I'm a bad vegan :(

[Amanda Margaret]

Became vegan a couple of months ago. Keep messing up.

I know newbie vegans are known to make a mistake, but I keep making the huge mistake of ASSUMING certain things are vegan and being like WHY WOULD THAT NOT BE VEGAN and than proceeding to eat it without checking the ingredients. It's so stupid and I could simply look at the ingredients, but sometimes I just ASSUME something is and than I realize after that it's not. I don't know if it's my brains way of being like I NEED DAIRY SO LET'S PRETEND NOT TO CARE (not that I actually WANT dairy) or if I just need to train myself to look at ingredients for EVERYTHING.

I'm not really asking anything here. I guess I'm just mad at myself for not being more responsible about checking.

 

[bratvada]

Don't beat yourself up about it. Take it slow, and gradually you will know intuitively what you can and can not eat.

Keep going.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Yes, you need to train to brain to consider veganism every time you use a product or pay for anything. Don't have to be perfect, the more the better.

Sometimes, you just have to create a habit. I am trying to train my brain to consider recycling possibilities before throwing any item into the main trash bin, for instance.

 

[Sally]

I always go shopping with my reading glasses in my pocket so I can read the small print. It's really hard to just look and say that's vegan. Some makes can be vegan and the same product by another company won't be. Also ingredients change, Jammie Dodgers were vegan and now they aren't. You need to be constantly vigilant. The best thing is to keep asking for vegan products, ask the shopworkers if something is vegan, often they don't know what you mean, which is great as you can educate them, it also makes them aware that there is a requirement for more vegan stuff on the shelves. So there is an upside to not knowing as you can help others learn alongside you.

 

[Mark Mywordz]

For about 6 months now I have been training myself to avoid "products", anything made in a factory, especially if it's sold in a packet. Making stuff from scratch is easy after a while and tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, porridge etc. are pretty safe wherever you buy them. I also avoid sugar and sweeteners, except stevia. I think: If I am going to go to the trouble of eating vegan, it makes sense to keep it simple. I don't eat anything my grandmother or even great grandmother couldn't have eaten. I am suspicious even of vegan products such as Cheezly and vegan margarine. But I intend to try nutritious yeast as a substitute for cheese in some dishes.
You might have fewer problems if you go back to basics and I think it is a far healthier approach to vegan eating.

 

[BronxVegan]

What helped me was finding a partner who was also vegan. Being vegan was so much harder when I was trying to do it alone. My partner keeps me in check and makes sure to go over the labels twice when we go out and buy things. You need to find some type of motivation that would help you stay on the right path. Hope you succeed.

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