More plants, less animals please?

Let me start off by letting you know that I am not a vegan.  If you are, that's great!  But don't get all judgmental on me because you know all there is to know about vegan-ism.  I am merely trying out the vegan lifestyle for a few weeks to see how my body transforms and if you'd like to offer me some suggestions or kind advice then I'd be very appreciative.  I am, however, a lactose-intolerant clean-eater.  Since I don't consume much dairy anyways, it won't be much of a diet shift to cut out dairy.  I do love the taste and convenience of eggs, and I think that's what I will miss the most.  The hormones and chemicals that are put into eggs (well, chickens) and meat are borderline disgusting.  As a frequent migraine sufferer I find that I am very sensitive to hormonal shifts and pretty much any change in my body will bring on an awful headache.  These triggers include: stress, weather, alcohol, too much caffeine, too little caffeine, and of course, the extremely hormonal monthly womanly curse.  I know this about myself so I do my best to deal with these triggers by eating healthy and staying active.  But what if the hormones in the animal products that I'm eating are actually causing the migraines too?  I'm about to find out.  I've pledged (to myself, of course) to be a vegan until National Volleyball Championships which start the day after Memorial Day.  During that time I'm intend to keep track of my stats: energy level, weight, body fat percentage (although because of the limitations of my bathroom scale this is not very accurate) and number of migraines. 


I've been eating animal-free for about 4 days now.  The first 2 of which I had a stomach bug but I got over that pretty quickly with the help of my juicer.  There's nothing like a little fruit, vegetable and herb concoction to boost your immunity!  Anyways, I spent a bit more on groceries this week than I normally do but in my mind it's completely worth it.   I've read almost every food label on each item I bought to make sure that it is free of animal products and milk protein (casein).  As an active human being I am aware that my protein needs are higher than the average woman.  I had some trouble deciding where I am going to get my protein from though because I absolutely hate the taste of tofu.  Love soymilk and edemame, but tofu is nasty.  I think maybe it's a consistency thing, but I've tried it on numerous occasions made a variety of different ways and it's not for me. I also refuse to buy those stupid processed meat alternatives at the supermarket -- they might taste alright but they are still processed.  That, my friends, is against clean-eating protocol.  I'm open to suggestions on this, but I've decided on trying out an all-natural plant based protein powder in place of my whey-isolate that I've always used.  


Along with plenty of soluble and insoluble fiber, I make sure that I have plenty of grains, beans and nuts in my daily meals, but the protein content from this alone doesn't seem to add up.  I think 1-2 protein shakes per day with the plant protein powder will do the trick.    


I've read in several places that one of the biggest challenges to being a healthy vegan is ensuring that you're getting enough vitamins and nutrients from your food.  I'm not worried about this at all because of my clean-eating background.  I just need to figure out a way to replace the meat and eggs with plant-based proteins and I'm all set! 


In the few days that I've been eating this way, I don't feel much of a difference in my energy levels or in water retention.  I've eaten plenty of salads and less simple carbohydrates than normal.  I haven't really had any cravings for them, which I suppose is a bonus! I'm using this opportunity to try out some foods that I have never had before including soy yogurt, coconut milk yogurt,  brown rice pasta, chia seeds, etc.  Not because I'm a "vegan" now, but because I needed something different.  I was getting bored with the staples that were in my diet.  It's time for me to expand my horizons, take on a new perspective to GM and hormone-induced foods and be even healthier than I was before. I've even been seriously thinking about building my own organic garden in my back yard.  I think this is a great time to put that plan into action!