Stubbornness: A Catalyst for Driving Sustainable Behavior?

Friend: “Hah! Good luck staying away from cheese.”

Me: “Oh, you know I will. I’m pretty confident I can do this.”

Friend: “Yes, you will. Because you’re stubborn.”

Me: “… I may have never heard a truer statement.”

The above conversation took place about a week ago with a friend who pointed out that my own stubbornness and need to follow-through with my assertions that I can, in fact, be vegan are why I will accomplish this goal.

As I observed the past week of cheese and egg eating, I noticed that I most craved these animal products when I was tired or just got out of class. I had a slice of pizza after my math class yesterday morning and a huevos rancheros from Lower after my spanish class later that day. Essentially, I want foods that are unhealthy for myself and the environment when I’m exhausted. However, I have told a large amount of people that I’m going vegan and, because of my own stubbornness, I will prove to myself and everyone else that I am not weak!

I also observed that every time I told someone about my going vegan, I became even more determined to commit to it. This past week I have gone out of my way to make sure I know when I’m eating something not vegan and consciously knowing that for the following 6 weeks, I will not be able to eat whatever food item it was. I also planned ahead: I have alerted my grandmother and father that they must have some vegan options for thanksgiving, I bought obnoxious amounts of granola (I’m actually eating my quinoa granola at the moment), and I plan to write a suggestion in Upper requesting more vegan options. I want to be creative with my limited diet.

The article that I consulted is about the factors that drive dairy consumption in young adults. Although this does not cover the broad scope of veganism, it does highlight what will be my biggest struggle: cutting out dairy. This study displayed that diary intake is inversely associated to sugar intake and positively associated with fruit and grain intake (Pieria et. al 2002). I find this odd because I eat a lot of fruits and grains, but a fairly smaller amount of dairy than most of my peers. I find that this study does not necessarily align with my own dietary habits. Maybe I’m just a dietary oddball. Regardless, I’m ready to take on this challenge and not consume any animal products.

Reference:

Pereira MA, Jacobs, Jr DR, Van Horn L, Slattery ML, Kartashov AI, Ludwig DS. Dairy Consumption, Obesity, and the Insulin Resistance Syndrome in Young Adults: The CARDIA Study. JAMA. 2002;287(16):2081-2089. doi:10.1001/jama.287.16.2081.