I Stopped Eating Oil For 6 Weeks, and My Skin, Energy, and Digestion Have All Improved

I was so used to adding olive oil to my pan before cooking and roasting veggies, that I freaked out a little. I thought my food would just be mushy, flavourless, and gross! But after I learned how to water sauté my veggies, I realised that I didn't need oil as long as I used my non-stick pans. I realised how much unnecessary oil I was using to cook with.

For roasting, I either used my silicone Silpat mat or parchment paper to prevent sticking, or I cooked things whole, like sweet potatoes. If I wanted a crispier texture, I used my air fryer — it was great for potatoes and tofu! I also did a lot of steamed veggies.

As for sauces and dressings, I gave up my creamy sesame salad dressing and used a really good balsamic vinegar coupled with fresh fruit like sliced strawberries, grapes, or blueberries. Or sometimes I used salsa, which sounds weird, but is amazing with a green salad that has corn, tomatoes, and black beans. When reading labels, I realised how oil is added to everything like tomato sauce, hummus, veggie broth, some plant milks, cereal, and bread. So I just had to spend a little extra time grocery shopping to find oil-free versions. I definitely ended up buying less packaged foods!

Going oil-free also inspired me to get crafty in the kitchen. This was the first time I made my own tomato sauce (with tomatoes and basil from the garden!), refried beans, oil-free hummus, and my baking recipes also got an oil-free makeover (thank you, applesauce!).

After a couple weeks, I had new recipes and products down and eating oil-free was much easier. I will say that I randomly had the urge for vegan butter on toast, but I was equally enjoying crunchy peanut butter or smashed avocado. My tastes definitely changed over the course of those six weeks.

During this little experiment, although I didn't eat these very often, I stopped eating foods that contained oil like corn chips, vegan brownies from the local bakery, and granola. I made my own chips using tortillas, baked my own oil-free scones, and swapped oatmeal for granola. So I didn't feel deprived at all!

Over the six weeks, I felt lighter and less bloated, and had no issues with constipation, which I thought might happen giving up oil. I'm sure eating less store-bought foods also had something to do with it, since I avoided the ones I used to buy that contained oil. Improved digestion also helped me have better sleep. When I was eating oil, I'd sometimes get woken up in the middle of the night with gas pains. This was a benefit that really surprised me.

Before giving up oil for whole-food healthy fats, I could barely stay awake past 8:30 p.m. All of a sudden, I realised that I was easily able to stay up past 9:30. And the really exciting part was that I was less tired when my alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. to head out for my morning run. Maybe it was because I was sleeping better because I felt less bloated? Or maybe eating less oily foods gave me more energy - who knows, but I was excited!

Previously, I was hitting the snooze button so much that I was lucky to make it out of the house by 6:30 a.m. And now, I'm out around 6 a.m. I'm even able to catch the early morning spectacular sunrises, the deer that are nibbling on the crab apple trees, and hot air balloons launching over the pastures (I know, I'm lucky!).

My six-mile runs have been feeling easier, and I'm having to stop less to walk, which means I'm getting home faster to see my kids wake up. I have energy all day to work and to do a family bike ride or walk after dinner. Last weekend I even was able to do my regular morning run and then a two-hour hike with the kids — and was still able to stay up and hang with the hubs without wanting to nod off.

I was pretty much winging it the first couple of weeks, eating simple foods I knew were oil-free. After experiencing all those benefits, I wanted to ensure my success in sticking with it.

One thing I did was carve out extra time on Sundays to meal prep. I made overnight oats for breakfast, mason jar salads to have one big salad for lunch or dinner, baked some sweet potatoes, cooked up some brown rice and beans, and made sure I had frozen fruit in the freezer for nice cream.

I also researched some oil-free recipes and cooking techniques so I could enjoy whole wheat pizza with oil-free tomato sauce, refried beans, soups, vegan cheese sauce made with cashews, and nut-based salad dressings. This new way of eating was really inspiring me to branch out, and I loved how fresh and flavourful my food tasted.

Let me add that many experts still support eating healthy oils like olive and coconut in your diet. You should do what works for you, but I now know that I feel much better without them! I'm still conscious about getting my healthy fats through avocado, flax, hemp, chia, and pumpkin seeds, and nuts like walnuts, almonds, pecans, and peanuts.

The one obstacle I haven't really tackled is eating out because of the pandemic. I'll definitely avoid obvious oily foods like french fries since I know I won't feel good if I eat them, but I won't freak out about a little salad dressing or curry that I know has added oil. I want this to be a sustainable lifestyle, but so far, I haven't really missed the oil, so I know this will be easy and enjoyable to stick with.