Okay, I’m starting up a new 30 day challenge: I’m going to eat vegan for the next 30 days. That means no meat, dairy, or eggs. I’m curious to see how it will go.
New 30 day challenge: going vegan!
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Or honey.
You didn’t mention yoghurt, cheese… and the rest of it – are you not going to eat ANY dairy?
No need to approve this comment Matt, but, since you’re all into the ‘better your life syndrome’ – I’ll give you a free copy of “Kicking Life’s As*” if you want it! (ebook form – just ask)
Cheers!
This is great! I went vegan about a year ago, after reading some horror stories about factory farming.
The first month honestly was pretty hard, but it felt amazing, long term. And you might find your tastes change, too – I passionately hated mushrooms my whole life, after being vegan for a month I was craving them all day every day. Weird!
Good luck.
How funny! After coming across your talk at TED, I was motivated to take on a challenge and the first challenge I chose was to eat vegan for 30 days. Tuesday next week will be the last day of my challenge. Oh, I also added a “no alcohol” rule to make it a little harder.
The challenge hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be, and I have developed some good eating habits which will stay with me even after the challenge is over. I got admit though. I miss an ice cold brew, dark chocolate, and a bit of cheese once in awhile. All in moderation and not necessarily in this same order.
Good luck on your challenge! And thanks for that TED talk. Inspiring!
Matt; Having lived in the East San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years I think you should find it very easy.
You are so lucky to have Fresh Choice restaurants in abundance. There is wonderful hot and cold food for Vegans. Even a well run Sweet Tomatoes is a superb option.
I have been a Vegetarian for 35 years and a Vegan for 20 + years.
You should lose weight and feel “chemical free” quite quickly
Back in England now – I so miss Fresh Choice.
Good luck on you and enjoy – you’ll be more healthy
David
Think about how many retweets you’d have got by making vegan plural.
Hi Matt welcome to the vegan world! I was so excited when I heard you mention your challenge I made you a video http://www.bigcityvegan.com/blog/vegan-challenge/matt-cutts-welcome-to-the-vegan-world
That sounds great! I reccomend reading this book:
phmiracleliving.com/p-552-the-ph-miracle-revised-and-updated.aspx
Good luck,
Claudio.
Good luck. Does this also mean you won’t be wearing clothes coming from animals? (Such as, e.g., shoes with leather)? Or do we have a different definition of vegan over this side of the pond?
Good luck either way.
Btw you should also read “The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability” by Lierre Keith to give you an idea of what long term veganism can do to you.
Good Luck Matt , You’ll be healthy
I tried that once and I made it a little over a week. So best of luck to you! I think it was less of me eating vegan and more of me having so little to eat.
Keep us updated!
Hi Matt
Did you read the China Study? Great book which inspired me to do the same thing. I lasted about 60 days or so. Now I simply choose to go mostly vegetarian.
Good luck going vegan.
Peter
I assume you are not going to consume any honey?
Ok, but: why?
P.S. I’m going to hit my foot with a hammer for the next 30 days. I’m curious how it evolves.
Matt – Awesome choice! Welcome to the ranks of Albert Einstein, Bob Barker, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Clinton, and so many more notable and influential people. Just do me a favor, nearly everyone who tries going vegetarian or vegan don’t plan it out. Since you’re doing a 30-day Veg challenge, I’d say pick up a book, Dr. Neal Barnard’s books are the best, and pick up a vegan cookbook.
Focus on diversifying your vegetables – Broccoli and Kale are a couple “superfoods” with plenty of Iron and calcium. Then there’s a whole array of fake meats and tofu, tempeh, or seitan (wheat gluten).
IF in the next 30 days you’re in Chicago, let me know and I’d be happy to treat you out to the Chicago Diner – meat free since ’83.
Yeah! You go girlfriend! Being vegan is surprisingly easy this day and age. I was a vegan for 4 years back in the early 00s, but kinda realized that personally just being a “normal” veggie is enough for my moral standards (“it’s not ok to kill animals, but it’s ok to torture them”), but all the best for your 30 day stint and I’m sure even though you’ll be relieved when you return to your regular diet, you’ll also realize how much smaller of a sacrifice being a vegan is than it seems.
Out of curiosity, could you talk a bit about your motivations? I’m curious if this is a health decision, a green-living decision, an ethical/spiritual decision, or if there is some other driver.
Glad to hear your trying this. It’s a very considerate diet for the animals and the planet, that can also be a healthy one. The Googleplex cafeterias should have some really good options for you.
>I’m curious to see how it will go.
You’re gonna be tired and run down and if you keep it up long enough you will become anemic no matter how many suppluments you take
Why only 30 days? Vegan is good for life!
Matt,
Post recipes!
Is your wife joining the challenge?
Highly recommend seitan, which is a wheat gluten meat substitute. Tried it for the first time recently, loved it. Works great in stir fry, nice alternative to tofu.
Cool, your venture actually coincides with the Vegan Month Of Food blogging extravaganza. http://www.veganmofo.com/
There are a lot of resources around, so if you need help with something just do a shout out! And remember to eat something green once in awhile, oreos and a lot of junk food are vegan too
This was my first challenge after watching your TEDtalk! Central CA isn’t all that keen on vegan (I think there’s TWO natural food stores for the entire 300,000 person community), so I resorted to a ton of online recipes. Check out the boards on Pinterest for inspiration. My favorite recipe is raw tacos.
Good luck!
Best of luck. I found it very educational years ago when I went on a macrobiotic diet for three months.
I finally broke when I went for Chinese food with some friends.
I’m thinking of going vegan myself and noticed a few UFC fighters like Mac Danzig to name one who are pure vegans, it doesn’t seem to effect their performance and they are high energy athletes.
I agree with Bryant post some recipes.
It will probably take the better part of the first 30 days to lose the cravings that you’re used to satisfying. After the first 2-3 weeks, your energy level will increase and you’ll feel all-around better. Most people that stick it out 30 days, stay with it permanently. You’ll be healthier and live longer. (Not to mention the many animals lives that will be saved)
One final thought: The meat industry is the #1 cause of global warming – more than all transportation combined. Thank you for doing your part to help slow climate change.
So that also means no SPAM for 30 days?
This is your worst challenge yet. I hope your next challenge is to eat ONLY non-vegan food for a month.
I’m vegan for around 11 years. It’s easy to handle. Just make sure you get enough of the necessary proteins, vitamins (especcialy B12), etc.
Great that you try it!
Umm Matt you do realize that means no bacon.. Yeah?
2 survive 30 days U gonna have 2 go NUTS
Good luck. I’d go crazy without delicious bacon. mmmmm bacon.
Matt – for fun, you should baseline your cholesterol before and after your 30DC. You’ll likely see a significant drop.
I have been there .. and feel really good eating vegetables.. infact after taking vege .. when I smell the meat.. it feels different, it’s like you don’t like meat no more..
Matt
Dont go any longer than 30 days though. My Mum is a lifetime vegan and she needs regular B12 injections.
Cheers
Rosemary
Hi Matt,
Wow I want to try that as well. Let me know how it went any new things we should know here all webmasters.
Human DNA is genetically evolved to eat meat. Going vegan is going directly against your DNA.
Grassfed organic meat is in no way “unhealthy” like many vegans would like you to believe.
Look into the paleo/primal diet. Much healthier than eating grains & beans all day, foods we don’t handle that well.
That’s great! Cheers!
Yikes, I hear its healthy, but it sounds rough. I’d try it if I could do some raw fish still… can’t give up my sushi
Hi Matt,
Best of luck.
Will you post tips about where you bought food or went dining?
I must be interesting for others!
Hi,
I juz started doing it right from the year started…… Lets Go Greeeeeen………
Good Luck with that Matt. I don’t think I would be able to. I like my meat too much. i did however manage to go almost an entire month without sodas. And it was a good experience. I still drink some now and then, but I’m no longer addicted to them.
Michael Blaes
Wish you all the luck. Do not know if I would be able to go without diary, eggs or meat.
That is hectic
Good luck! You should ask Angelina Jolie’s opinion
Good Luck with that!
You too?!
If I say that I like meat, I risk a filter?
Good luck and have fun.
Hey Matt,
That’s a cool thing
However, as a vegan myself, I’d advise you to keep on with eggs and dairy…
Eat dry fruits (figs, apricots, almonds, etc.) and be sure to mix up things like cereals and leguminous stuff (pasta + lentils + eggplant for example).
Thanks to your challenge, you’ll participate in sparing animals, reduce Earth pollution and Third-World starvation and kick the butt of shameless traders who speculate on foodstuffs as well.
Good luck!
Hi Matt – Good luck with your vegan challenge. I’ve recently become a veggie, and this morning I buried a wasp even after it stung me in a particularly sensitive area. It all comes down to a new found interest in Feng Shui. Dan
You won’t find a lot of fat on a Vegan
You’ll experience weight loss & increased energy. I gave up because of the extreme weight loss. Let us know how it goes. Enjoy!
I am very interested to see the out come and your feeling after 30 day. But honestly its nice plan, but you could always balance. Only Veg might seems boring to a lot people. Balance diet is best.
But test some thing new is like challenge. Lets see.
Good on you Matt. I went on a 90 day challenge after attending a Tony Robbins seminar
and gave up meat, wheat, dairy, caffeine and alcohol for three months – I felt amazing for it
but I succumbed to a beer at a gig… Will try it again one day!
May I suggest vast quantities of almond milk as comfort food? I tried to be a vegan for a month, and gave up after a week in the face of an insatiable craving for a chocolate cake…I’m sure you’ll do much better.
Wow, nice. My wife went vegan, and started a blog (VeganStart) to help others on the path. We eat well
make sure you take vitiamins to make up for the lack in a full vegan diet- and have you told your cats about this yet
Good luck and have fun. Always keep in mind that afterwards you will be proud of yourself
Well done Matt & good luck. Were you influenced by Brendan Brazier’s Google talk?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjnpdo_bRgU
Good luck!
Good luck with this challenge Matt. I’m afraid its one that I’ll rather pass up (can’t live without my fillets
). Be strong!
And then there is the question of honey. Most vegans avoid it since it’s impossible to harvest honey without smooshing a few bees, yet 70%+ of a vegan’s diet is seed pollinated or plant pollinated by Apis mellifera. It will be interesting to hear how you tackle those choices.
As Tristan P. pointed out a vegan diet usually goes hand in hand with a vegan lifestyle (no animal clothing, no coffee, etc.) though your 30 day challenge just mentions the eating part. Either way good luck. It will be interesting to hear how it goes.
Good luck! My husband watched the documentary Fork over Knife on NetFlix – he’s now going veggie (and almost vegan) for the next 2 months at least.
What about the cats man!
Just use that wonderful search engine thing and search for “The Smells That Cats Hate”.
Short extract:
“Now lets get on to what scents really stink for cats. Cats really dislike anything with a citrus scent such as lemons, grapefruits, and oranges. It is unfortunate because I adore the smell of all citrus fruits especially from from the essential oils in the citrus fruit skins. Of course cats are not humans so they are not going to share the same likes and dislikes as humans when it comes to scents.
Cats also do not like spicy scents such as cayenne pepper and mustard. Also avoid using chemical products around your cat because they will really irritate them especially when you are trying to human train the cat. If they are constantly smelling chemicals around you they may always associate that scent to humans and eventually try to avoid you entirely.”
If you end up smelling like a cabbage, or a carrot, or a potato the cats will move out… you have been warned!
Good luck, Matt! I am vegetarian but I, myself, am scared of crossing over to vegan territory, hope you survive!
That’s awesome! You should try out some of the recipes on the Post Punk Kitchen. http://www.theppk.com/
My husband and I started eating vegan with a couple of their cookbooks. It’s been 4 months and we couldn’t be happier.
Fortunate that bacon can be described as a spicies.
30 days without bacon, it would be like no life for 30 days.
Awesome! I have tried going Vegan several times and failed!!
I would suggest looking into Miso soup as an integral part of your new diet.
Well you didn’t post this on April 1st so I am guessing you are not joking this time. You come up with random unexpected challenges. More power to you on this one. I think I would rather do the marathon thing or climb mount Everest before going vegan. Best of luck. I doubt I would make it a week.
Is this part of a “Bucket List”? Cant imagine evening meals without beef and chicken, but each to their own i suppose. Good Luck Matt!
Oh… good luck… I’d be buying a case of powerbars to keep the hungries away.
Interesting idea… I like good meat. How would it affect people who quit for a month.. Watching this..
Good luck Matt!
Wish you the best!
Best Regards,
Jason Braud
I believe going vegan is a bad idea for your health. Remember that a human can survive with zero carbohydrates thanks to ketosis, but will eventually die without any fat or protein. Just something to consider when thinking about how our bodies evolved. Regardless, best of luck!
Going vegan is good for a short period of time. It forces you to eat more fruits and vegetables which is good if you’re trying to load up on vitamins and cleanse out your body. But unfortunately our biology demands meat in our diet. Great source of amino acids and protein.
How’s about tofu?
Suggestion from this born vegetarian would have been going vegetarian first and then vegan, if you should. Vegan’s is a tough life Matt.
It’s a wonderful way to live. If you find it difficult, go back and cut out just red meat for a year, then poultry for a year, then fish, then eggs and so on. It’s not hard, it’s just a matter of forming new habits, and it’s so worth it!
Good luck in that
i would like to following you in this soon .
Translated…the no fun diet, really, life is too short to not get to enjoy a good burger and beer watching a football game.
@Will Johnson – I love the enthusiasm. No one seems to have mentioned that livestock are a greater contributor of green house gases than autos. That said, to borrow from Charlton Heston, “You can have my meat and cars when you pry them out of my cold dead hands.” I know. I’m a bad person.
@jim carrington LOL
@Matt Good Luck!
Have to laugh at people that talk about fruits and veggies like you can only eat them if you’re a vegan. As if broccoli and kale are some secret food that only the vegans know about.
hey matt,
wow respect good luck for that.
I am a vegany for 1 year now.
I don’t eat: meat, milk, eggs, wheat, rye, spelt, gluten, ready to eat packages and no cheese (normal) the only cheese I eat is raw milk cheese.
I feel great since my Food Revolution =)
Hope you’re doing well.
best regards
Good to see! This is what I voted for when you did another challenge so it’s good to see you taking us up on it. I too became vegan after reading The China Study and I would highly recommend it.
Good luck and make sure to do it properly (i.e. don’t just cut out meat and eat noodles, etc.)!
Excellent. Stick with it for life, you won’t regret it. I’ve been vegan for 2 years and have never felt better. I did it for the animals and after watching Earthlings – everyone needs to watch that documentary!
The other reason to be vegan – the environment!!
Good luck! We’ve slowly been increasing the number of vegetarian meals we eat as a way of eating more healthily. I’ll be interested to read how you get on with your vegan challenge.
Hey Matt,
If you’re craving cheese, the best vegan substitute seems to be Daiya: http://www.daiyafoods.com/. It really does melt and tastes awesome.
It can’t be going very well as your posting energy seems to be extremely low!!!
Go for some Baked Kale Chips… I had them for first time over the weekend with a vegan cheese, amazing!
I did the same thing in October 2010. It is actually difficult to accomplish if you go out at all. Finding vegan dining options is hard work! But, I am glad I did it. I am not vegan now, but my meat intake is a lot less than it was before I did it. Good luck!
Great Matt
I am a vegetarian guy and I love that you have followed the same trend
I eat milk, cheese etc, provided they do not pass any animal filteration process as Cheddar cheese passes thru animal bones filteration and contains some animal fat. So I do not eat that
rest, I do not eat meat, eggs
Hi Matt, good luck. You’re braver than i am. Be sure to let us all know how it goes.
I went vegetarian about 5 years, and just by default am slowly going vegan – once you start I found it builds momentum and I am now way more analytical about what I eat.
Personally I don’t do vegan, I like cheese and yogurt! And yet I don’t drink cow’s milk I do soy.
Wishing you good luck on this, make sure you get a well rounded vegan diet so you aren’t sacrificing any nutrients. I’ve heard a glass of OJ with a tablespoon of molasses for iron.