Mission Complete!

So, I finished my 30-day vegan trial. (I actually finished on Monday, but haven't had time to write until now...) Overall, it went really well. I feel lots and lots better and I can always tell if I've had too much sugar or not enough veggies, because I end up feeling really crappy. During the 30 days, I kept a tallied journal of how many whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes I consumed every day. Since it's over, I've stopped doing that, but I still try to keep a mental checklist to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients and making good choices about my food, like whole grains instead of refined white flour.

Some of the things that I didn't like about going vegan were:
1. going out to eat. I pretty much always had to check online before I went out somewhere to make sure there was something there for me to eat. Restaurants like to put hidden ingredients in their food (that's kinda scary). I had to learn this the hard way after I went to Panera one time and ordered their garden vegetable soup. Seems vegan, right? Nope. They put pesto in it, which apparently has cheese mixed in. The only completely vegan thing I've been able to find on their menu (besides an apple) is their black bean soup. But luckily, that's my favorite. (But they don't have it every day...)
2. feeling like I'm inconveniencing others. I stayed at a couple of friends' houses during the duration of my trial. I didn't want them to have to go out and buy special food just for me, so I brought my own food and ate that instead of what everyone else was eating. It felt a little awkward, but I didn't want to sacrifice my commitment, so I did it any way.
3. constantly checking ingredient lists. Every time I was at the store or at a friends' house, I would pick up a container to check the ingredients to see if I could buy the product or participate in snack time. You would not believe the products that have milk ingredients in them. I don't understand what corporations are trying to do by feeding us all this milk (except to make us fat...)

That being said, however, I've decided to stay vegan for now. I'm not going to be crazy about it. If I accidentally eat something with butter in it, I won't freak out. But when I can make my own food choices, I will. I think this really works for me, so I definitely want to keep doing it as long as I can. :D