Which people struggle with a vegan lifestyle?

[andyswarbs]

Firstly it must be said that primarily veganism is about the animals. If you haven't got that then you may struggle because of the incessant pull of conforming to societal norms. Veganism is not per se a diet. It is is about reducing harm to animals when it is not necessary.

A major aspect of how we as humans harm animals is by eating meat, dairy, eggs & fish. So as a consequence veganism is associatied with removing these foods from your plate at each and every meal.

But in that word "removing" there is an question of what replaces the removed items. A whole food plant based diet stresses the importance of ading in whole plant foods. However when many people go vegan they start with what I call transition foods. This might be a vegan burger, possibly one bought from a fast food chain. These are brilliant at reducing harm to animals, but cannot generally be described as healthy food options. These transtion food choices help you reduce dependency on meat, dairy, fish & eggs. But they should not be seen as an endpoint.

Learning what consititutes a healthy vegan-styled diet is a life journey. A journey of fun and joy. With lots of new textures and tastes. Learning to break the rules of what goes with what. Want to try marmite (or similar) with chocolote? Go for it. One food item I have added recently is a large shredded red cabbage with vegan mayo and some mustard & spices. This has some amazing health benefits mixed with the mayo to make it more palatable allows this dish to reach a wider group of people.

One group of people who struggle are those who have pre-existing conditions. I for example have 40 years of arthritis to deal with. So there are some foods I avoid either absolutely entirely or limit to small amounts and on the other hand other foods that I eat more of, like red cabbage. Each person with pre-existing conditions would do well to research how to go vegan to take care of their specific medical conditions. That's a personal education at its heart that no-one else can do. At the end you will be responsible for your own improving health, day in day out.

The last group that struggle are those who go down difficult routes to health on a vegan lifestyle. I include specialities such as raw food approach etc in this. To succeed in speciality vegan lifestyles you need to work harder on your eductation and watch for common pitfalls including getting sufficient calories.

Otherwise you will succeed and improve day in day out. Enjoy!

[Kai--]

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Spot on, andyswarbs❗️

Well said. 👍👍

Thank you for identifying & ‘spelling out’ each critical point!! 😌 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞

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[Kai-- in reply to Kai--]

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Mere reiteration/ reinforcement of each point for all of us strugglers (& stragglers) alike:

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👉 Veganism is primarily about animals

. . . . — about reducing unnecessary harm to animals

. . . . — not about "diet" per se.

👉 Comprehending this ⬆️ can ease our struggle from "incessant pull" to conform to [current] societal norms.

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👉 We unnecessarily harm animals by eating meat 🥩 🍗 🍖 , dairy 🥛 🧀 , eggs 🥚 🍳 , & fish 🐠 🐟 .

. . . . Therefore, vegans remove these ⬆️ foods at each & every meal.

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👉 What replaces what we "remove"?

. . . . . . . whole plant foods

👉 Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet stresses adding WHOLE plant foods.

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👉 Beginning vegans may start with “transition" foods:

. . . . — ‘vegan burger’ 🍔 [ex, ‘Impossible Burger’, ‘Beyond Burger’ ( healthunlocked.com/healthye... ] … from fast food chains

. . . . — reduces harm to animals (fulfilling spirit of "veganism") by reducing dependency on meat, dairy, eggs, & fish.

👉 Yet, transition foods aren’t necessarily ‘healthy’ options [long term].

. . . . — Transition foods aren’t an end point — merely a ’temporary bridge’.

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👉 Learning 👩‍🎓 👨‍🏫 👩‍💻 📚 📖 what constitutes a healthy vegan-styled diet is a life journey. 👶 🧒 🧑 🧓

. . . . — Fun, joyous journey 🤗 with new textures & tastes 🆕 👅 😋 .

. . . . — Learning to break the rules 📏💥⛏ of what goes with what.

. . . . . . . Trying marmite ( listenandlearn.org/blog/wp-... ) with chocolate 🍫 ? 😯

. . . . . . . Trying a large shredded red cabbage with vegan mayo and some mustard & spices.

. . . . . . . . . . Receive cabbage’s health benefits while making it more palatable to more people by mixing with mayo …

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👉 People with pre-existing [health] conditions can struggle with particular foods.

. . . . — We learn which foods (negatively affect us as an individual) to avoid entirely or to limit to small amounts.

. . . . — We learn which foods are ‘safe’ for us (as an individual) that we can enjoy untroubled.

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👉 Individuals with pre-existing conditions (wishing to "go vegan") must:

. . . . — research 🕵️‍♂️ 🔎 how to go vegan to take care of their specific medical conditions.

. . . . — educate 🤓 ourselves. It’s a personal [self-] education 👨‍🎓

. . . . . . . . . [’experiential learning’ 😖🔨 ] at its heart 💗 that no-one else can do ‘for us’.

. . . . — exercise self-responsibility 🙋‍♀️ . We (as individuals) are responsible —

. . . . . . . . . day in day out — for our improving our own health.

. . . . . . . [our well-intentioned medical team 👩‍⚕️ 👨‍⚕️ (& loved ones 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 ) can’t do it for us].

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👉 Individuals going down difficult routes to health (with specialities such as raw food 🌱 🍃 🥬 approach) on a vegan lifestyle can also struggle 😣 😖 .

. . . . — speciality vegan lifestyles require us to work even harder on our education 📖 📝 👓 🧠 💭 &

. . . . — to watch out for common pitfalls 🕳 such as not eating sufficient quantity (caloric intake cronometer.com/ ) of food to maintain energy ⚡️⚡️ , weight 💀 , etc.

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New vegans coming in through:

. . • transition’ (temporary ‘bridge’) foods

. . • pre-existing health conditions

. . • more difficult ’specialty’ routes

can succeed & improve day in day out. 👍👍

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It’s an absolutely achievable, joyful, "living & learning" experience that you’ve identified perfectly, andyswarbs‼️ . . . . 🤗 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞 .

[Oh . . . . and . . . the "whole" food is not only ‘healthier’ for us, it tastes so much better than what we ‘used to’ eat.]

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[Kai--]

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If you haven’t already seen, andyswarbs, you may get a kick out of Rip Esselstyn‘s* amusing chat with Jon & Tracey Stewart 👫 about their dietary/ lifestyle experience (particularly Jon’s ‘struggle’) transitioning from animal foods to vegetarian foods to vegan/ plant-based foods — as well as their Hockhockson Farm animal sanctuary (in New Jersey, USA 🇺🇸 ):

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Ep. 2: Plants over Politics—former Daily Show host Jon Stewart & his wife Tracey [31+ minutes]:

youtube.com/watch?v=TAvwl3A...(Not working as expected?)

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Ep. 3 - Jon & Tracey Stewart Talk Food, Bloodwork, & Benefits of Plants [53+ minutes]:

youtube.com/watch?v=j9dR2jl...(Not working as expected?)

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*Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s ( google.com/search?as_q=Dr.+... ) son 👨‍👦 for folks who’ve heard the Esselstyn name before but we’re unaware of the connection. 😌 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞

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