The Vegan Diaries — Part I
You will be reading this on February 27, 2020 — the day following Ash Wednesday. I, like some of you reading this essay, observed Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday; I am also currently observing the season of Lent. I was raised Methodist and I observe Lent by giving something up as a version of fasting. Anytime I want whatever I chose to give up or am tempted to cheat, I am reminded of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for me and I say a prayer of thanks. I’ve done this for years, just as many of my friends and family have. In years past I’ve given up chocolate, biting my nails, cheese… when I was barely old enough to even know what Lent was, I once ordered a giant plate of spaghetti at a restaurant then told my parents I couldn’t finish my plate because “I gave spaghetti up for Lent. Sorry.” This year is a little bit different, more difficult I would say, and is possibly the biggest “sacrifice” I’ve ever made in terms of Lent. This year, I’m eating vegan… I will give you all a moment to say a quick prayer for my carnivorous soul.
I’m including photos of some of my “last meals,” before going without meat, dairy, and eggs for six weeks. This meal was a breakfast burger: Certified Angus Beef patty topped with a fried egg and avocado pesto.
Now I know what you’re thinking: why? I am going vegan for Lent for three reasons.
The first reason is this: I cannot justify writing and borderline ridiculing the vegan diet or lifestyle unless I’ve experienced it myself. You’ve heard the saying “don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Well, I’m changing that to, “don’t judge a vegan until you’ve given up animal food products for six weeks.”
The second reason is to make myself a bit more trustworthy. I pride myself on being an ethical journalist, and although my column is opinion based, it wouldn’t hurt to gain more credibility. As an ethical journalist, I intend to report every detail of my journey as a vegan: the good, the bad, and the hungry. So, before we go any further, I need to say this: Vegans, carnivores, and everyone in between, I do not want to hear “oh, well that’s a lie to make veganism sound better,” or “she’s only saying that to make agriculture look good.” I’m going to report the truth whether you like the results or not.
Last, but certainly not least, the final reason is I’m just genuinely curious. Is the vegan diet healthier than my normal, protein-heavy diet? How will my energy level be? How will the vegan diet affect my body? Will I lose weight? Will I gain weight? What will it do for my complexion? How about my hair? Will I spend more money at the grocery store? And the biggest question I want answered: How much of a difference in my personal carbon emissions will I make if I eat a plant-based diet?
Over the course of six weeks, I will observe how a plant-based diet affects me and focus on four main areas: energy level, cost, changes to my body, and climate change.
We celebrated my birthday early in the Western Ag Reporter office with blueberry pie because none of my coworkers were to eager to try a vegan birthday cake. My birthday is February 28, two days after Lent begins, meaning I will not get to enjoy my usual carnivorous birthday supper (first world problems, I know…let me wallow in self pity).
I have provided information about my current diet, energy level, grocery budget, and carbon footprint below as a reference point.
I eat a fairly protein-heavy diet, meaning I eat a lot of meat and eggs. I also eat two servings of vegetables per day on average, rarely consume any dairy (I’m lactose sensitive, so I can eat cheese and ice cream and it won’t kill me but I try to avoid it), and I try to eat as little added sugars and processed foods as possible. Throughout this experiment, I’m going to try and not eat any “fake meat” products. However, I feel that by about week three or so I’m going to crave meat and just might cave.
I work out in a gym three to four times a week and stretch and do a 20-minute home workout five to six times a week. I try to burn 600 active calories a day and usually meet that goal. I get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. My energy level is normal, perhaps better than normal in my opinion.
As far as food waste goes, I don’t like to spend my money on something I won’t eat. I have a detailed grocery list which I do not deter from, spend around $35 on groceries every week, and my fridge is empty when I go buy groceries again. I eat out about twice a week, once for dinner and once for supper.
In regard to my personal carbon emissions, I received drastically different numbers from five different websites — which we’ll deep dive into later on in this process. Based off the number received from these popular websites, for a single home, meat loving, above “average” traveling young woman living in Billings, Montana, my average carbon footprint is 18.2 tons of CO2 per year. However, the number I received from Berkley’s calculator was 25 tons of CO2 per year and the number I received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) didn’t take food into account therefore it’s irrelevant to the purpose of this study.
I’ve spoken with many dietary professionals about this experiment as well as a few vegans and former vegans (which you’ll hear from throughout this series). It was recommended to me that I take a B12 vitamin each day and watch my fiber intake closely.
How I spent Fat Tuesday…eating my last bite of ice cream for the next six weeks. Peep Love is Blind on Netflix in the background.
After these past few weeks of research, I have a few claims for my hypothesis of following the vegan diet for six weeks.
1) I will lose some weight, but not as much weight as I would following a protein-heavy or carnivore diet.
2) My energy level will be lower, even with a B12 supplement.
3) My carbon footprint will shrink by less than 5 percent.
It is important to note that I have lived nearly 23 years on this planet as a young woman meaning I, like many other women, have tried just about every fad diet and weight loss trick in the book. I’ve eaten low calorie, low carb, keto, no dairy, no sugar, no fun and here’s what I can say: After a certain period of time, my body will likely become more accustom to whatever diet I’m trying to follow. Some changes may be more drastic than others and some may take longer to adjust, but at the end of this experiment, my body could become accustomed to the vegan diet — this claim is backed by Barbara Quinn-Intermill, MS, RDN, CDE, LMNT.
To the vegans: send me all your advice and recipes because I’m going to get sick of sweet potatoes and oatmeal pretty quick.
To the agriculturists: keep an open mind with all this. Some of the results may not be what you want to hear from an advocate of agriculture but some of them may just give us more ground to stand on when debating the true impacts of a plant-based diet.
And to Big John (aka my dad): start marinating those Good Friday steaks now because my mouth is already watering just thinking about them.
And finally, to add to the food porn, here is a picture of a rare 6 oz. filet mignon which I ate the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. Drool.
