In January, I vowed to go vegan to try to combat my persistent IBD. With the exception of my trip to Hawaii where I ate some fish and a bit of beef, I made good on the promise to eat only vegan foods.

The results are not positive, however.

I immediately gained 8 pounds and fluctuated within a net gain of 4-8 pounds for the entire month. This is surprising, since my diet was 75% fresh fruits and vegetables, with nearly all junk food removed. I expected to lose weight but the opposite happened. In February I turned off the vegan diet and immediately lost those phantom pounds. I truly don’t understand how or why this happened, but it did.

My IBD symptoms were neither positively or negatively affected. The vegan diet had absolutely no bearing on my periods of remission and flare ups. I was hoping for some change, either way, to tell me that diet plays some part in this disease. That didn’t happen.

One positive thing did happen. My health otherwise seemed to have improved, slightly. I had slightly more energy and slightly higher focus. I felt just a tiny bit “more alive”. I would definitely attribute this to eating more vegetables and a few other whole foods that I normally stay away from.

With all of that said, I’ve switched back to my normal diet for February, but am trying to maintain a greater intake of vegetables and fruits – at least a 3/1 ratio to meat and animal products. Hopefully this will help sustain the positive benefits of the diet without the weight gain.

More to come next month. Cheers!