A blog I have been dreading writing for a few days....
Before I get in to the details of things I am going to ask that people please be understanding and not judge me for this...
I had to stop the vegan diet, I was 20 days in, so half way through my initial 40 day goal. If you've been reading this you know I have been sick for about 12 days now. Today is the first day I haven't had to take anything and I'm still not feeling great, but at least not bad enough that I feel I need to take something for it. On top of the awful cold I haven't been able to get over I have had some other health issues come up and needless to say I have been not feeling well at all because of it.
After googling some stuff and scaring the crap out of myself on Friday I decided that I need to stop the vegan thing for a while and work on getting myself healthy. I've hardly eaten anything in a week and most of what I have been eating I have had to force myself to eat. The last few days have been mostly crackers and yogurt with grape nuts mixed in. So I'm trying to stay as vegetarian as possible, with small amounts of meat mixed in just to get some protein in my system.
Please understand it isn't that I don't have a strong love for animals or that I don't care what I am putting in my body or where it is coming from because that isn't the case at all. Heck, I cry when I go to super pet adoptions or see on the news how many animals didn't get adopted at one. My heart sinks when I see a dead animal on the side of the road, and I barely made it through Food, Inc when I watched it. This is completely a health concern at this point....
I can try it again in the future, and if/when I do I need to plan things out a bit better. Going vegetarian is an easy thing to do, and I knew that when I started this which is why I wanted to try the vegan thing instead... Turns out it was much harder then I thought it would be. I did try a lot of new things and a few of them I plan on keeping in my diet. I spent a lot of time not knowing what to eat or how to make things... I am still open for suggestions and going to make a point to keep eating healthier, still going to keep as much junk food out of my diet as possible.
So again... please don't be mad and just hope that I get better fast so I can try this again.... I will keep trying to turn my old recipes into vegan versions and update and post them on this blog...
With all of that being said, I'm still open to ideas of vegan food to try or make...
Chicken Satay Wraps
12 years ago
Meagan,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about googling yourself into a panic. I did that too when I first went vegan. I'd been feeling sluggish and cold and not quite myself in that first month, and google told me I could be anemic or B12 deficient. In any case, I want you to know that everything your body needs truly is available in plants. (And non-animal-derived B12 supplements.)
Some people experience a sort of crash when they remove animal products from their diet, because it's a jolt to the system. Getting a bad cold at the same time has to make sticking with the change even harder. When you're back on your feet and ready to jump (or wade) back in, let me know how I can help. For some people, a gradual transition works best, so don't feel too hard on yourself for not being able to go "cold tofu", ok? =) I really admire your efforts, and I know you'll make it at your own pace.
Thank you for the encouraging words! I think the way to do it will be to gradually do it, cold turkey was a bad idea I think.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty having a roommate that put down almost everything I made wasn't helpful either. Even if I thought it was good she had something bad to say about it. Made it hard to want to keep trying out new things and is part of why I think I pretty much just stopped eating all together. So its pretty much become a bad habit. Its why I've been so sick other then the cold. And now even when I do eat my stomach is just angry. Its made it so I just don't want to....
I've watched friends with eating disorders before and I am well aware of the bad things that can happen if I don't start eating more... So I've been making myself, assuming that it will get better when my stomach gets used to things again.
I have a very long history of just forgetting to eat for a 24hr time period. I used to all the time when I was in high school. I just wouldn't think about it until someone asked if I was hungry then I'd realize how long it had been since I ate something.... Haven't had a problem with it in a long time though and this is the worst it has ever been.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you stopped, I was worried that changing your diet was what was making you sick. My insides are super picky and when I change my diet they protest(sorry, TMI). But I really admire you for trying! Maybe just a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables for a while and a lot less processed foods. Your other bloggers are going to shun me for this, but... I think that eating anything fresh is better than eating anything processed, organic/vegan or not. I have stopped buying sauces altogether, and have been making them all from scratch. If I make spaghetti sauce from tomatoes rather than pour it out of a can(etc. etc.) I seem to not be so sick all the time. I was having a lot of Gal Bladder problems about 2 years ago. My Dr. told me I'd have to get it taken out within a year. I started eating everything fresh. I'm talking EVERYTHING. I ate bacon, but it was from the butcher block. I had alfredo, but I made it from homemade butter and organic milk(no growth hormones). I got the idea from Terral, who is too poor to be able to buy any ready-made foods, plus he really enjoys cooking. He taught me a lot of healthy cooking techniques and told me about the bountiful basket co-op. I'm fit as a fiddle now, and I feel really good! I'm not saying this will work for you, but it did work for me. Just a thought(a long one though).
ReplyDeleteHeather you are wonderful. :) I've had the thought to go organic a while ago, i need to implement it more. I've always been one to make my own sauces and stuff, that is how i was raised so i don't really like a lot of stuff out of the box, but doesn't change the fact that i still do some times.. thanks :)
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