But wait...Should I be a vegan?
- msveganastic
- Feb 11, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 27, 2019
What you should know before you take the pledge to give up meat.
Many would disagree with me, but trust me when I say this...not everyone can be a vegetarian or a vegan. Not everyone can omit meat and dairy from their diets. And not many have it in them to stand their ground and not give in to the temptations that the aromas and flavors of the glorious cuisines around the world have to offer. It is a hard, and sometimes a downright painful process. If you were reading this in hopes to get some easy quick way to be a vegetarian or vegan, I am sorry but I have not heard of one that I can share with you. However, I am here to serve you a dish of the good, the bad and the ugly.
Changing one's diet is not easy. It just cannot happen. Changing one's diet starts with the idea of wanting to change. It starts with the first thought of wanting to stop eating meat or certain types of meat. It starts with the thought of something along the lines of, I love animals yet I eat them. These thoughts and feelings are what ignites the process. So, if you are planning on becoming a vegetarian or vegan because of a fad or new trend or because someone you love or like is a vegan or vegetarian, let me stop you now. From what I have heard 50% of people who give up meat and dairy due to any of the reasons above go back to eating meat in less than 6 months. Now, I'm not saying that people do not stick to it, but I am saying that it is easier to give up on something when that drive does not come from within. However, if you have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian or a vegan for a long time, but just have not started, that is the little push you need to begin your journey. Now once you have an internal want to become a vegetarian or vegan, you would think that the next step is to eliminate meat products from your diet one by one. That is a wonderful way to start but many a time this is also what causes us to become deficient from very important vitamins, minerals and nutrients. My advice would be to go to a doctor and get a full medical check up. Why you might ask? This is because before you start eliminating food items from your diet you must understand how your body functions on its current diet. Ask your self questions such as:
How much protein am I consuming in one day or one week?
How many fruits and vegetables do I consume in a day or week?
Do I have any deficiencies such as Vitamin B or D?
Am I taking the correct multi-vitamins for my body?
Do I have any food allergies?
Do I have any medical conditions that will be affected once I change my diet?
The above, are just 6 of the basic questions that I feel everyone should ask themselves and know before they change the way they eat. And these questions can only be answered by taking a medical examination and analyzing your body from the inside out. Let me use one of my friends as an example to explain to you why it is so important to get the answers to those questions. My friend, let's call her Zia, decided to become a vegan. In a span of three months she quickly eliminated all the meat and dairy from her diet. Zia was happy and content that she was able to stick with her vegan diet but she soon realized that she started to feel a lot more bloated, light headed and sometimes she would have rashes suddenly forming all over her body. Upon going to the doctor she found that she was intolerant to soy, almonds and starch. She also found that because she was primarily consuming these items for at least two meals the effects of her intolerance to those foods were showing up more predominantly than they did before. Now, Zia would have saved herself a whole lot of time and discomfort had she checked with a doctor before going on her journey. Fortunately, Zia found before anything serious cropped up but some might not be so lucky. So, please, please, please, check with a doctor before you decide on whether going vegetarian or vegan is the right choice for you.
Once you have checked with the doctor and you have gotten the green light, the next step that I would suggest is, research. Read as much as you can and watch as many videos as you can about the diet that you are going to take and the substitutions that you will need to make. For example if you are someone who eats a steak for lunch, knowing how you can substitute that lunch with a vegetarian or vegan option will allow you to get a fully satisfying meal without the feeling that you are missing out or depriving yourself of anything. Find recipes that you can use to make healthy delicious meals. Vegetarianism and veganism is not only about bowls of salad and fruits, it is a whole lot more. Create your own little book filled with information, recipes and nutritional facts. If you need to get some supplements source them and have them stocked in your house and or office. Trust me doing all the research you can and stocking up appropriately will really make starting the journey the most pleasant one.
Now that you have passed the tip of the iceberg, you need to find a support system. You need to have people who understand you and support your journey. Why do you need this you might ask? It might be wrong of me to say this, but I will say it anyway, you need people who will support you throughout the process because there are people out there who want to burst your bubble. There are people who want to see you fail. And sadly there are people out there who care only for themselves. I remember when I first started my vegan, I went over to someone's house, they offered me some biscuits and I politely declined. I was then served milk tea which I also had to to politely decline. The house-owner I guess was offended and started to mock my choices..."Why are you so difficult? Why can't you be normal? You crazy vegan people making life complicated for the rest of us." Being the person that I was I calmly tried to reason and explain. Long story short, I walked out of that house feeling hurt and upset. Thankfully, I had my mother and friends who reassured me that I was not difficult, I was normal and I was not crazy for wanting to become a vegan. Hearing those positive words after a burst of negativity really does help. And that is why I would suggest, getting your support team ready.
Once you've researched, stocked up and gotten your support system, you can now start by eliminating meat and/or dairy from your diet. While you do this, please remember that we all make mistakes. There will be times where you forgot that a certain dish contained egg or milk or honey. Give yourself time to learn and get used to the process. Trust me, growing up in a Sindhi household I made my share of mistakes when I first started, but hang in there. The more mistakes you make the more you learn and the better you will get at ordering at a restaurant or cooking at home.
So, I guess the answer to the question, should I be a vegan? Yes. If it is something that you have been wanting to do for a long time then go for it, there is no harm in trying. But, I will say and advise everyone to make sure that they understand what veganism is and what substitutions or additions you will need to make to your diet before starting the journey. At the end of the day, it is okay if after trying you decide that it is not something that you would like to continue or if you decide that it is a food choice that you would like to stick to for the rest of your life. Like I said before, being a vegan is not easy, so just go with the flow and what ever the result...c'est la vie!
Comments