Day 1 - The Virgin Vegan

It got to the point that I couldn't ignore the noise anymore.  I'm a die-hard tree-hugger.  I'm an animal activist... I actually like animals more than people.  Ssshhhh don't tell!  And I was hearing more and more about "Going Vegan" the same way you hear about "Going Green."  Well, I gave up red meat years ago and the thought of a burger makes me want to throw up in my mouth.  And don't even get me started on how disgusting people are clear-cutting rainforests to make room for cattle grazing.  But I'm a workout freak!  I spin like a little hamster and I would like to think I pump weight like Arnold... well maybe lighter weights.  I drink protein shakes, I eat eggs, turkey for lunch, chicken for dinner.  I have to have my amino acids right?  And sushi... give up sushi?  Is that even possible?  So how was I going to dip my toes into the vegetable world and actually make it work?  Well, like an alcoholic of course!  I took the mantra of taking it one day at a time and turned it into "one meal at a time."  I didn't expect to be extreme and I was going to allow myself to slowly transition, even cheat if need be, just to get myself to where I needed to be at a manageable pace.  So, first it was a trip to Whole Foods with my semi-vegetarian girlfriend, Giselle, and her advice was to start with substitutions.  Easy enough, right?  Almond milk replaced my regular organic milk, Soy cheese replaced my regular cheese, tofurkey replaced turkey, plant protein powder for my shakes, vegan mayo replaced mayo.... and so on.  You get the idea.  And I felt like I could do it.  All I had to do was replace the animal products for non-animal products right?  So it seemed easy to me.  Maybe a tiny bit more expensive, but easy nonetheless.  And here's the kicker... it was easy!  Why?  Because my desire was there and the goal was attainable and because I truly believed in my heart, I never ever wanted to contribute to another animal being hurt, another part of our earth being destroyed and I wanted to control what I put in my mouth and make sure it was only good, healthy, natural food.