due to philosophical issues. It's not much different chemically than sugar, so I won't bother avoiding that.

I have a suspicion that the "health" effects of a vegan diet are a way for hippies to push their animal rights agendas on us omnivores. But its still pretty early to tell. Who knows, maybe I'll keep this going longer than the two weeks I had originally planned.