The KInd Life Community Forum

my husband jason is a veggie slowly becoming a vegan. for him it makes more sense. he is also a picky eater to some extent. first he cut out whole eggs, and is slowly cutting out items with eggs in them. same with cheese, first he just didnt add cheese to anything now he is working on milk and thats his drug of choice. its a comfort thing for him. anyways just by taking small steps you are helping the planet her animals and the people who live here. i cant remember who said it but its a journey, you will get there. i belive in you. just dont give up. and the first 5 times i tried brussel sprouts they were nasty, yet i still keep trying because i know one day i will try them and they will be amazing.

Chloe, it's been a couple months since you posted. How are you doing? Maybe you've figured things out for yourself by now, but I wanted to share my story in case it might help you or someone else.

I also tried to go vegan once and failed. About 4 years ago I stopped cold turkey with all the dairy products and the little meat/fish I still ate at that time. Well, I didn't do my research on veganism and just switched out my cow's milk with soy milk. I drank at least a glass a day! I just switched out my cheese with soy cheese. I ate a lot of soy "meats" and other soy products. To me, "vegan" equated with soy. I ended up feeling weak, light-headed, I developed anxiety issues. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with low thyroid and went on meds for it. Well....through my own research at the time, I learned that too much soy can mess up the thyroid functioning, as well as other hormones (like estrogen), and THAT was why I was having all the issues I had. By that time, though, I had went back to cow's milk, fish, and cheese. I got off the thyroid meds.

It was about a year and a half later that I still had that pressing feeling that I wanted to be vegan, and was determined to do it and be healthy this time. At that time I saw Alicia Silverstone on Oprah, bought and read her book, and learned how to be vegan the right and healthy way. I haven't looked back since (it's been almost 2 years now).

So my advice to you, and other new vegans who struggle, is to look at your soy consumption. Really make an effort to eat a variety. There's plenty of soy in a lot of vegan stuff, especially the processed foods. So I only buy almond milk (which I love!) and soy-free vegan butter. I limit soy when I can, so that I don't have to worry about consuming it in other areas.

I am doing better. I am not a "full vegan" yet but I am still working on it and I have decided that I am ok with that. I am eating better than I have EVER in my life and my steps may be small but they are steps in the right direction. I have went back to Vegan only food in my house, but when I go out to eat my options are limited so thats usually where my slip ups are. I have learned for me education has helped me tremendously. This is such a different lifestyle than I was raised in that this has been a bit of a culture shock (I was raised in a small farming community and meals growing up were meat, potatoes, veggie and bread, the focus was always on the meat). I have read some more books and watched several documentaries like Forks Over Knives and Fat Sick & Nearly Dead. I also discovered a couple weeks ago that there is a Trader Joes about 45 minutes away but its in a city where my family is so I am down there often. I guess for me I just had to decide that I do want to do this but I guess I just have to slow down and take it at my own pace and not try so hard to keep up with the "Jones"!