This spring marked 10 years on a plant-based diet for me and my boyfriend! It’s fun to look back at how it all started and the many changes we’ve done. From raw food to frutarian, to high carb low fat to something more sensible and practical. Although I always envisioned myself lasting more than a decade without meat, I did hilariously write this in April of 2013 in an old blog post called “Diet”:
“Much has changed and evolved into further investigations and suddenly I’ve found myself turning almost vegan. I say “almost”, because there’s no way I’m stopping eating fish, shellfish, eggs, and chicken. But I am considering reducing my intake.”
Pretty much right after that post was published, I never ate chicken or any type of meat again. 😂 While it did take an additional two years to stop consuming fish, shellfish, eggs, and some cheese, I had drastically reduced the intake to once a month or less. The cheese I bought was mainly goat’s cheese because of its higher tolerance. As well as the consumption of fish and shellfish was more something I’d have on holiday celebrations. This is way more than most people’s reduction of meat, fish, and dairy!
What lead me to reduce even further eventually was that my taste changed. Fish and eggs started tasting and smelling foul to me. And after one day of getting sick from my mom’s fish soup (which I used to love btw!), I had no issues quitting all sea creature consumption. Then I naturally weaned off having goat’s cheese as I was having it so rarely. One day I realized it had been months since and I wasn’t craving it. And perhaps, that’s the way everyone should go about it?
Background Story
During my ten years as a plant-based eater, I’ve seen the rise and fall of the twenty-tenths vegan movement. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t get upset with a number of the people that I followed coming out saying they’re not vegan anymore. As a naive and passionate vegan, their actions didn’t make me question the diet at all. But as I grew older, the more empathy I learned to have toward certain excuses.
If you’ve followed me since then, you might’ve witnessed me going through phases of being a passionate vegan activist of some sort, pointing fingers and telling people they’re wrong… To barely mention veganism at all. I had actually planned to document my journey more. But after watching and learning from other people’s failures, I felt like the best one can do is live in peace and by example.
I’m far from a “perfect vegan” and I personally need the room to play around without anyone’s judgment. I don’t like to be stressed into doing things, so why would I stress others? And while I’d love a world where the majority of people are vegan, I’m not going to tell anyone to go vegan. I think it’s something everyone should come to their own senses about. And if anything, I hope to be that inspiration that encouraged me to allow myself not to depend on animal products.
How A Month Turned Into Years
Although it was my acne and health issues that pointed me in the direction of a plant-based diet, it wasn’t unimaginable to think that in ten years, I’d still be vegan. Family and friends thought it was just a “phase”. But for me, not eating meat and animal by-products felt like common sense.
I remember how fascinated I was watching Rawfully Kristina only living on fruits for the past 5 years and looking more vibrant than I was, despite being a few years older than me. Realizing I didn’t need to depend on meat was freeing for me. Back then, I long dabbled with semi-vegetarianism since I was 9 years old, but thought you could not live and function properly without meat in your diet. I had long always chosen the fish or vegetarian option at restaurants. But it wasn’t until finding and seeing people on the internet who’ve been meat-free for decades, even running marathons, that I got the push and permission I needed to fully embrace a fully plant-based diet. In other words: not eating meat won’t make me less of a functioning human being – what I was exposed to was telling me the opposite!
In many ways, I was meant to be vegan. Like my own shadow following me, the pull towards a meat-free diet has always been with me and inevitable. Growing up I never liked the taste of milk, butter, or even cheese. Early on, as a child, I questioned why we drink milk and why only from cows. As I got older, it felt perverted. I was always jealous of the girl at my school who had a milk allergy as she was allowed to have water or a dairy alternative at lunches. (milk was forced upon kids up to the age of eight.) Yogurt was one of the few acceptable dairy products I could tolerate.
It wasn’t until I was 13 that I started eating some cheeses. However, milk was still quite disgusting unless it was blended with a heavy dose of O’Boy (a chocolate drink powder). I quickly turned to soy and rice mylk to have in my coffee when I discovered those options. Later in life, I’ve pieced together the puzzle that I in fact don’t tolerate milk. Having been a colic child and troubled tummy whenever I had milk, were all signs.
When it came to meat and fish, like many children, I was a picky eater. I didn’t find meat to taste much but metal unless it was drenched in spices, marinade, or lots of salt. But even then, there was the texture issue… Pretty much only poultry and some minced cows meat were acceptable meat options. Rarely did I eat pig, unless, in the form of finely chopped bacon. This made me rely a lot on fish. However, overall, I was not particularly eager to handle cooking with meat or fish at all. I would often joke with my mom that if I ever moved out, I’ll probably become vegetarian.
I do recognize that it can sound like my past experiences and personality made it a lot easier for me to adopt a vegan diet. But then again, my boyfriend, who had no pull towards vegetarianism in his life, had no trouble following my exact footsteps. And he’s been meat-free for equally long. So what does it really take to stay vegan?
During these ten years, I’ve watched two handfuls of vegan influencers drop a vegan diet, going against what they once preached. Some even do a one-eighty, going full-on carnivore diet. But instead of questioning my own decisions I decided to analyze their mistakes and what lead them to fail. I’m also not your typical vegan. While I in the beginning was convinced everyone can thrive on a vegan diet, I’ve later softened that view a bit. I recognize that it’s not for everyone. Being 100% is definitely hard if you’re going to in some way be part of today’s society. But “not for everyone” doesn’t mean “not for the majority of people”. “Not for everyone” doesn’t mean that those with certain difficulties can’t reduce their intake of animal products. And being anything less than 100% vegan, is it truly not vegan anymore?
So with that said, let’s dive down into what red markers I’ve seen in those who decide to no longer be vegan…
How To Fail A Vegan Diet
Be An Extremist
This can be your anchor or what sinks you personality-wise. But what I mean by “extremist” is extreme dieting.
A common thread I’ve seen among the ex-vegan influencers is that they started off on a raw food diet, or a very restricted one. A vegan diet isn’t necessarily a restricted diet. When you think about it, you’re only cutting off, meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. Only four(!) things, out of the hundreds of food that exist! But cutting off gluten, soy, cooked foods, limiting oil, and even salt consumption, etc. Simply put: not eating balanced. And doing it for years. That’s when you’ll eventually start having problems even a year after going off of it.
This tip goes for anything. If whatever you’re doing is very restrictive and extreme it won’t be very healthy for you in the long run.
I only lasted on a strict raw food diet for about 4 months before I started incorporating cooked foods back again. But even that short amount of time did leave my body disoriented and depleted of certain nutrients as I had lost 10% of my weight back then. I can only imagine had I stayed on that restricted diet for longer, maybe I’d have had more issues to fix.
Don’t Supplement
Before turning vegan, it can be daunting and feel overwhelming to learn about “all” the supplements you must take. But once educated you’ll realize it’s not a lot and what most people, even omnivores, have to take at some point in their life.
The most important:
- B12 (non-negotiable)
I’ve been taking a sublingual high dosage once or twice a week for years. My levels are in the middle range. And unless you choose organic mylk and dairy-free products (which I advise you not to go for), most mylks are fortified with it. The elderly are also encouraged to take extra B12 as the absorption lowers with age. Deficiency won’t appear until 6-8 years and can cause irreversible nerve damage. - Vitamin D
For some reason, vitamin D is always mentioned as something vegans “lack”. However, the truth is, anyone living north of Lisbon should be supplementing with vitamin D during winter months. Period. The small amount that you might source from eggs, fish and certain mushrooms is not adequate to be considered a vegan issue. For example, you’d have to eat about 12 eggs or one filé of salmon per day to get an adequate amount of vitamin D. Good luck with the mercury poisoning and heart disease I’d say! - Algae Oil / Omega 3 DHA
Vegan food sources of omega-3 come in the form of ALA. There are some studies that show that the synthesis rate from ALA to DHA and EPA is quite inefficient. So as a pre-caution vegans are advised to take an algae-based DHA supplement (especially if getting pregnant and through pregnancy) and aim for a 4:1 omega 3/6 ratio consumption. A blood test can diagnose how well you convert ALA into DHA and EPA, but the vast majority of people cannot do so adequately according to the studies made. - Iodized Salt
Not a supplement and such an easy thing to fix. If you come to veganism from a health perspective, you might have been persuaded to switch to Himalayan salt or any other “healthy” salt that isn’t iodized. Please switch back. There is iodized sea salt which is just as healthy – if not even more! As it contains iodine. - Zinc
Not a supplement I regularly take but Zinc is known to be a mineral that vegans seem low in. If you’re eating a balanced vegan diet with lots of legumes and seeds and/or taking a multivitamin it shouldn’t be of concern. - Iron
Mainly a supplement for women prone to anemia or who just for some reason skimp on eating legumes daily. ‘Cause unless you’ll be eating lentil stews daily and like the taste of black molasses, then you will want and need to take a multi or an iron supplement to keep your levels healthy.
If you want to make things easy for you, just take a vegan multivitamin or a prenatal.
There are also supplements that help with digestion. A vegan diet is very fibrous and this may cause some discomfort at the beginning of your diet switch as your microbiome is celebrating.
When starting your journey consider taking:
- Probiotics
I don’t need to go into how good probiotics are. I wish I had taken them sooner in my healing journey. - Digestive enzymes
Helps you break down the food and assimilate nutrients more efficiently. - Magnesium Oxygen
Helps move things around and avoid constipation. - Betaine HCL
Increases stomach acid. Please do your own research on this one to see if you truly need it.
Related blog post: Tools For Detox: Magnesium Oxygen
Be a “Searcher”
A lot of people got lured into a vegan diet because of health claims. Some got their issues resolved. Others came for health but stayed for the animals. While some moved on in search of the most “optimal” and sometimes “natural” diet.
If you are someone who puts health claims before animals and your own taste then you won’t last very long. Going into a plant-based diet with the mindset of bio-hacking and optimizing your health, you’ll soon be chasing a new shiny carrot. A vegan diet, just like any diet, can be healthy for you or not. But it’s in no way the best diet (and honestly, there’s no one size fits all).
The way I got persuaded to go vegan was for the health claims and wanting to fix my acne. In the beginning, I did question things a lot, and even almost got kicked out of a vegan facebook group for discussing eggs… My mindset back then was all about learning what is the most optimal diet for humans. However, in the midst of it all, I still decided that whatever might be most optimal wasn’t something I wanted to support. At least not together with the possible 8 billion people living on this earth. Our “natural habitat” faded the moment we decided it is ok to survive past our limits and resources. And to eat and live “naturally” and “optimally” is very privileged and narcissistic in today’s world.
Be Impractically Strict
One thing I’ve learned about veganism during this decade is that, despite there being a clear description of what it means, every vegan has their own – much stricter – interpretation.
“Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” Vegan Society
I’ve underlined “as far as possible and practicable”. This sentence seems to always get lost. I get why. Because practicality is subjective. And if a definition is subjective, like in this sentence, then that could lead to someone who’s only doing meat-free Mondays being able to call themselves vegan. However, I think we all can agree that it’s about doing your best in what you can control.
You are not a bad or any less vegan…
… for taking the vegetarian option when traveling, going out with friends, eating out with work, or >> insert any socially inconvenient occasional situation you can’t always control <<.
… for owning animals that are carnivorous.
… buying leather, fur, or other animal-made fabric secondhand or remade products.
… still owning and wearing your Ugg boots or any other leather/fur clothing/furniture.
… not always buying and supporting vegan and “cruelty-free” products and brands.
… purchasing non-vegan foods/products for your friends and family.
… eating that milk chocolate bar that you got for free or that an unaware friend gifted you.
What I mean to say is that if we all were to live by truly strict veganism most of us would probably starve and be unhappy and isolated. Because, “can’t buy food in the grocery store, ’cause they sell meat in there too”. Looking at the non-existent effort most people put into reducing their animal consumption… I’d say that living by it over 80% of the time is being enough “strict”.
In other words, take it easy, take it slow, and always try to do better.
Putting Health Over Animals
Hear me out… When you have a strong value over something, you’ll do anything to find a good balance.
So, if you value your health over not eating animals, you won’t have much of an issue going back to eating animals again – if it came down to it. I’m not saying that it wasn’t hard or felt weird for any ex-vegan to start incorporating animal products in their diet again because of health issues.
However, if you value not eating animals over health, you’ll do anything in your power to find a way to not eat animals and find health. ‘Cause, just because you value something over the other, doesn’t mean that you don’t care. What it means and predicts, are the ways you’ll try to solve an issue.
My vegan diet didn’t fix my acne. I could, like some, try to go back and experiment with eating meat again. I mean, there are hundreds of articles and blogs about non-vegan solutions to beat acne. Things like: fish oil, collagen supplements, red meat, etc. I was following a fellow blogger who had also struggled with acne for as long as I had. She overcame it by eating more saturated fats. Which she then heavily promoted on her social channels. But because I so strongly don’t want to handle meat again and find the act to be immoral, I’ll put effort within the vegan boundary – because it’s large! – into finding other ways. And if I don’t find a way, I’ll accept my fate and wait for a new future (vegan) solution to come. ‘Cause simply put: where there’s a will, there’s a way.
If my value was health over not eating meat, I would’ve pretty much gone the same road as the others. Flip flopping through extremes, trying to find a solution. With that said, one year into my diet switch I did take a step back and started dabbling with an ayurvedic way of eating. As I then was on a search for the “optimal diet” and my acne was still troublesome. Which meant I’d incorporate foods I had removed, like ghee and eggs. But it was very short-lived because 1) it didn’t fix my acne and 2) I found something else – that was vegan-friendly – that helped.
With that said, I do acknowledge that certain health issues can’t be resolved on a vegan diet and may even worsen. This takes me to my next point…
Have A Chronic Illness
Having some kind of gut-related illness like IBS or any food intolerance issues will make you not last long on a vegan diet. Chances are that the diet will become too impractical and restrictive for you nutritionally. I honestly, as much as it hurts, don’t advise you to go fully plant-based unless you find a way to do it healthily and practically, preferably with the help of a doctor.
Everyone is different though. Two people can have the same type of disease, but for only one of them is a vegan diet doable and it even relieves them from their issues. Especially when it comes to IBS, I’ve heard people saying they’ve gotten much better, but also of people whose symptoms have gotten much worse. I can’t comment though on how these two people went about switching to a vegan diet. The chances that they did not do it the same way are big.
But still, I’ve witnessed too many failures and people living with continued discomfort, for me to confidently say you’d have a good chance of being vegan long-term if issues don’t resolve. In this case, aiming for a slight reduction in animal products – while figuring out exactly the cause – might be the best thing you can do.
Be A Woman or Get Pregnant
While I haven’t observed a large quantitative difference between the number of men and women that decide to no longer be vegan, women do tend to develop issues more so than men. – Could also just be because the majority of vegans are women… Either way, there seems to be a trend of women who gets health issues the longer they stay vegan vs the men.
I can almost confidently say that most of it has to do with the total number of calories consumed. Men tend to consume much more. And many women who come into veganism tend to have had issues with eating disorders. A lot of the women (I’ve observed) also tend to exclude more than men, like soy, wheat, and reduced fat intake. A low fat intake isn’t favorable for women in their fertile years. It’s also worth mentioning that some of the men who quit veganism had been dabbling with intermittent fasting and the OMAD diet for a couple of months on a vegan diet, before they quit because of “health issues” and feeling more fatigued.
There’s also iron deficiency that’s more prevalent in women than in men. A lot of women are prone to anemia even before they go vegan but are just not aware. However, as a vegan, it’s much easier to develop iron deficiency unless you plan your meals well or take a supplement. Not taking a prenatal during your pregnancy and not eating balanced also seems to contribute to many women turning to more dense foods like meat after giving birth.
There are some experts that express and strictly believe a vegan diet isn’t for women. However, I don’t think that’s a fair generalization as no two people eat the same identical diet. However, it’s good to have in mind that women need to more carefully plan their meals – goes to any diet that restricts certain nutrients!
Being Easily Influenced + Have Lots of Friends
We are the average of the six people we surround ourselves with. Out of me and Peter, we are the only vegans we know of. Our family isn’t vegan. And yes it gets annoying that after 10 years my mom still confuses what we can and cannot eat. But we have no friends. No close real friends that could potentially complicate our dietary choice. Nor make us question our stance. And it’s something I’ve witnessed with some ex-vegans.
They usually have large friend groups and may for that reason be easily persuaded and influenced by other’s opinions. It can definitely be because they are having issues and are already questioning the diet. However, without friends, that person would probably have tried to figure things out themselves instead of jumping on the advice of a friend (who may even be an ex-vegan).
Therefore, having vegan friends isn’t key here either. But having supportive friends is what matters. If the support system isn’t there and you lack the power of some of the stubborn autism that I have, then staying vegan 99% of the time can probably be difficult. And it may be easier for you to become influenced by what others are doing.
Not having friends is not everyone’s cup of tea… But it’s at the same time darn interesting how most loners stay vegan long-term from what I’ve observed.
The title could also be “not knowing who you are”. There are two types of people who turn vegan and both are searchers. One person realizes themselves and therefore knows themselves to not care about others’ opinions and actions. The other keeps on searching and therefore is more impressionable to change again.
Which one are you?
Call Yourself Vegan
Do it only when it’s practical for you.
But don’t attach yourself to the meaning or lifestyle. Don’t make “vegan” your image or who you are… or your livelihood… After witnessing the many faces of “a vegan” I’ve personally not wanted to be associated with being one. ‘Cause, despite not having eaten meat for a decade, I don’t live up to the standards that vegans (on the internet) strive for. And while I think everyone should want to always do better, I also think you need to look at it objectively and compare. I mean, I’ve spared more lives than anyone around me. Why should I have to be 100% strict when even being 90% is still far better than the efforts of most people around?
This strict idea of what a vegan is and does that has been projected onto anyone calling themselves vegan has been hurting the movement. It’s become very daunting to call yourself vegan today. I also think that one person shouldn’t have to think about all the aspects of being vegan. At least not in the beginning and should be seen as a continuous work that you build upon.
While many would disagree with me, that either you’re vegan or not. From the things I’ve witnessed and pondered about, I just don’t see veganism as white and black. There’s definitely a grey area that should be embraced. But I also understand that it might bring too much confusion. As most humans lack the basis of common sense it seems.
Start When You’re Young
Although I do feel privileged and blessed to have gone vegan at a young age, in many ways it’s not ideal…
There are definitely many who turned vegan in their 20’s and who are still going strong in their 30’s. And there are definitely those who started out on a raw food diet who stuck through and started eating more balanced. Like me, or even take someone like Unnatural Vegan.
While I don’t want to say age makes a difference, it kind of does as you’ll do a lot of the things listed above. It’s also much more likely for you to draw veganism under one comb and declare it “not healthy” if your experience was bad. When in fact, it was due to juvenile ignorance and not knowing what you are doing. I mean, the countless anecdotes I’ve come across in books to blogs about someone’s vegan or vegetarian experience they had in their teens and young adults and how they now advise against a vegan diet are plenty.
You can be vegan in so many ways. And the information you can google on how to eat a healthy vegan diet is much more vast than when I started. But when you’re young, you’re very impatient, impressionable, and quite radical. It’s easy to become extreme, following someone else’s formula to a T, and simply put: only eat potatoes for a month. (remember the potato diet?)
I think that my objective and questioning mind, as well as my not-so-serious nature, did save me a lot from sticking to extremes for too long. Following vegans from many different backgrounds and pulling towards those who had a more grounded approach saved me from becoming an ex-vegan. People who neither said one was better than the other, but that we all can make a difference.
But not everyone is that lucky… Or smart I would say!
I hope, that if you’re young and want to go plant-based, you’ll find people who anchor you to reality. Avoid anyone who stresses you into going fully plant-based. Let yourself explore in your own timing. Don’t stick to extremes for too long. Make it work for you. No vegan eats the same way. Find what works best for you and your lifestyle❣
