Feeling guilty

Shaunie

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Apr 22, 2018
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  1. Vegan newbie
Hello,

I became Vegan as part of Veganuary this year so I'm reasonably new.

I started off very strict and did really well. I changed everything including my beauty products and have even actively reduced the waste I produce like plastic bottles etc.

However I sometimes struggle if its my time of the month or if I'm hungover. I wanted to confess what I've eaten and get your opions on if I can still call myself vegan and if you ever feel/do the same too -

Cheese (in something, not on its own) 3 times.
5 Krispy Kreme doughnuts (not in one sitting)
2 Milkshakes (not in one sitting)
Small amounts of chocolate containing milk (around 3 occasions)
1 slice of chocolate cake
6 biscuits
Quorn sausages (3 occasions)

As you can see my downfall really is my sweet tooth. The vegan diet just doesnt satisfy it.

It feels terrible seeing it all listed. I'm really passionate about animal welfare but I dont wanna be a hypocrite and bring a bad name to veganism. Is this okay? Should I just say I'm veggie? Just need to clear my conscience.

Thanks
 
Addiction to refined sugar is hard to get over from my experience and so is addiction to dairy since dairy contains molecules that are meant to make a baby calf keep drinking it's mother's milk. Dairy apparently is hard to stop eating as I've red from others on the forum.

I would suggest focusing on properly preparing plant foods that make you feel good below the neck as the mind loves pleasurable food. Live to eat or eat to live?

Supplement vitamin B12 and maybe Vitamin D if you live in a cold climate like some of us.

I only feel like eating a lot of sugar when I don't eat enough protein and fat during my daily one meal. Fasting, exercising and then feasting has helped immensely with my relationship with unhealthy foods.

All in all. Don't be afraid to experiment and to make mistakes to see what works for you.
 
Oh that's a very innocent list. You haven't been tempted to eat meat and when you had cheese it wasn't on its own. I think you're doing okay, I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. Also, Quorn sausages are an easy mistake to make if you're eating with vegetarians or in a cafeteria or restaurant setting. The milkshakes are really the only thing I see that seem like you consciously decided to eat dairy. Everything else looks like dairy was just an ingredient in the food.

When you're hungover you're not going to make great decisions. It's very easy for someone who is either drunk or hungover to eat familiar, comforting, fatty foods to alleviate their symptoms. Honestly the only answer there is probably to drink less, since you may still go for the cheese pizza or milkshakes if you've been drinking heavily, but I know drinking less is easier said than done if you are someone who drinks for emotional/psychological reasons to cope, or if you feel a lot of peer pressure from your friend group. AT LEAST YOU DON'T FEEL COMPELLED TO EAT MEAT. I see nothing but good things here! I want to praise you for not eating meat even at your lowest point!!! That says good things about you and your ethical convictions.

As for your time of the month, I usually eat more too and crave more fatty food. Maybe you can scope out vegan chocolates (there are numerous vegan dark chocolates and you can look up vegan milk chocolates through PETA, I know because at my uni our vegan club got vegan milk chocolates from PETA for Valentine's day). Cocomels are also freaking delicious and completely vegan, and you can get bags of them at a CVS drug store. You can also bake vegan cakes or buy them so you aren't as tempted to eat Krispy Kremes - there are even vegan donuts. Instead of Quorn sausages, buy Tofurky sausages. There are also other vegan companies that makes good vegan sausages so try to look them up!

Cheese is hard for a lot of people. If you're craving fatty foods buy vegan cheese or use olive oil, peanut butter, avocado or guacamole, and olives. Daiya actually makes a pepperoni style pizza that is vegan that is badass, if you can find it, it's one of my favorite comfort foods.

Keep yourself fed. One of the few excuses I see for people to be vegetarian instead of vegan is poverty. Poverty can be a crusher to people who are hungry or who want to eat for comfort in times of stress. If you can afford to keep yourself, please do, so you can avoid these dairy traps.
 
Addiction to refined sugar is hard to get over from my experience and so is addiction to dairy since dairy contains molecules that are meant to make a baby calf keep drinking it's mother's milk. Dairy apparently is hard to stop eating as I've red from others on the forum.

I would suggest focusing on properly preparing plant foods that make you feel good below the neck as the mind loves pleasurable food. Live to eat or eat to live?

Supplement vitamin B12 and maybe Vitamin D if you live in a cold climate like some of us.

I only feel like eating a lot of sugar when I don't eat enough protein and fat during my daily one meal. Fasting, exercising and then feasting has helped immensely with my relationship with unhealthy foods.

All in all. Don't be afraid to experiment and to make mistakes to see what works for you.

Eating one meal a day isn't normal, healthy or advisable. I get that some people do intermittent fasting and that it works for a certain type of person. My sister has always been one of those people who can go without eating. When she gets upset, she stops eating instead of eating more. There are also very cerebral people who literally forget to eat. That's fine and all for that sort of people but for most people this kind of advice isn't helpful at all.
 
Oh that's a very innocent list. You haven't been tempted to eat meat and when you had cheese it wasn't on its own. I think you're doing okay, I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. Also, Quorn sausages are an easy mistake to make if you're eating with vegetarians or in a cafeteria or restaurant setting. The milkshakes are really the only thing I see that seem like you consciously decided to eat dairy. Everything else looks like dairy was just an ingredient in the food.

When you're hungover you're not going to make great decisions. It's very easy for someone who is either drunk or hungover to eat familiar, comforting, fatty foods to alleviate their symptoms. Honestly the only answer there is probably to drink less, since you may still go for the cheese pizza or milkshakes if you've been drinking heavily, but I know drinking less is easier said than done if you are someone who drinks for emotional/psychological reasons to cope, or if you feel a lot of peer pressure from your friend group. AT LEAST YOU DON'T FEEL COMPELLED TO EAT MEAT. I see nothing but good things here! I want to praise you for not eating meat even at your lowest point!!! That says good things about you and your ethical convictions.

As for your time of the month, I usually eat more too and crave more fatty food. Maybe you can scope out vegan chocolates (there are numerous vegan dark chocolates and you can look up vegan milk chocolates through PETA, I know because at my uni our vegan club got vegan milk chocolates from PETA for Valentine's day). Cocomels are also freaking delicious and completely vegan, and you can get bags of them at a CVS drug store. You can also bake vegan cakes or buy them so you aren't as tempted to eat Krispy Kremes - there are even vegan donuts. Instead of Quorn sausages, buy Tofurky sausages. There are also other vegan companies that makes good vegan sausages so try to look them up!

Cheese is hard for a lot of people. If you're craving fatty foods buy vegan cheese or use olive oil, peanut butter, avocado or guacamole, and olives. Daiya actually makes a pepperoni style pizza that is vegan that is badass, if you can find it, it's one of my favorite comfort foods.

Keep yourself fed. One of the few excuses I see for people to be vegetarian instead of vegan is poverty. Poverty can be a crusher to people who are hungry or who want to eat for comfort in times of stress. If you can afford to keep yourself, please do, so you can avoid these dairy traps.

Thank you very much for your response. Its made me feel so much better and is really helpful. Defo gunna check out your vegan food suggestions! Thank you
 
Don't worry about occasional slips. I used to have major cravings for fried egg. Now I just have cravings for vegan ice-cream!

There are lots of vegan dairy substites. And chocolate soya milk that tastes rather like milk shakes. There is also lots of delicious vegan chocolate. Best of all is vegan ice-cream. I've been told by omnivore friend that the vegan ice-cream she had tasted just like dairy ice-cream. Only I think it's much better. I remember as a pescatarian the ice-cream I had always left a really sickly after taste which vegan ice-cream doesn't.