Disclaimer; I am not preaching that everyone should follow a specific lifestyle, nor am I shaming what others do for their mental and spiritual selves. Everyone’s opinions and options are valid! Eat what you like, no-one can tell you otherwise. I am not a vegan, vegetarian, or anything in specific. I’ve simply been learning what foods make me feel good and what makes me feel bad. I have not been perfect with my attempts at this new dairy-free lifestyle.
Over the past summer, I was struggling with my acne more than usual. I started reading some articles about an excessive intake of dairy can cause some acne to flare up. I decided to test out this theory. I started putting ice in my smoothies instead of yogurt. It wasn’t too hard to make this general transition and the smoothies still tasted great! This is where my curiosities toward the effects of dairy consumption started.
While at school, I do learn a lot about the meat industry in my environmental classes. The issues we discuss haven’t affected me in a dramatic way, but have taught me to be more aware of my food consumption. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is about the daily food waste we create. On most days, our eyes really are bigger than our stomachs. This can create huge environmental issues if the leftover food isn’t composted. Check out this article for some mind-blowing statistics -> Food Waste is a Bigger Problem Than You Think
One of my roommates loves to cook. I admire how well she can whip up some ingredients to make soup or zucchini noodles with roasted veggies. She’s the one who introduced me to almond milk. I thought that if I can step away from yogurt, I can do the same with milk, so I decided to switch from dairy milk to almond milk
I knew that almond milk had a great amount of calcium, but not much protein. This, strangely, inspired me to get over my silly fear of the texture of eggs. I never enjoyed eating eggs, but I recently taught myself how to make them the way I like; over easy but not too runny. I enjoy them now with a slice of toast, and a cup of coffee with some almond milk. This is to ensure that I get enough protein in since I’m not drinking dairy milk.
This awareness of what I’m consuming has motivated me to cook more for myself and actually read ingredients to know what I’m eating. The transition from milk also means stepping away from cheese or any other cow products. The hard part is trying to explain to someone what it is that I’m trying to “achieve” or what my specific “diet” is. The truth is, there’s no goal and it isn’t a diet. If I can gradually transition milk, cheese, and red meat out from my diet, then why not. There have been challenges during holidays and when I’m eating with other people’s families. It’s been hard for me to express to people who I can’t eat their homemade mashed potatoes because of my lifestyle trial without dairy. I’ve bitten into sandwiches and realized I forgot to order it without cheese. It’s disappointing in the moment, but it’s things I can’t control, and it isn’t worth beating myself up over it.
This is a choice that I’m making for myself, and I’ll learn how to handle in my own ways. It’s not something that needs to be scrutinized by others, just because I didn’t realize that something I just ate might have had butter in it. Or that someones dad made us steak for dinner and I feel too bad to turn it away. It’s about the greater picture of how I shop for myself and how I consume. It’s about my awareness of what I’m putting in my body. I’m really happy with how far I’ve come in the past few months!
Have you attempted to cut something from your everyday life?
Thanks for reading!
Stay rad,
Caroline Abigail
beyondthisfence.wordpress.com 
I did go from cow’s milk to almond milk, but that’s just because I prefer the taste of almond milk. Butter and cheese are practically in almost everything I prepare at home 😭 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been the hardest to stop eating cheese! Step by step. Almond milk does taste really good. Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome
LikeLike
I’m so glad you’ve been doing well with your goal! I’ve thought about cutting down on dairy cuz I’ve heard it’s good for your skin as well, but cheese is so good 🙈
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! I agree, cheese is so delicious. It’s been hard but so worth it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve cut out eating most sweets, except for some sampled during the holidays and the occasional small dish of ice cream. I don’t crave sweets like I once did. I also eat much smaller portions. With those simple changes plus adding in some weight lifting, I lost 20 pounds in the last year and have not regained it.
Good luck with your diet plan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations! That’s awesome. It seems hard at first but then the rewards are so worth it. Thank you so much, I’m determined to make this plan stick. Have a great New Year!
LikeLike
Happy New Year! So interesting to learn about different diets and how people eat (: I went gluten free last March and it’s going really well for me overall. Hope 2018 is good to you xoxo
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s awesome! It’s all about what works best for you. I hope you have an awesome New Year 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, new follower here! I’ve been trying to venture out and find more blogs to follow and enjoy reading, and I’ve been enjoying looking through yours. I am by no means dairy-free, I love cheese and milk! But, my best friend is actually highly allergic to dairy. As in, needs an epi-pen or she will die if she eats a small amount of dairy. Through her, I’ve discovered things like almond milk and dairy free products that still taste great! While I have no intention of becoming dairy free (especially because there is no true soy cheese!), I’ve started limiting my dairy consumption more by using substitutes like almond milk, sometimes. 🙂 Doing what feels is best for your body truly is the best! Different diets work for different people!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi! Thanks for stopping by & reading 🙂 It really is all about what makes you feel good. I used to indulge myself with glasses of milk throughout the day and consistently eat yogurt, so dialing it back has shown great improvement in my skin and I’ve been feeling so confident. This even test my willpower when I’m surrounded by unhealthy snacks that have cream cheese or cheese, and I’ll just eat the veggies instead of the heavy dip! It’s an interesting process for sure and discovering new foods/substitutes can be fun too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post! I have actually been eating mostly pescetarian with minimal dairy and my skin has never been this clear. I also realize I am not as hungry as I use to be. It’s actually really convenient to snack on veggies and fruit now, where before I wanted ice cream 24/7 haha! vanilla almond milk is my favorite for spinach, chia, and banana smoothies!
https://kerielaine.com
Keri Elaine
LikeLike
That’s awesome!! I really feel so much more confident with my decision to step away from dairy when I think about how great my skin has been. I’ll have to try some variations of smoothies, spinach and banana sounds really good! Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your post, great insight. I too am trying to go from milk products to soya as I find it makes me feel like crap (stomach ache) when I am stressed. But to be honest, I am quite scared of what my family will think even though I practically live by myself!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally received pushback from family and friends about being non-dairy. Sometimes I have to make my own dinner because someone forgot that I don’t want the cream sauce on the pasta – so it can be a little weird sometimes! I just think of it as – it’s your body and you need to try any tactic that might make you feel better, and no-one can tell you differently. Good luck, I really hope the switch helps with your stomach aches! Feel free to comment anytime if you have any questions on what I’ve been doing or if you just want to talk about the experience 🙂 Thanks for reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww thank you so much, you talking about this helps, thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person