It’s been just over one month since I quit being vegan. I listened to my cravings, dropped the labels and adopted a vegetarian-but-not-labeling-it-just-in-case-I-one-day-want-to-eat-meat diet.
Since then a lot of people have been asking how I feel since the change. You all were so supportive of the change so I thought I’d share how the shift has been.
Seven Changes Since Saying Goodbye to Vegan
1. I feel stronger. Maybe it’s that I’m eating so much more protein with eggs? (I really, really love eggs.) I’m not sure why but I feel stronger- faster on my runs and able to lift more at CrossFit. I feel like my muscles are getting more defined, too.
2. My belly feels better. As a vegan I ate more soy and beans which I’ve now replaced with eggs and some dairy. I’ve learned that soy and beans cause gas, bloat and pain. Eggs and dairy don’t. Hello, non-bloated tummy!
3. I am satiated. When I’m finished eating, I feel full. And I stay full until I should be hungry again. I’m eating less snacks and enjoying that satiated feel.
4. I’m sleepy. Dairy makes me sleepy. I noticed this when I went vegan and had so much more energy, and less energy now that I consume dairy again. It’s okay; I love sleep.
5. I feel morally conflicted and often guilty. At home all animal products are organic (or “from happy animals” as I like to say) when possible, but the frozen yogurt we had last month and the bagel I had yesterday are made with products from animals that are probably suffering. That breaks my heart. So I try to think of the big picture, remember I can only control so much and find balance.
6. Life is easier and eating is fun. This is the biggest one! I can go out to eat with my family and not plan. I can stop by the French bakery and that cool New York-style pizzeria and explode my taste buds without having to worry about if they have vegan options (they don’t).
7. I feel less healthy. I feel like I’ve been eating less nutritious foods and more sweets, carbs and cheesy foods. I attribute part of this to the attractiveness of being able to eat all the things I’ve turned down for for years. I’m giving myself the freedom to eat those guilty pleasures and hope I’ll balance out naturally.
My weight hasn’t changed. Moving forward I’d like to eat less dairy, but I’m giving my body time on that one. I’m also surprised how often I still lean toward vegan options- skipping cheese on my salads, preferring my vegan protein powders and companies, etc.
How have your dietary changes affected you?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Very interesting to hear how it’s going for you. Glad that it is mostly positive!
Sarah recently posted..Thirty-Two Years
Thanks for sharing!!
I’ve considered going vegan before, but I love eggs in the morning (well, at any meal, lol) because they fill me up. Great post!
Amy recently posted..Fitness Friday: Back On Track!
Glad you are feeling mostly better! Gotta do what’s right for you! I think being dairy free is hard enough – I can’t imagine vegan! I think of that often when I’m out at restaurants!
I think it’s all about balance and finding out where you food comes from. Ya know? I love my eggs, fish, and occasional meat. but that’s because it causes me to stress less and enjoy the nourishment when i know where it’s coming from and how it is treating my body, ya know? Well said ASH!
xoxo
I find it really interesting that dairy makes you sleepy! I haven’t heard of that one before. I think its really common that many people feel stronger when adding animal products – but I am glad you are enjoying them
Kailey recently posted..Friday Favorites
Thank you for this! I went through the same thing. I added eggs back into my diet because I was feeling very weak and always hungry. I felt guilty but it was something I needed ti do. Great post!
Farrah recently posted..Yesterday
Summer is always a hard time for me eating wise because I tend to eat more unhealthfully, and I definitely notice a difference in the way I feel. It’s been about a month since my eating started to go downhill, and while I haven’t really gained weight, my body is less firm that I’d like it to be. I’m going to start eating more healthy and start a running plan this week through the end of the summer and beyond. Thanks for sharing this post, it inspires me even more to make the change back to healthy while still enjoying what I eat!
Interesting! That was a very honest post. Eating styles change over a lifetime as you change, so it’s cool that you’re just going with the flow. I know since I lifted the vegetarian label I still eat about 99.9 percent vegetarian, but I also feel more freedom.
Jen recently posted..Putting Out The Quality Birdseed
Thanks for sharing the changes. I’ve considered going vegan for a week to see if I felt different, but I’m not quite sure a week would allow me to feel differently and I’m not so sure I’d be willing to do it for longer than that
Brittany (Healthy Slice of Life) recently posted..The Weekend Wrap Up
Organic does NOT equal “happy animals.” At all. I assume you know this and the way you wrote it is misleading. Organic eggs often come from chickens raised in tiny cages with zero sunlight/ability to move around. Cows are abused on organic dairy farms at the same rate as nonorganic. They’re just not given hormones.
It’s the sad truth!
I can relate to your experience. I was a vegetarian for over a decade and I vegan for probably 5 years and I am now eating fish. I feel guilty and conflicted about it, but I did not come to the decision lightly. I followed a very healthy vegetarian diet, but I had been feeling “off” for the last 2 years (especially since I was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome). I am now back to training 8 times a week (I am also a Spinning instructor and I count my classes as workouts), and doing x-fit and running. And despite following a well-balanced diet with no process foods at all (except for ketchup and soy sauce) I was making tiny gains, feeling bloated most of the time and lacking energy. I decided to add some fish into my diet (I cannot fathom the idea of eating mammals or birds) and cut out grains and legumes, and I feel so much better. Since my goal is, ultimately, to find my optimal health state, I am following the Whole30 plan. Although I see the improvement in my health and performance, I still struggle with the idea of eating animals. I make sure to get my eggs from a guy who raises chickens in his back yard…but I cannot have the same guarantee about my fish…But I also cannot ensure that my tomatoes and lettuce were not picked by an exploited migrant worker. In short, even as a vegetarian, I was guilty of some morally reprehensible choices. I look at vegan athletes like Jurek and rich Roll with both envy and amazement. I wish I could be half a good an athlete as any of them while following e vegan diet, but no amount of quinoa, kale and hemp protein has made me feel as healthy as I feel today. There are many diets out there that work for different people – some people can eat 20 bananas a day and have a six-pack; if I did that, I would have a banana gut and I would be napping all day. Don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed for trying to figure out how to improve your well-being. We only get one life and one body.
Susanna recently posted..Whole30 – Day 8
I am a vegan because I recognize the terrible wrongness of the suffering that we are causing animals just so we can “feel” good for one reason or another. Even if I have to work harder to keep my belly full and feeling good, what keeps me vegan is that I cannot turn on the animals now that I know that I would be the one hurting them and causing them pain and suffering. Do not worry about “feeling” guilty. I hope you will one day again take the path of non-harming. Good luck to you.
Very interesting to see it broken down like that. I think that not every diet is for every BODY. Some bodies just don’t respond well to vegan, vegetarian or carnivore diets. We have to figure out what works individually.
For me, I was a vegetarian for 12 years. I was also the unhealthiest I’d ever been too. Part of that was laziness, part of it was not eating a balanced vegetarian diet. Either way, once I lost 100 pounds and started running, I wanted to eat meat. I listened to my body and I’m a total carnivore now. I feel SO MUCH BETTER eating meals with lots of veggies and protein.
I still have guilt about what I am eating. But I feel healthier, fuller, happier, everything you said.
Lisa recently posted..Spicy, Smoky or Savory
just because you’re vegan doesn’t mean you have to turn to soy or beans.
Lol, so the above comment was useful?