Questioning veganism after being vegan for 3 years

[Jakub]

Hi everyone, I am 17 years old and I started veganism almost three years ago and for the last few weeks I've been thinking about quitting it. I still love the concept of veganism and I agree with everything but for some reasons it became very difficult for me to continue. I started missing certain foods and sometimes I just feel like I don't want to care about everything and I just wanna enjoy my meal. Another thing is that I think I can be deficient in some nutritients which are difficult (or even impossible) to get from plant sources. For the last few days I've been having eye twitching (I'm not sure if it has something with my diet). I'm still not sure what should I do and that's the reason I'm writing here. I would like to hear some opinions from vegans. I was thinking that maybe if i have eaten non-vegan diet for a while I'd have find out what I really want to do. But I'm sure I'd have doubts of eating meat and I would feel like I failed myself. My friends told me that it's still amazing that I've gone so far and that I shouldn't feel guilty when I decide to start eating meat. I would be very thankful if I heard your opinions and I'm sorry for mistakes I have in my little "essay" . English is not my mother language.

 

[S_t_e_v_e]

Well done for 3 years! Wish I could say the same but I've been vegan for 6 months. I have spent every spare minute watching documentaries and researching. I chose veganism because of the misinformation we have been taught regarding health - and B12 appears to be the only supplement that I must add. I'm enjoying discovering new foods and new combinations. Have a look at a web site Cromometer and enter some of your typical meals to see if you are getting enough vitamins and minerals. Meat and dairy has nothing that you can't get elsewhere, and so much stuff that you definately don't need. May be you need to include some other foods... Vegan can be unhealthy if you choose the wrong foods.

May be you need to have some bloodwork tests to see if everything is healthy...

Ultimately the choice is yours, but I hope you find a way through this moment of uncertainty and stay with veganism.. for your health, for the animals and for the environment.

 

[rogerjolly]

Hi Jakub,

Let me introduce you to my Rule of Three.

When in my twenties I was really, really broke. I was also absolutely addicted to smoking and had to stop for financial reasons. It had very little to do with health. This was at a time when smoking was not only socially acceptable but was the norm. But I desperately needed to save some cash.

My addiction was severe and the struggle was terrible but I finally quit. My Rule of Three states that the greatest yearnings occur after three hours, three days, three months and three years.

Until recently I was very sceptical about claims that newbie vegans could be suffering withdrawal symptoms because I never had much of a problem in that area. I have recently been persuaded otherwise, mainly because of contributions on this forum. I am now convinced that, for quite a few people, the body can take some time to adjust to a new diet and that there really can be cravings.

The Rule of Three applied to my smoking. I wonder if it might apply to your former eating of flesh.


A further thought:

I started missing certain foods

Vegans don’t look upon juicy stakes or fried eggs as food. They are things of abhorrence.

“Veganism is not a sacrifice. It is a joy.” – Gary Francione.

Roger.

 

[Lux]

You must feel really conflicted about this and just like people decide to go to a vegan diet, of course people also go from a vegan diet to some other kind too, but I think you need to find your 'why'. You say you "agree with everything" but what does that mean to you? What is "everything" and what does your agreement look like? If you don't find that why that means that you agree with yourself, rather than everything, you're probably going to struggle.

I can miss the convenience of eating just about everything, but I don't in a million years miss the foods themselves because when I walk through a supermarket now things like milk, eggs and meat just look misplaced to me. I look at those things on the shelves and think "why is this in here?" It just feels wrong. If you instead think "oh I wish I could have that" then eventually you will! I don't think there is much of a point in fighting it unless you can find your own motivation and reason why.

 

[Jakub]

Thank you for your replies. I'll definitely check that Cronometer website out. I've always cared about the nutritients. The problem is that after reading a lot of publications from websites which weren't dedicated to veganism I came to conclussion that a lot of vegan websites are not 100% true. Things like B12 are well known but what about things like creatine, carnosine, essential amino-acids, omega 3-s EPA and DHA? I'm not saying that it is impossible to gain it on vegan diet but it is difficult. When I say I agree with everything I mean that I agree with the moral, environmental reasons and I also agree with the impact on your health when you switch to a vegan diet (however I am not 100% convinced that it's that great to your health as I was before). I used to be so passionate about veganism and now I feel like it's gone. It really bothers me that I don't care that much anymore. I still don't want to eat meat again but I think it's just because being vegan is a part of me. Things I'm writing probably sound silly and don't make much sense but it's because I'm trying to express my feelings and thoughts which I don't really understand. But still, thank you for sharing your opinons and advices, I'll have to think about it more and maybe read more information as well.

 

[rogerjolly]

I've always cared about the nutrients.

There are literally thousands of us out here who rarely, if ever, actually think about deficiencies in our food intake. I know there are people who are obsessed with weighing out every ounce of this food and that food and if they want to make it a hobby of it then fair enough. But for me, if you just keep to a balanced and varied diet then wonderful Mother Nature will look after you.

I used to be so passionate about veganism and now I feel like it's gone. It really bothers me that I don't care that much anymore.

Please do try to chill out about these feelings. Paul McCartney has some great advice:

“Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be”

Roger.

 

[Forest Nymph]

What are you missing. Meat isn't even food to me like its completely gross and inedible. Eggs aren't too far behind. Cheese is the only thing that ever looks neutral or remotely appealing but then I think about how gross dairy is.

Are you eating enough protein or fat? What are you specifically craving? My bloodwork is so perfect as a vegan my doctor said its like someone half my age and I even drink alcohol.

I'll help you any way I can but we need to identify what's causing this.

 

[Jakub]

Well, basically the main reason I'm thinking about quitting is my health. Maybe I'm just overthinking and really should chill out. My bloodwork is also good, I just have lower level of D and A vitamine but it's not that bad. However the tests are not that complex so I might be missing some of the things I mentioned above. And I don't miss meat, cheese or eggs. I miss sweets and chocolate. I used to eat it a lot and now I don't have almost any options. All I can eat is a dark chocolate and some biscuits. I know that in some countries they offer more options but in my country veganism is not very popular and it's difficult to find vegan options. But I see that now the offer is higher than before so the future is bright for vegans and hopefully I will enjoy vegan sweets in the future And I decided to visit my doctor to do my bloodwork (things I think I might be lacking of). I should have done it when I firstly started having doubts. And I hope the doctor will find out why my eye is twiching so i won't blame veganism of it.

 

[nobody]

My bloodwork is also good, I just have lower level of D and A vitamine but it's not that bad. However the tests are not that complex so I might be missing some of the things I mentioned above.

I have been vegan for the same amount of time as you, 3 years. About 6 months ago, I started taking more supplements. Prior to this I was only taking a B12 tablet a couple times per week. This is what I take daily right now with food containing fat: sublingual B12, D3 (chewable), Iodine, DHA, EPA, other Omega 3s. The last 3 are in the same pill. A few times per week I take K2. I have a bag of flax seeds and a bag of chia seeds and when I am making a rice or grain dish, I add soaked flax and chia seeds as well as (pressed and browned) tofu to it, so I should be good on ALA/essential amino acids. For calcium and iron I use blackstrap molasses.

I didn't know about carnosine and creatine until reading your post above. I'm going to get some and add those in to my daily supplement regimen. I may also get some vitamin A, magnesium, spirulina, chlorella and blue-green algae as suggested in this post I found when searching "vegan carnosine".

 

[Jakub]

Things you mentioned are the exact things I am worried about. I take B12 3-4 times a week but it's 500 micrograms so I don't know if I need to take it more often. I also started taking iron. But I can't imagine taking so many supplements. I'll ask about vegan omega 3s supplement because most of them are from fish oil. I din't know that blackstrap molasses contains calcium and iron so I'll try using it and also using seeds in a rice dish is a good idea. As far as I know creatine and carnosine can't be found in a plant sources so the supplements can't be vegan. But I might be wrong.

 

[nobody]

The article I linked to above explains why you need a lot of B12. I take 1000 micrograms of cyanocobalamin B12 daily, in sublingual form which is more easily absorbed than pills. Also, vegan RD says you need less cyanocobalamin than methylcobalamin B12, so that matters, as far as dosage. DHA and EPA are in algae that fish eat and that is why it's in fish oil. You have to look around for the vegan DHA and EPA from algae because it isn't as common as the fish oil pills.

I will let you know if I can find the vegan creatine and carnosine.

 

[Jakub]

Ok, thank you. I'll start supplementing more and I'll ask about sublingual form of B12 because I haven't heard of it.

 

[nobody]

Here is vegan creatine and carnosine. The lower right hand corner of the bottles read 'vegetarian/vegan'.

Also, here is a video about it:

 

[nobody]

I started missing certain foods

Here are some videos that may help with this:

 

[amberfunk]

I only take sublingual b 12 usually during work days only which is four days out of the week and a vegan dha with omega 3's. I get everything else from my diet. I use cronometer and I meal plan. Eating a variety of foods will get you the nutrition you need.

 

[windrose]

Well, basically the main reason I'm thinking about quitting is my health. Maybe I'm just overthinking and really should chill out. My bloodwork is also good, I just have lower level of D and A vitamine but it's not that bad. However the tests are not that complex so I might be missing some of the things I mentioned above. And I don't miss meat, cheese or eggs. I miss sweets and chocolate. I used to eat it a lot and now I don't have almost any options. All I can eat is a dark chocolate and some biscuits. I know that in some countries they offer more options but in my country veganism is not very popular and it's difficult to find vegan options. But I see that now the offer is higher than before so the future is bright for vegans and hopefully I will enjoy vegan sweets in the future And I decided to visit my doctor to do my bloodwork (things I think I might be lacking of). I should have done it when I firstly started having doubts. And I hope the doctor will find out why my eye is twiching so i won't blame veganism of it.

I also experienced eye twitching but it was just that my eves were straining and l had to get stronger reading glasses then it went away.

 

[Lux]

Well, basically the main reason I'm thinking about quitting is my health. Maybe I'm just overthinking and really should chill out. My bloodwork is also good, I just have lower level of D and A vitamine but it's not that bad. However the tests are not that complex so I might be missing some of the things I mentioned above. And I don't miss meat, cheese or eggs. I miss sweets and chocolate. I used to eat it a lot and now I don't have almost any options. All I can eat is a dark chocolate and some biscuits. I know that in some countries they offer more options but in my country veganism is not very popular and it's difficult to find vegan options. But I see that now the offer is higher than before so the future is bright for vegans and hopefully I will enjoy vegan sweets in the future And I decided to visit my doctor to do my bloodwork (things I think I might be lacking of). I should have done it when I firstly started having doubts. And I hope the doctor will find out why my eye is twiching so i won't blame veganism of it.

I live in a relatively small European country and though it's not as easy to get vegan sweets and chocolate as it is to get non-vegan stuff it's not impossible at all. Have you had a look online? VegoBear by Candypeople make the BEST vegan gummy bears. My non-vegan friends love them as well. They're so much better than Haribo!

 

[Jakub]

I'll start using Cronometer to see if I really have balanced diet, the problem with the vegan stuff is that most of it is not affordable for me. There is one vegan store in my city and I go there from time to time to buy some vegan cheese, yoghurts etc. but when I see the price tags of chocolate and similar things it's just too much. Normal chocolate costs like 1€ and these vegan are like 6€. I am amazing in finding bargains so even that 1€ is more than I used to pay, but that's a different story Ok, so...to conclude, I won't stop being vegan, I really appreciate your support and advice, it helped me to make a decision.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

It's great that you can keep doing it!

 

[Rita Segura]

The article I linked to above explains why you need a lot of B12. I take 1000 micrograms of cyanocobalamin B12 daily, in sublingual form which is more easily absorbed than pills. Also, vegan RD says you need less cyanocobalamin than methylcobalamin B12, so that matters, as far as dosage. DHA and EPA are in algae that fish eat and that is why it's in fish oil. You have to look around for the vegan DHA and EPA from algae because it isn't as common as the fish oil pills.

I will let you know if I can find the vegan creatine and carnosine.

Newbie here but aren't' all these things already in your food? Dr. Neal Barnard MD says they are. He's a doctor that is a vegan and promotes it. He's written books about it and lectures around the world. I would look very closely at what you're eating. Maybe you're choices aren't working for you. Just a thought. I'm into my 2nd week and learning more every day. I would see if you could work with a Vegan nutritionist to help you through this rough patch. Keep sharing your thoughts and feelings and I think this forum will support you and help you feel good about it again. Sometimes we just need help. Do you have any Vegan friends or healthcare professionals that can support you right now?