My month-long soy free journey is nearly at an end. As I have stated in past posts, I have felt no change, in energy or weight loss, during this time. So many pieces of research I have read before and during this trial has stated that there is a direct link with soy and the thyroid and a significant decrease in soy intake will result in heightened energy levels and potential weight loss. I have read studies indicating consumption of soy in relation to memory loss and concentration issues. All of those have not proven themselves during this test and so, from my standpoint, are bunk. During this time not only have I given up the more wholesome soy in its unrefined form but I took out of my diet the processed soy you find in just about every snack food.
I have had visitors to the blog since I started this project who are vegan and allergic to soy. To me that’s willpower. Being allergic and unable to consume soy but then taking it one step further and deciding to be vegan for whatever reason, that takes willpower!
Eating out was limited for the past month. Most items contain some soy additive and sometimes, even with known vegan stuff, you just don’t know if it has soy or not so it was better to abstain. I did some deep checking into some places and found an item here or there. One thing I managed to find out was soy free was the sweet & sour at Pei Wei. I had assumed eating anything Asian would be out during this time and considered myself lucky on this one. Sweet & Sour vegetables with rice fit nicely and I managed to get a plate piled with fresh veggies and a tasty sauce that hit the spot. A trip to Atlanta left out most of our favorite eateries except for Eats. You can’t find soy in the pesto or a big veggie plate and you can’t go wrong at Eats!
After this is over I’ll be going back to soy. Of all the things I missed I think the soy milk in my coffee would be the first to come to mind. As I said before I didn’t notice any changes during this time. Maybe after the upcoming holidays I’ll do this again and have some bloodwork done before and after just to benefit those in doubt. I’ve made it through one month, I can do it again. Willpower!
One more day left!
A MONTH! I don’t know how you did it. I thrive off of soy. I love it. I don’t have it EVERY day, but I have it at least three times a week.
I read your first post about this, and while I do have qualms about GM soy, I think non-GM soy is basically fine. Of course, I don’t have anything to base this on. But – most studies I’ve read don’t address the difference. So one has to wonder, is it the soy – or is it the way it’s grown?
But anyway, congrats on having amazing willpower! I’ve thought about going grain free for a month. Yeah, I lasted a full day. The next morning I said, screw this, stuck a waffle in my toaster.
I think part of it lies in the fact I lie to deprive myself if things I love in order to prove I can do it. Something silly like that.
I would like to dig deeper into finding out who is paying for those studies.
Giving up grain? Would that include rice and corn? That’s something I don’t think I’ll be trying.
We’re a big fan of PeiWei and I found this page giving calories and other nutritional information. PeiWei receipes are on the web if you google them by name.
doh…heres the link mentioned above:
http://caloriecount.about.com/pei-wei-nutrition-m270