Struggling to stay vegan

[Daphneduck123]

So its been about 10 years that I've been vegan and I'm facing some kind of mental and physical weakness... has anyone else reached this point? I thought I was just being a wuss and I could push through it but eventually I couldn't and have been eating fish and dairy. The sadness is that I have failed my goal to stay vegan forever. I feel endlessly bad about this. However I'm not permanently eating fish and dairy just sometimes when I feel really weak again but maybe it's about feeling bad about life as well. Maybe if more people cared that I am vegan then I wouldn't experience this weakness and I also think that people think they have to be needlessly strong and I wonder if people didnt feel that way there would be less violence and the world would be a better place. If fruit and vegetables could be grown more readily worldwide then there wouldnt be a threat of starvation. I do hope this is addressed somehow. I just worry about what kind of people are out there if they just cant be bothered to grow veggies and fruit.

 

[PTree15]

I am sorry you are having a hard time of it right now. Maybe just take it day by day and focus on what you can do just for that day. It is difficult to swim against the tide, as they say, and sometimes, looking at the big picture can be daunting. I try to think about only what I can do, and it eases my mind to know that I am helping to reduce animal suffering.

If you are feeling weak physically, maybe get an appointment with your doctor and have them do a blood test to see if you're low on anything vitamin- and mineral-wise.

 

[Jenny3315]

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. I am not a long term vegan but I have absolutely struggled with sticking with dietary restrictions before and what stands out to me is how you feel you are weak because you are struggling with a fundamentally human thing. In the past ten years you have done more good then most people do in their lifetimes and you deserve some understanding and grace. I'm a vegetarian transitioning to vegan and it is in no way easy. I agree with taking it day by day. Do the best you can each day, don't think about forever right now. Forgive yourself when you slip. The point of all of this is to help the animals and you can help them a lot more by being healthy and strong then if you are down and broken. And you are much more likely to stick with veganism if you can forgive your very human stumbles.

 

[allindogecoin]

I do agree to go to a doctor and get a blood test to see if there are any issues. There are certain things in fish and dairy that some vegans may not be getting. All it takes it some changes in habit. E.g. in fish there is DHA and EPA. Fish get their DHA and EPA from eating algae. Vegans can get DHA and EPA directly from the algae ie with algae oil DHA and EPA. This can be in liquid form or in a pill depending on which is easiest for you. In dairy there is vitamin A, calcium, and some iodine as well. Vegans can get vitamin A and calcium from most fortified soy milk (check label). As for iodine, get into the habit of using iodised salt or eat seaweed every now and then.

Just do a Google search on common vegan deficiencies and make sure you get into the habit of consuming those nutrients. Also try to avoid any refined sugars, heavily fried food or roasted food, saturated fats (eg palm oil, coconuts), etc. When eating nuts, I always try to get natural or raw nuts instead of roasted nuts. Also when having bread, I never toast it and instead eat it raw. That being said, even if you apply dry heat to plant food, often the toxins produced are low relative to applying dry heat to animal food. For example, barbequed chicken has high concentrations of advanced glycation end products, heterocyclic amines, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which causes DNA damage (which increases likelihood of cancer) as well as causing accelerated ageing by damaging collagen.

Also try to get at least 8000 steps per day of which about 20 minutes of that is brisk walking (zone 2 cardio). Try to do some resistance training as well. As for sleeping, try to get up at the same time every day and try not to eat too much before going to bed. After focusing on common nutritional deficiencies and avoiding any unhealthy food and exercising regularly and getting good sleep, I've been feeling much better lately.