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Amber O Schultz

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Joined
Mar 21, 2019
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Age
33
Location
New York
Lifestyle
  1. Vegan newbie
I am just posting this thread to be accountable for my progress. I have been trying to work out the triggers and kinks that make me totally fall of the plant-based journey that I have been on. I have been trying to recognize when that feeling is about to start that inevitably leads to me eating something ultra processed or an animal product. I know that I will conquer this and I see that a lot of people are reporting that it takes about a month for the cravings and everything to die down or completely go away. It feels like it is taking forever and I am impatient lol. Aside form that I am really enjoying how I feel physically and the benefits I am already noticing. I have not had any issues with inflammation in my elbow and I have not been experiencing any anxiety or extreme sadness. I cannot express the relief I have been experiencing and how awesome it feels to be this way. All in all my journey has been going well and I am interested to read about how other people have been doing with their transition.

I hope all of you are doing well! :D
 
well done Amber! thank you so much for the update and it is great news that you are doing so well!

Remember this is a journey and all of us have started and fallen off a few times along the way. In my case over a course of a few years. It has been almost 3 years now, though, of staying on the straight and narrow, so don't beat yourself up if you have a hiccup or two.

A couple of tips to help... have lots of options available to eat at home so you don't get hangry and go out and get something you would prefer not to eat. Plan ahead. If you think you will be out longer than normal, take some snacks with you. Some nuts, a vegan snack bar, some fruit etc. If you know you will be eating out then plan where and how and take a look at the menu of the establishment before you arrive or even eat before you go so that you can have just a small vegan item to keep everyone else company.

One of my favourite snacks to take on a road trip is a peanut butter and jam sandwich or two. Easy to make and not a big deal if I don't need to eat it. A few nuts and medjool dates are usually with me as well.

Emma JC
 
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Where in NY are you? I grew up on LI
I am in upstate new york, so roughly two and a half hours from the Canadian border. Ironically I have never been to NYC but I am hoping to make a trip to the thousand islands next summer. Is LI a nice place to live?
 
well done Amber! thank you so much for the update and it is great news that you are doing so well!

Remember this is a journey and all of us have started and fallen off a few times along the way. In my case over a course of a few years. It has been almost 3 years now, though, of staying on the straight and narrow, so don't beat yourself up if you have a hiccup or two.

A couple of tips to help... have lots of options available to eat at home so you don't get hangry and go out and get something you would prefer not to eat. Plan ahead. If you think you will be out longer than normal, take some snacks with you. Some nuts, a vegan snack bar, some fruit etc. If you know you will be eating out then plan where and how and take a look at the menu of the establishment before you arrive or even eat before you go so that you can have just a small vegan item to keep everyone else company.

One of my favourite snacks to take on a road trip is a peanut butter and jam sandwich or two. Easy to make and not a big deal if I don't need to eat it. A few nuts and medjool dates are usually with me as well.

Emma JC
Thank you so much for the tips! I forget that some times I need to be patient with myself and also not beat myself up so badly when things don't go the way I planned for them to go. I am going to be gearing myself up and cracking down on the meal planning as I will be going to back to school next week. It really helps to pack my lunch bag full of goodies. I am also in the middle of a fruit adventure and trying different types of fruit I have never tried before. One new fruit and veg each week just because I am curious. Any suggestion there? This week I am trying papaya, figs, and swiss chard.
 
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Is LI a nice place to live?

Some people think so. I lived in Nassau County. Pretty much a suburb for NYC. I lived near the Long Island Rail Road and the South Shore Parkway. so it was good for commuters. Also near Jones Beach.
 
Some people think so. I lived in Nassau County. Pretty much a suburb for NYC. I lived near the Long Island Rail Road and the South Shore Parkway. so it was good for commuters. Also near Jones Beach.
right on. I still have yet to make a visit to NYC. I would really like to see it just so I can see what all of the hype is about. I have been many other places though! So what made you want to go Vegan? I am still very new to this lifestyle. Trying to find good people to talk to and build a support as my daughter and my husband are not going to change their diets the way I have. Plus it's hard when our daughter wants to eat like me but my husband just won't cook like I do. So I sort of feel like I'm caught in a little bit of a tug of war. I just allow my daughter to make her decisions on food as she was not raised Vegan. How long did it take for you to transition?
 
How long did it take for you to transition?

I don't know. I think technically I'm still in transition. I took my first step on the vegan path about 20 years ago. I have been calling myself vegan for maybe 10 years. So maybe 10 years?