4 Mistakes Vegans Make

​http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=9141&catId=2

As I read this article I realized I had made every one of these mistakes when I first became a vegetarian. It's so easy to make mistakes when attempting a lifestyle change like this one. It's not just giving up meat or going vegan and giving up all animal products, there's so much more to it than that.

It's about taking the time to read all of the ingredient labels on everything you want to buy. It's about avoiding animal products like leather or fur which can be sneakily hiding on / in a variety of things we purchase. It's about learning to cook vegetables in new and exciting ways. It's about learning to maximize on vitamins, minerals, and proteins through food and drink. Everything changes and quite rapidly so mistakes are totally normal and ok. 

I wanted to touch base on their 4 things and talk a little about my own experiences.

1. Assuming Vegans never get sick - Here's the thing, in the 16 years I've been a Vegetarian, I've probably had a cold three times with the most recent one nearly killing me (figuratively speaking, I was fine just a big baby). I truly believe my diet is the reason for this and that is because with the consumption of more vegetables comes the addition of nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins into my diet. I do believe there is a misconception amongst vegetarians and vegans that we are immediately healthier and so well off which isn't entirely true. It's important to maintain contact with your doctor as the article suggests. Regular screenings, bloodwork, and tests are necessary to stay on top of our health regardless of our diets.
2. Not Adopting a Healthy lifestyle - It's so easy to think that simply removing meat and / or dairy from our diets is enough to turn our health upside down. I know when I first became a Vegetarian, I was actually in worse condition because my lifestyle did not support my overall health. I regularly struggled with healthy eating and liked to engage in extra curricular activities that were not so great for my body. It is so important to make this diet a part of the bigger picture. Exercise and stress maintenance as the article suggests, are key to our overall mental and physical health. I enjoy at least an hour long power walk 5 times a week and work 2 jobs to keep busy. I will admit, I could probably benefit from starting a regular workout routine but that's going to come in due time :p 
3. Not Supplementing - When I first became a Vegetarian, I was pretty useless in the kitchen and blissfully ignorant to the needs of my body. Supplementing the nutrients that meat typically provides is definitely key to overall health. Things like protein, iron, vitamin d, and omegas, are important to our overall health and if we are not making a conscious effort to include the appropriate foods into our diets, we will see the effects of this. Learning about our diets and speaking to nutritionists and doctors will help identify what foods and nutrients we need to focus on. Once you've got it figured out, it will become easier to work around these ingredients. 
4. Assuming a Vegan label means Healthy Eating - I am the first one to admit that I always assumed that I was eating healthier. The V symbol somehow implied to me that I was about to eat something healthy and delicious. Delicious as it may have been, it didn't necessarily mean healthy. Frozen or ready made meals hide a lot of nasty ingredients that are not great for our health, vegetarian or not. Things like trans fat, extremely high sodium levels, and belly bustingly high amounts of calories are readily abundant in these dinners. It's important to check the nutritional charts on everything that you plan to purchase to evaluate the ingredients and nutritional statistics and make sure you're not eating something bad for you. Eating fresh as often as possible is definitely the best approach!

How many mistakes did y'all make when you first went vegetarian / vegan? I can bet almost all of you will relate to at least one of these mistakes. Mistakes are normal, learn from them and continue to do the best you can for your bodies!


HAPPY VEG