Happy New Year! I hope you are all ready to start a brand new, fresh and wonderful 2012!
In Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book The 30 Day Vegan Challenge, she asks you to evaluate yourself before you start the challenge, to see where your starting point is. Since today is my first day, and I just woke up, ( I know, kinda late, but its New Years Day!) I am going to write down my self-evaluation now.
How do I feel now?
-Physically: I feel fat, tired, and lazy. I just have this heavy feeling to me, and its hard to get out of bed in the morning. I feel like I'm always tired. I have also had really bad dry skin on my scalp lately, and its really uncomfortable.
-Emotionally: I feel like I need a change. (Which is why this is good) I feel stuck- like something is holding me down, and a little empty. Sometimes I feel emotionally stable, other times I feel completely lost. I wish I could stabilize my emotions.
-Spiritually: Spiritually I feel like I am in an okay place. I am not a very religious person; this is to say I dont believe in one specific God or religion- I simply try to live my life in the most positive light as possible and pass that good around. I'd say I'm good in this area, but could always use more positive light.
What are my intentions for doing the 30 Day Vegan Challenge:
My intentions for doing the 30 Day Vegan Challenge are to feel better physically ( I just want to Feel more Awake, energized, and clean) and challenge myself to do something difficult that I might not have done otherwise. I know it is going to take a lot of strength and self control in order to complete the 30 Day Challenge, so I want to find that strength within me and learn as much as I can about the benefits of a Vegan diet, nutritionally, and morally.
What goals do I want to attain by the end of 30 days:
My goals are to:
Lose 8 pounds in the 30 days.
Lower my BMI
Learn 10 new Vegan recipes
Post daily or bi-daily about my progress.
What am I most afraid or anxious about?
Right now, sitting here, it being my first day- I am nervous about what I am going to eat today. I want to make sure I have choices to eat and I am anxious about letting go of cheese LOL, and also that many products have hidden whey and milk or eggs in them, and that it will be hard to dissect everything to tell if it is vegan or not.
I am also anxious that my family and friends wont be accepting or open to my diet change, and will be defensive or offensive about it.
What am I anticipating being the most challenging aspects of these 30 days?
Not eating cheese, and dissecting processed foods from dairy and egg products as well as Going out to eat at certain restaurants that may not necessarily be vegan-friendly.
What am I anticipating being the most exciting aspects of these 30 days?
Committing to a positive changes. I am excited to feel physical positive changes in my body. I anticipate feeling more energy and I am excited about learning about the positive effects of veganism in the world.
*When I have completed the 30 days, I have another assessment I will fill out.
