Yup, chicken. I ate it. 
Spinach salad with rotisserie chicken and Annie’s lowfat Raspberry Vinaigrette with a serving of grainy whole wheat bread.
I was really hesitant to post tonight, because like I tweeted earlier this evening,
I ate chicken tonight. I liked it. A lot. I feel good. However, I fear to post it for fear of nastiness. Please be nice?
It’s true, I liked it. I know I originally was just thinking along the lines of egg whites, fish and the occasional Greek yogurt, but I am following what my body craves and tells me. Right now my body is loving protein and I’m loving what it is doing for my body. Did you see what I tweeted next?
Also – naysayers, this IS what is right for my body right now. I’ve lost 4 lbs since Monday. And it’s a rest/ recovery/ not as active week.
‘Tis true. As I’m setting up for work (I work at a homeless medical clinic) part of that involves setting out scales. I usually don’t weigh myself (I hate seeing those numbers) but I weighed myself on Monday as I created a solid weight loss plan for myself (more on that in the future if it’s workable!) and I weighed myself again today, just to see.
I lost four pounds.
I could not believe it. I’ve been doing everything and anything in my power to lose weight for months and months. I have lost NOTHING, and actually gained weight since I first went vegan on September 1, 2009. Then I reintroduce animal protein into my diet and lose weight, more than just half a pound, in just days?! It could be a coincidence, it could be water weight, but I have a hard time believing it’s just that. Especially because it’s a lesser activity/ P90X recovery week.
I have been feeling so much better since I started eating animal protein again, and I feel like the weight loss I realized today is just a big exclamation point from my body saying "THANK YOU!!".
Speaking of thank you, thank YOU for your support. The amount of support and love I felt from my twitter friends after those above tweets was astounding and amazing. It’s been a really stressful day today (not because of the vegan thing, lol! There’s more to life than food!) and your love has turned my day around. 
Enough sappiness. Go get yourself some Simply Orange juice, it’s on me. 
Speaking of – we tried the Raspberry Simply Lemonade tonight and it is so summery! A little sweet, but a good treat.
Have a good night!
I completely admire you for giving up veganism. Clearly, your body was not happy with the way that you were feeding it. Any naysayers can…well ya know
If you were to stay vegan just even though your body wasn’t agreeing with it, THAT would be wrong. Well done for listening to your body! YAY YOU!!! 
thank you so much, Katy! You are correct – my body was CLEARLY not happy! Looking back now, I actually wonder why I didn’t switch back, sooner. Just when I typed this post I actually fully realized that I gained weight (about 15 lbs) since I went vegan. I didn’t realize it was that much!!
YAY for being intuitive to one’s self!
I had essentially the same experience of gaining weight on a vegan diet! I’ll be keeping in plenty of vegan foods and meals, with a couple dairy additions (I don’t see myself ever eating meat).
Congrats on doing what’s right!
*what’s right for you
Yay for enjoying and eating what you want with the chicken in dinner!
I wish I could be that brave… >P
You can be, love! Call me/ text me soon! I love you!
Way to do what’s right for you and stand up for it! Next step: Chick-Fil-A
Only joking!
bahaha as I was picking Ross up from the car shop and we were trying to figure out what we were getting for dinner (heck no was I cooking at 9pm after working since 11:30!) he actually suggested Chik-Fil-A! lol. Obviously didn’t pan out…yet.
You are such an inspiration for eating what is best for your body!!
Congrats on your weight loss and for being brave enough to make your own decisions. You have nothing but love from me!
Yay for chicken, girl!
Congrats on thw weight loss
Have a terrific Friday!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
Congrats on your success! You’ve found what works for your body, which is fantastic!
Yay for the weight loss and for figuring out what works for your body!
I have nothing but admiration for you for being able to listen to your body and do what you feel is best regardless of pressure from anyone else, real life or blogger.
I personally hate labels and hate the stereotypes that come along with telling people I’m vegan or the expectations, or people wanting explanations etc. I hate explaining myself, it’s hard to be judged by the meat eaters, then judged by the vegans because I occasionally have yogurt or eggs. I’d rather just say I eat what I like and feel good eating. That’s it!
I also always tell people who want my health reasons for eating the way I do, it’s totally possible to be a junk food vegan, or a super healthy omnivore. You’re obviously a very healthy eater so you should have no concerns no matter what you choose.
I do have to say though, not only because of my vegan ideals, but for your health, make sure you’re choosing organic and avoiding all the nasty diseases and hormones!
Again, way to go! I’m still a loyal reader and blog fan
Thanks so much, Gaby! Both my husband and I are being much smarter with where we get our meat. We were shopping in a different grocery store tonight, and even my husband said to make sure to get the organic eggs. Even though he wasn’t a vegan while I was, we’re both much more aware of the consequences of hormonally laden animal products. While budget wise i know I won’t be able to afford organic animal protein 100% of the time, I hope to balance vegan meals with organic and local (when possible) animal protein.
After all, no one needs animal protein 100% of the time!
Thank you so much for reading and for your concern!!
Right there with you. It’s hard to reconcile sometimes, but in the end, if its between me and the environment/animals, I’m gonna be selfish! Congrats on listening to your body and on the weight loss. (by the way, tony would be proud!)
aww thanks so much Katie!
Congratulations on listening to your body and giving it what it wants. Being Vegetarian or Vegan is all very well and good, but if it’s not making you feel good about yourself then is it worth it?
I’ve only just discovered your blog but I’m looking forward to reading more!
So glad you found me and thanks for reading!
Congrats, that’s awesome!
Good for you, doing what is best for YOU and not caring about what other people say. 
When I went vegan I gained 15 pounds in 3 months. I felt tired and sluggish and generally unwell. No one diet or way of eating is perfect for everyone across the board. You have to figure out what’s right for your body and then do that.
I can’t remember if I’ve commented here before or not, but just in case I haven’t, I really enjoy your blog.
)
That was supposed to be a smiley face at the end, but apparently I don’t know how to do that. *insert embarrassed face here*
no embarrassment around here! Besides, I kind of like that face.
Thanks for reading, Beth!
How awesome that you are listening to your body. I imagine it wasn’t an easy decision but it must feel so great that your body is responding so well. Congrats!
Have your chicken and eat it too, I say!!
You’re doing a great job! Your website is awesome, I read it every day. Though I’m not vegan (I’m an avid meat lover), my husband and I are doing P90x too, and it’s great to hear about the struggles and successes of another woman!
Keep it up, of course, with meat, veggies, and all!
Thanks so much, Amy! Feel free to email me your P90X stories anytime, I’m sure we have many relate-able stories/ stories we can get a laugh out of.
How far are you in P90X?
My husband and I will start Phase III on Monday. The end is near!! Though, we’ll be doing another round. Josh, my husband, has lost almost 25 pounds. I’ve lost close to 17. We both enjoy it for the most part, it’s a great program. How far along are you? Have you seen progress?
My husband and I are starting Phase III on Monday, too!! We’ve both noticed differences in definition. My husband has no weight to lose (prob needs to gain) but I notice a lot of improvement, esp. in his arms and shoulders. I’ve lots a few lbs, but honestly think it will be more now that I’m not vegan anymore!
After our 1st round of P90X we have One on One with Tony Horton, volume 1, that beachbody sent me to try and review, so we’ll be doing that. Then P90X again, I’m sure! I’d also loveeee to try Insanity!
My sister just started Insanity (after a round of P90x), and she said it’s hard, but she loves it. I may get into it, as she convinced me to start P90x. My hubs and I have lots to lose, he has about 45 more pounds, and I have about 60. Hopefully we’ll get there soon! You can too, if you try Insanity, let me know what you think.
Oh my gosh…I just have to say something here as a fairly new reader to your blog. I started reading your stuff after seeing you on the 24, 24, 24 vegan dinner. I was intrigued and, therefore, added you to my Google reader. A few short posts later, you made the decision to start incorporating small doses of dairy and eggs, which I was fully supportive of (as I was also supportive of your vegan lifestyle). I just feel SO sad that you were “afraid” to post anything because of rudeness. Girlfriend, it is YOUR body and you can feed it whatever you dang well please. I think people can be healthy on a vegan diet (and I’ve even tampered with doing it myself…just to see), but I also see this new wave going on where it appears we’re trying to “scare” people away from certain foods. I will always be a firm believer in all foods, so long as there is balance. Our ancestors have been hunting and eating meat since the beginning of time. It is completely natural to eat chicken! And of course you liked it…chicken’s delicious
There is a reason why the Food Pyramid includes all of the sections it does. I understand our meat is often not as natural as it once was with the takeover of large, industrial organizations having control over our farmers. BUT, we can all choose to eat grass-fed animals. In my opinion, this poses no harm to your health! I think everyone should find what is right for them. You should never be afraid to tell others you ate something you enjoyed. The only time it would be appropriate to intervene is if you started eating completely unhealtfully, which I don’t see happening! I say keep it up, girlfriend!
Thank you so much, Lindsay! I loved everything about your comment, it’s all so true! Bottom line, everyone needs to figure out what works best for them!
I think some of the fear/ nervousness that has come for me is that there has been some negativity, but also just because as it’s at first weird for me to be eating things like chicken again, I know it’s probably weird for my vegan readers to see chicken on my blog. Ultimately it doesn’t matter because this is so right for my body right now, I just want all readers to still feel like Sound Eats is a fun, open place to come to.
Okay, so I wasn’t going to say anything earlier because I try to keep my “food beliefs” to myself most of the time, but I am not surprised at all that you’ve lost weight.
With the moral aspect of vegetarianism and veganism aside, I truly believe that the protein and FAT found from animal sources are important for us as humans. There has been a ton of research coming out over the past decade about dietary fat and we’ve been misled to believe that it’s harfmul to our health when in reality it’s actually quite good for us.
I HIGHLY suggest you read “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Gary Taubes. It’s kind of a tough read, but really interesting and enlightening!
Thanks Gracie! I’ll definitely check out “Good Calories, Bad Calories”! Sometimes tough reads are the best reads.
(And honestly, I’m not surprised that I lose weight either, I’m just surprised it started so fast!)
Wow. That’s incredible that your body is reacting like that. Obviously, you need to listen to your body. Just remember that NO ONE will be an advocate for your body and your health except YOU. So you have to take care of it the best way YOU know how. You’re the only one who knows what is right for your body, and you’re the only one who can make the final decision on what you eat.
Congrats for being brave enough to post about it. There might be the occasional nay-sayer, but you have a ton of supporters!
Thank you! You are so right – we have to be selfish for ourselves, and be our own advocates. Yes, I feel for animals and the animal industry (killing for food), but I have to put myself first. I’m the only me I have! Thanks, Tracey!
No one knows what your body need better than you. It’s good that you listened and are doing your thing. I don’t think anyone should be negative towards you because of what you eat. You are still a beautiful and wonderfully caring person. That doesn’t change because of what you eat.
so glad this new diet is working for you! i def believe we are all made to eat differently and you were made to eat meat so you should! i have never liked meat since i was a kid so i don’t eat it and it works, but for others i think they need to and if you like it and crave it then you should! hope it keeps working:)