The KInd Life Community Forum

I've been going strong for three weeks. I cut out meat and dairy cold turkey and while have some honey in tea once in awhile. My hair has gotten thinner and I've broken out a bit more than usual. Other than that, nothing. I do get cravings for carbs/bread/sugar late at night though.. why am I still craving this nasty food after three weeks? How long until I slim down, start glowing and feeling amazing like you said Alicia? :(

The first few days I stocked up on vegan cheese and other processed soy products and these were cut out once I realized the mistake I made. I am eating lentils, rice and other grains, fruits and vegetables. I steamed collard greens last night and couldn't finish them because they tasted so bland to me. A lot of my food lately has tasted quite plain. But I am focusing on the whole grains and greens. I will continue to do so but if after another month nothing has changed I think it might be the end of the road for me.

Three weeks is really not all that long, and as Dani said, detox can last at least up to six weeks, depending on the person. As Dani also said, try herbs and spices, or even something as simple as vinegars or make a simple tahini 'dressing' - just thin out some tahini with water and put it on your veggies, and add sesame seeds (or make some gomashio), pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds. Did you put anything on the collards? The longer you have been vegan, the more your taste buds change, and the more you are going to taste the food for itself, plus organic veggies have more flavor than conventional. What kind, and how much, sugar are you eating? Your craving at night may be a result of not eating enough calories during the day. What do your typical meals look like - what are you having for each meal, and snacks?

Ponchki, I have to ask what is your motivation for being vegan? Is it to look and feel better, because of animal welfare and treatment, the environment or health? All of those things really matter and help for not giving up and frankly, you need to have a good reason to just up and change a big part of your life.

But to get to your post, there is no way that years of eating meat and dairy and crappy food can be cleared out of your body in just a couple weeks. Every body is different and you just have to be patient and just trust that you are doing something wonderful for your health and well-being.

As far as cravings go, sugar and proccesed flour are like drugs. Any time I get tempted with white bread, it starts a spiral of a couple days worth of eating the white stuff. Same with sugar. They are so altered and artificial and so far removed from the real thing, that other real foods will taste bland.

But please don't give up after a month. A month is nothing and I bet money that if you go back to eating before, a couple years down the line you'll wish you never gave it up. And I would say try to change your perspective on this. You need to be happy that your doing something good for your body and mind and enhancing your life overall, even though the detoxing and cravings suck, there are so many benefits!

It took me about 2 months to really feel the effects of going vegan (which was also the time frame it took me to realize that I am allergic to soy). I had super bad skin and was getting bloated a lot while my body got used to the grains and beans while my body detoxed.

Makes sense that you are having cravings (sugar detox was the worst for me). I did as well, keep a bag of carob chips around and grab a small handful when you need to or mix some in with a nut mix to cure the sugar craving. My husband, a total Carl's Jr. lover, went vegan with me as well. About 4 months or so into he said "spinch should be included in every meal". It made me so happy I almost exploded... but it takes a while for your taste buds to detox as well and be stimulated by things that are less-intense and more subtle flavored.