So it’s now 3.5 weeks into the vegan diet.  Surprisingly, I’m not yet ogling anyone’s burgers, wings, or even bacon (altho’ I do feel we need new legislation to regulate what is allowed to be called bacon.  Soy bacon is definitely an oxymoron).  The whole thing (maybe due to its newness) still feels like a bit of a grand adventure.  I always seem to be eating outside of the mainstream anyway, so “not eating what everyone else is eating” is nothing new. 

While I don’t really miss the meat, I do miss the cheese.  I used to eat a lot of cheese - it was such a quick and delicious snack.  And it “really” melts, not like the “puddling” of soy cheese.  The Dr. Barnard book I read said that there are 4 types of foods that we physiologically crave, and they have been shown to affect our brains in similar ways to drugs or alcohol.  They are:  sugar, chocolate, meat and cheese.  So maybe I need to go to some “Cheese-Eaters-Anonymous” 12-step program to help me through this withdrawal.  Or maybe systematic desensitization where I work my way up to being able to watch pizza commercials without screaming in agony.

On the upside, I’ve lost 4 pounds while eating my usual huge amounts of food.  I’ve also re-discovered the cookbook section at the library and have effectively cleared the shelves of dozens of vegan cookbooks.  I’m planning to post some excellent new recipes on my cookbook site ellenlovescookbooks.com  so check it out if you’re in the mood for eating beans.  I’m the queen of beans these days!

And my blood sugars you ask?  The jury is still out on those.  As far as I can tell, they’ve stayed about the same (at least in the morning which is my every day testing time).  Maybe they’ll continue to improve as I stay on the diet.  And losing more weight may help, and giving up all caffeine and almost all artificial sweeteners, and exercising more, and reducing stress, etc., etc., etc. (I hear the King of Siam in my head when I type that).  I feel I need to trust this process (that’s not easy for me) and stay the course.  I still have 2 months until my next A1c (3-month blood sugar average) and I’m hoping for the best.  Wish me luck and send me your best vegan recipes …