Hi everyone, before I start please just know I'm not a 'perfect vegan' *yet* but I am hoping to improve on that soon. Until then I really need some help!
I started eating vegan at the start of this month (1st October 2018) and I still am at this point (8th October 2018). I know it has only been a week and a bit but I have found some really major struggles. Just wanting to know if this is normal and if anyone has any advice, that would be SO appreciated!
Basically I have never been a real big meat or animal products eater in the first place. I have been vegetarian on-off a few times growing up (only stopped because my doctor didn't recommend being vegetarian due to my health issues). But those health issues are more under control now so I am trying again but going full on no animal products at all. The point of saying that is mainly that.. I don't really like meat or animal products to begin with. Also, I have been noticing my body pretty much rejecting any animal products over the last two years or so (toilet issues, cramps, the works!) so I figured a) I don't really like animal products anyway and don't eat them often, and b) my body doesn't like these products either. So I've decided to make the jump. (Also all the ethical and moral reasons but that isn't directly related to the issues I have been experiencing
)
Since going vegan I have noticed the following things that may or may not be related to going vegan:
- Toilet issues = gone! YAY!
- Extreme emotions, mood swings. I'll be laughing one minute then crying because I dropped a lid the next (not on period btw).
- Sort of the same as above but I am just crying all the time. Like I am breaking down into tears about 10 times a day for no real reason.
- Anxiety. I do already have an anxiety disorder but only mildly (doesn't usually impact my daily life). I am having regular panic attacks now for no reason, haven't experienced this since being diagnosed in 2011.
- Shaking, feeling weak and drowsy.
- Headaches and a migraine.
- (18+) Increased sex drive! (Not a bad thing haha).
- Struggling to eat enough calories. I am eating so much though! I eat way bigger servings than usual and I get full, then I don't get hungry until my next meal. But I am struggling to eat more than 800 calories a day without having to force shovel food down my mouth. I just have little to no appetite. (could be for the following reason).
BIGGEST ISSUE - PLEASE HELP ME I AM SO DESPERATE TO KEEP BEING VEGAN:
- I absolutely hate every single vegan meal/replacement/recipe I have tried. I have been doing this for 8 days and I haven't found a single thing I enjoy or like, and a lot of stuff I can't even put near my mouth without gagging. I am not a fussy or dramatic person at all, if I was I wouldn't be asking for help. This is really stumping me. Every meal I cook I generally like most of the ingredients and the recipe looks good but when I cook it, it is so bad! (Not tooting my own horn but no, it's not because I am a bad cook. I am a certified chef and found my own cooking to taste perfectly fine before haha.) I know this is part of the process (finding things that you like and don't like) but it is really hard to consume enough calories when I can't seem to find anything I even remotely can put up with. A lot of the vegan alternatives that are sort of necessary to maintain your body on a vegan diet I seem to hate. E.g. chickpeas, lentils, beans, and any vegan 'mayo', 'cheese' or 'butter'. The only thing I can swallow without gagging is almond milk and soy milk. So I am pretty much living off of fruit & veg (LOVE FRUIT!!!!), dry toast, and pasta/rice with vegan milks on it and some spices and garlic. (I only resort to these foods after I have cooked a full vegan meal/recipe, tried it and then realised I hated it. I am trying to eat other things but I just can't stand them enough to swallow.) I also can't eat nuts or some seeds because I am allergic. And it's not for a lack of trying, I have tried about 12 or so different recipes at this point from all different places and blogs etc. and I couldn't eat more than three mouthfuls of every single one. Why is this happening? Will I get over it? Will it go away? Will my tastebuds adjust and eventually like these things? Once again, I am not being a drama queen or anything (I am such a foodie and will try out anything and everything) but the vegan recipes and alternatives I have tried have me dry-gagging they are so bad (taste, texture, smell). I really want to be vegan but it is proving so incredibly hard to make the transition. Is it okay to eat partially vegan/partly not so 100% strict whilst I am finding my footing? I know this is offensive to some because some people think you have to be all or nothing, that's sort of what I am scared of.. I really don't want to give up, I'm not going to give up. But I just think I need some reassurance that this is normal (if it is normal) and advice from someone who has been through it before.
Thank you so much in advance.
I started eating vegan at the start of this month (1st October 2018) and I still am at this point (8th October 2018). I know it has only been a week and a bit but I have found some really major struggles. Just wanting to know if this is normal and if anyone has any advice, that would be SO appreciated!
Basically I have never been a real big meat or animal products eater in the first place. I have been vegetarian on-off a few times growing up (only stopped because my doctor didn't recommend being vegetarian due to my health issues). But those health issues are more under control now so I am trying again but going full on no animal products at all. The point of saying that is mainly that.. I don't really like meat or animal products to begin with. Also, I have been noticing my body pretty much rejecting any animal products over the last two years or so (toilet issues, cramps, the works!) so I figured a) I don't really like animal products anyway and don't eat them often, and b) my body doesn't like these products either. So I've decided to make the jump. (Also all the ethical and moral reasons but that isn't directly related to the issues I have been experiencing
)Since going vegan I have noticed the following things that may or may not be related to going vegan:
- Toilet issues = gone! YAY!
- Extreme emotions, mood swings. I'll be laughing one minute then crying because I dropped a lid the next (not on period btw).
- Sort of the same as above but I am just crying all the time. Like I am breaking down into tears about 10 times a day for no real reason.
- Anxiety. I do already have an anxiety disorder but only mildly (doesn't usually impact my daily life). I am having regular panic attacks now for no reason, haven't experienced this since being diagnosed in 2011.
- Shaking, feeling weak and drowsy.
- Headaches and a migraine.
- (18+) Increased sex drive! (Not a bad thing haha).
- Struggling to eat enough calories. I am eating so much though! I eat way bigger servings than usual and I get full, then I don't get hungry until my next meal. But I am struggling to eat more than 800 calories a day without having to force shovel food down my mouth. I just have little to no appetite. (could be for the following reason).
BIGGEST ISSUE - PLEASE HELP ME I AM SO DESPERATE TO KEEP BEING VEGAN:
- I absolutely hate every single vegan meal/replacement/recipe I have tried. I have been doing this for 8 days and I haven't found a single thing I enjoy or like, and a lot of stuff I can't even put near my mouth without gagging. I am not a fussy or dramatic person at all, if I was I wouldn't be asking for help. This is really stumping me. Every meal I cook I generally like most of the ingredients and the recipe looks good but when I cook it, it is so bad! (Not tooting my own horn but no, it's not because I am a bad cook. I am a certified chef and found my own cooking to taste perfectly fine before haha.) I know this is part of the process (finding things that you like and don't like) but it is really hard to consume enough calories when I can't seem to find anything I even remotely can put up with. A lot of the vegan alternatives that are sort of necessary to maintain your body on a vegan diet I seem to hate. E.g. chickpeas, lentils, beans, and any vegan 'mayo', 'cheese' or 'butter'. The only thing I can swallow without gagging is almond milk and soy milk. So I am pretty much living off of fruit & veg (LOVE FRUIT!!!!), dry toast, and pasta/rice with vegan milks on it and some spices and garlic. (I only resort to these foods after I have cooked a full vegan meal/recipe, tried it and then realised I hated it. I am trying to eat other things but I just can't stand them enough to swallow.) I also can't eat nuts or some seeds because I am allergic. And it's not for a lack of trying, I have tried about 12 or so different recipes at this point from all different places and blogs etc. and I couldn't eat more than three mouthfuls of every single one. Why is this happening? Will I get over it? Will it go away? Will my tastebuds adjust and eventually like these things? Once again, I am not being a drama queen or anything (I am such a foodie and will try out anything and everything) but the vegan recipes and alternatives I have tried have me dry-gagging they are so bad (taste, texture, smell). I really want to be vegan but it is proving so incredibly hard to make the transition. Is it okay to eat partially vegan/partly not so 100% strict whilst I am finding my footing? I know this is offensive to some because some people think you have to be all or nothing, that's sort of what I am scared of.. I really don't want to give up, I'm not going to give up. But I just think I need some reassurance that this is normal (if it is normal) and advice from someone who has been through it before.
Thank you so much in advance.
