As many of you probably know, I am working towards being 100% vegan! Now, I don’t think I will ever be 100% vegan 100% of the time, but ya girl is trying. This summer I started this vegan transition by cutting dairy out of my diet. All summer I posted about it on my Instagram stories, but I wanted to give you all a detailed update about my favorite non-dairy alternatives!
My decision to go dairy free was made after some serious consideration and some serious research. I did not just wake up and decide, “today is a great day to cut dairy from my diet!”. Before even thinking about going dairy free, I was a dairy monster. I loved everything that had to do with dairy. The cheese, the milk, the ICE CREAM(!). I loved dairy so much..but I didn’t love how it made my body look and feel.
Sometime this summer I came across an article written by a woman about how her body changed after going without dairy for two weeks. Words like “weight-loss”, “less bloated”, and “better skin” stood out to me instantly. The biggest thing that screamed at me (which is a little vain, I know) was the weight-loss part. I had been trying for so long to loose weight and nothing I was doing was working. So I thought to myself, I could do this. How hard could it be?
Now, me being me, I love to research things. I never make a decision before doing my research first. I googled things like, “pros to going dairy free”, “what happens when you cut dairy from your diet”, “results from going dairy free”. Everything I found seemed promising! Not to be one sided in my research, I also googled things like, “cons of going dairy free”, “downsides of going dairy free”, and “drawbacks of not consuming dairy”. The pros seemed to outweigh the cons, so I decided that the next time I hit the grocery store, I would not buy any traditional dairy products. Which bring me to these babies down below….my favorite non-dairy alternatives! All of the things below are things I have tasted and eat on a regular basis!
Too many to count (honestly!). I have slimmed down so much since cutting dairy out of my diet and I just feel better overall. Within the last year, with a lot of effort at the gym and by watching what I eat, I have lost almost 20 pounds. Part of this I credit to going dairy-free. My body is less bloated, my skin is clear all the time, and I just feel better. Some of you might say it’s all in my head but I swear, I notice a HUGE difference in my body when I have consumed dairy and when I haven’t.
Now, don’t think I am perfect at this. There are times that I still eat meals that have dairy in them. When I tell people I am vegan, I quickly follow up with “I am mostly vegan.” I like to describe myself as 80% vegan and 20% not. That 20% accounts for when I go out to dinner or am in a setting where there is no vegan option. I am not going to starve myself or go hungry or not order something delicious when out with my friends because there is not vegan option. Life is short, so I am going to eat like a non-vegan person if I want to! (But when I am at home and in charge of my own meal, I am vegan 😉).
Have you ever thought about going dairy-free? Truly, it isn’t as bad as you think it is. The biggest difference to get used to was the cheese substitutions, everything else was very easy. Wanna know something else? I think almond milk taste better than normal milk! I hope this helps all my babes out there who are thinking about going dairy-free (or maybe vegan!).
Shine on,
Maddy