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I love reading everyone's "falling off the wagon" stories! I think we all (or at least 98% of us) have them! I've been vegan about 6 months now, and I will say it DOES get easier over time! Easier in that I don't crave the junky foods I ate before as often, and easier in my strength in standing up for myself and my food choices. But my most recent "falling off the wagon" story occurred last week at my grandma's house. She always has sweet stuff around, and I generally manage to avoid it when I'm there (which is at least weekly). But last week there was a bag of soft cookies just sitting there. I knew I was going to give into temptation that time, and figured it wasn't TOO bad to just have a bite. Well, that bite turned into 2 bites, then a whole cookie, then 2 cookies! Lol. It tasted SOO good....but sure enough, after it settled into my stomach, I did feel heavy and like we feel when we eat something we know isn't good for us or our body. And I haven't eaten any more cookies since.
I agree with most of your sentiments and comments..... we all are still human, and do the best we can do in every given moment. If we do fall off the wagon one moment, we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and jump on again. Not the end of the world. I think the most important thing is simply being aware. Aware of what we're putting into our bodies and doing what is right for us. :-)
Aine -- Where have you found a good vegan wine resource? I went into our premiere liquor store here and they went online to look for me/had no in-store reference and could only suggest a couple of brands out of the thousands they carried, and the Whole Food sommelier told me unflitered/kosher wines were vegan but he was rather dismissive that I was even asking so I didn't trust his suggestions.
Heather I do use Barnivore, it is a greatresource although it doesn't solve all my problems. None of this will be of use to you unfortunately as I'm in the UK but somebody might find it helpful. I usually get my wines from Sainsbury's mainly because they label them clearly, which is a bonus! I've also bought a few bottles from The Co-Operative who are pretty good at labelling their fairtrade and organic wines. Marks and Spencer have started to put vegan labels on a few select wines. Stellar Organics have vegan wine - red, white and rose (yippee!). I tend to stick to what I know now because it's easier. I'm always on the lookout for new wines but sadly they are few and far between. I just don't drink wine when I'm out now, which is annoying but a small sacrifice. Generally most people have no idea that most wine is not suitable for vegetarians nevermind vegans but some companies are catching on and I think we'll see an improvement in the next few years. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Thanks, Aine -- no worries. I've been veg since 1987 and vegan since earlier this summer and I had NO clue about wine so I'm trying to catch up.
PS -- Tiffany, don't beat yourself up. Do what you can each day and if you slip, learn from it and then start over. It's a process. Good luck!
Glad to see I'm not the only person who was clueless that wine/beer wasn't vegan. So...I haven't yet given that up. I still enjoy going out from time to time and enjoying those alcoholic drinks. I don't drink it daily, but I figure if it's part of the "fun" with friends on an occasional night out, I don't worry about it too much. But now that I know, I'm sure I'll drink less at least. And def. be on the look-out for vegan options!!!
Also, I really appreciated what some of you said about the whole point of this is being KIND! Kind to the planet, other animals, and ourselves. :-) Thanks for that!
Don't beat yourself up over this. I know how you feel I had a piece of cheese and felt terribly. But you know what you learn and move on from there
Hey guys! So nice to hear everybodys stories!
Me, I'm having a bit of a struggle right now. I've been vegetarian since april and am now vegan (have only been vegan for two days! :D) but I am starting to feel pretty freaked out! All I can think about when I eat my superhero food is all the other lovely foods I'm missing (pizza with cheese) and how difficult this is going to be for me excluding eggs. Maybe not stopping eating eggs but rather avoiding all the hidden eggs everywhere. I think about how excluded I'm going to feel since NONE of my friends are vegan and being vegan will of course restrict what I can eat when I go out with them. I'm thinking about different sauces to put on my food that I can no longer eat.. Also my family (consisting of hunters and meat farmers) don't oppose me really but they don't agree with what I am doing..
I'm sorry, I really don't mean to rant or to bring everybody down but I just started to feel really scared! I don't think I could ever go back to eating meat but... I just feel like I'm giving up far too much( but at the same time, I do want to...) Am I really on the right track?
Wine and beer............ugh! I am with you Sarah. I like to go out with friends occasionally. But I live in a small town and we are big into local produce and spirits. At least I'm drinking local! I slipped this month big time! I have 4 kids and there is too much Halloween candy laying around the house already. I dove into a couple candy bars. it was good but yes I was not feeling well after. I also bought some local farm eggs from a friend. I ate to many eggs this month. I am now having so much stomach pain. I thought and still might be suffering from gallbladder attack. Not sure if its that or my body screaming from what I have been doing to it. I have been back on the kind path for almost a week and feeling better. But my stomach is still bothering me. Anyone else ever have this problem?
Rebecka - Hang in there!! I've been right where you are! I remember when I decided to commit to being vegan, about 7 months ago now, I had the exact same thoughts and feelings you described. I was also freaking out about not eating cheese pizza again - one of my all-time favorite foods! And going out with friends, and family get-togethers, sound really similar to what you describe. So what advice do I have for "me" just starting out? It DOES get easier! I have grown comfortable now with going out. First, I always check the restaurant's website beforehand (if I can). Most places have menus, and a lot even have allergy guides online as well, so you can do some research about what YOUR food choices are at that place before you get there. Saves a LOT of time and questions!! So far I've found at least one appetizing thing I can eat everywhere I've gone. A bigger challenge presented itself a couple weeks ago. A guy I'm newly dating wanted to take me to an Italian place. I used to LOVE Italian food, but now I was sad b/c I didn't want to eat the cheese that's in almost every Italian dish. After reading their online menu, and emailing the owner to ask if their doughs or breadsticks had milk or eggs in them (they didn't), I ended up getting a veggie pizza (no cheese) and plain breadsticks that were VERY good! It was my 4th cheese-less pizza so far and it's better than I thought it would be.
At times I do miss the cheese, I'll be honest, but I know it's not good for me, and that usually keeps me from eating it. But you know what? You CAN still eat it when/if you REALLY REALLY crave it. Remember the choice is always yours! I HAVE eaten a few cheese items over the past 7 months, when I really, really wanted it. It satisfied the craving, and then I went back to no cheese. Granted, I do think it's easier to abstain from cheese when you don't eat it regularly. But every now and then, if you really really want it, think about the big picture. It's not THAT big of a deal. I believe it's more important to keep going and make vegan choices as much as you can, even if it's not EVERY SINGLE time. You know? Best of luck!! And keep coming to this site. It helped me a ton when I was getting started! :-)
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