Veganism. Some people cringe at the word, and some light up. My senior year of high school I tried being vegan for a month just for kicks and giggles.

Let me just start off by saying that I DID have cheat meals. Once a week I allowed myself to eat all the dairy/meat as I pleased to avoid any kind of troubles my body might experience from the withdrawal of animal products.

This little experiment was just for fun. I knew vegans had a very limited diet and I knew it would be challenging. When most people hear the word "vegan" they immediately think of diets with no meat and no dairy. This diet goes beyond no meat and no dairy, veganism also means no gelatin, honey, eggs, and more. I definitely didn't realize this when deciding to do this for a month, which was a huge slap in the face and lack of knowledge on my end. I was excited to try this because I figured doing so would force me to eat a lot healthier.

Getting creative with a diet where you can only eat and drink certain things was very difficult. I'm not a picky eater, but I definitely didn't enjoy eating the same five things almost every day. I felt like I was only eating ice and drinking water, it was that boring. Some people are great at getting creative with these types of things and are willing to put in the effort to do so, but I was a busy student in her senior year. I didn't want to dedicate the time to prepare a fancy vegan meal. Basically, all I was eating was salads, Oreos (yes, they're vegan!), and nuts all in a continuous cycle. The diet is bland and I didn't enjoy it. Even my family was annoyed because they didn't know how to prepare meals for me and neither did I. I tried some alternative items such as almond milk and dairy free cheese/butter but none of it appealed to me. Overall, I was eating healthier. However, I was still not pleased and my body reacted to the diet too.

Everyone's body is different and will react differently when changes are made in diets. In my case, I lost an unhealthy amount of weight in just a little over 30 days...13 pounds to be exact. I was pleased to see that my healthier eating was showing results, but I was also scared to see how much weight I lost in such a short amount of time. I cut my vegan diet and slid back into my normal eating habits. I learned that eating and drinking what your body wants and doing what you think is best for yourself is far better than experimenting with a diet just to prove a point/just for fun.

Overall, the vegan diet was not for me. Some people are able to go about it just fine and still fit in the proper nutrients to remain healthy. But oftentimes being vegan can lead to an iron deficiency and lack of nutrients.