Let us Talk about the time I followed a vegan diet for one year. You may all be wondering why did I decide to go vegan? We all know the fad of being a vegan in today’s world. I did not necessarily eat meat, but I often consumed animal products like milk, ghee, and butter. I read a lot about how animal-based food products, though considered vegetarian, like milk, ghee, butter, etc., are toxic to our bodies. Therefore, I was curious to see how my body reacted to a vegan diet and how different it was from a vegetarian diet.
Initially, it was very difficult to maintain a vegan diet all the time. The food was tasty, but the main difficulty was finding my protein source. I tried adding a variety of peas and pluses to my diet. Some foods like chickpea salad and pulses dosa were common dishes during my vegan diet days. Another delicious meal was adding green peas to my whole grain pasta. Please let me know if you need vegan recipes that are quick and easy to prepare.
Though the meals and recipes sound weird and out of the normal, they were delicious. I also became more consistent in taking fruits and raw vegetables in my diet. Here is what I noticed.
1. You lose fat rapidly
I rapidly lost fat and a small amount of muscle mass. For an estimate, if I lost 5 kg, then 4 kg was fat loss, and 1 kg was muscle mass loss. After the initial adjusting phase, I was surprised to see how quickly I lost the fat around my core and neck. Adding lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cereals, rice, bread, and oatmeal. I got a bit leaner, but I was comfortable maintaining this level.
2. Energy levels went up
With a plant-based diet, I was worried I might not have enough energy to go about my day. Surprisingly! I felt more energetic than before. I followed a strength training plan for the majority of this one-year experiment. I could do a lot of training in 1 hour and not feel drained. It increased my strength and muscle tone, and muscle density too.
3. Skin was glowing
The skin was something I had not anticipated change. My skin complexion bettered, and there was a glow to it. My skin gained more colour, and the texture became more shiny and thin. I researched and found that capillaries in the skin get clogged due to high fat intake. Clogged skin is the first indicator of a clogged cardiovascular system. Having a low-fat diet dramatically increases blood flow to the skin. One of my good friends recently switched from a low-carb diet to a low-fat vegan diet six months before her wedding. The couple experienced the same improvement and looked vibrant for their wedding.
4. Healthier gut
In the initial days of starting the diet, it took my stomach some time to get accustomed to the high level of fibres. When the fibre intake increases, it can take time to develop the healthy gut bacteria required to digest it. The majority of us don’t get enough fibres in our diet. The thing about eating fibres is that it increases your gut bacteria. It just takes a bit to level up to digest the number of fibres you eat.
Conclusion
Maintaining a vegan diet is not that difficult. I could easily do it again. A vegan diet also proves that you do not need to track your protein intake. Going vegan made me more fit, slim, and toned. If you need a super-toned body and a vegan diet, add more protein to your daily intake. Now, I follow a low-fat diet and a few low-fat vegan diets. My biggest takeaway from this experiment is that I am convinced most of the fitness world places too much importance on protein intake.
