I went vegan for two whole years when I was in college, but I stopped around the beginning of 2019.
Now, let me tell you why.
This is a subject I’ve been avoiding discussing on social media for a while, however if you’ve seen what I eat on my Instagram stories or the recipes that I put out, you would know that I’m no longer vegan. I just wanted to talk about it here because I know there is a big stigma around people who go vegan and then quit. People tend to get bullied by vegans for doing so. That’s the truth.
I went vegan because of concerns for the planet, sustainability and my love for animals. By going vegan, I knew I was helping in reducing carbon emissions slightly (less demand for cattle products, less carbon emissions…however the avocados and other items I ate that had to be shipped across the country probably negated some of that. I digress…). I still love animals and want them to be treated with care and respect before coming to my plate, but the vegan diet itself became unrealistic for me and difficult due to health reasons.
I was told by my doctor at the end of 2021 to include red meat and fish (tuna and salmon in particular) in my diet specifically as they gave me a diagnosis that I’d have to deal with for the rest of my life. Maybe I’ll talk more about that diagnosis in the future, but just know that the diagnosis was one of the main reasons I started including meat back into my diet.
I lost weight when I went vegan, though I eventually plateaued. My acne cleared up as a result of no longer having dairy. I enjoyed trying new recipes and altering old ones, and when I visited home from college my mom was very supportive and had saved recipes just for me. Even for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I made vegan main dishes like this nut wellington by Naomi Smart. Very yummy!
I’m not here to bash veganism (though there are claims made by vegans that are just false, as far as how much it actually helps the planet). I don’t have many negative things to say about the diet itself. If you try it and it works for you and your body, go for it! It just did not work for me, unfortunately.
In 2019 when I stepped away from the vegan lifestyle, I introduced different products into my diet slowly to see how it affected my body. The first was dairy and after that re-introduction I had my first ever rosacea breakout on my right cheek. To this day I don’t eat as much dairy and if you struggle with breakouts, I suggest reducing dairy intake, as well as processed sugars. I have the occasional ice cream, and regret that later, and if there is a baking recipe that I’m making myself that calls for butter, I’ll try making it with vegan butter first and see if that works before trying it with real butter (I only use Kerrygold’s, as they’re grass-fed cows). I eat sheep-milk based feta, goat cheese and small curd cottage cheese from Good Culture to get some healthy fats and a bit of additional fiber (something my doctor recommended), but aside from that, I try to stay away from dairy as much as I can and am very conscious of it when I consume it.
The second reintroduction was eggs and meat. My body didn’t seem to react differently at all to these products and since my doctor said to eat more of these products, I have fish (again, tuna or salmon specifically due to their omega contents) 1-2 times a week. Sashimi has become a favorite of mine and I make sure I’m buying good fish from Wegmans or Giant (the brighter red/pink the fish is, the better quality it is). I’ve found a bunch of salmon recipes that Patrick and I both like and enjoy. I only eat red meat (beef, goat, lamb and certain cuts of pork) 1-2 times a week, as well.
Aside from health reasons, I stopped veganism due to the strain it was bringing on myself as well as people who were hosting me. I didn’t want to be a difficult guest anymore and I no longer just wanted to eat salads when we ate out. Preparing my own meals became a stressful chore and I could see myself beginning to resent the diet. In fact, it was a celebratory dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in NYC on a trip with my college classmates where I had meat again for the first time. Nothing they served was vegan and the meal was paid for by the dean. I was not about to complain or not eat the deliciously prepared food in front of me. At the end of the day, I did not want to be that annoying vegan. Plain and simple.
That being said, I know everything good comes in moderation and I know that I could not be vegan long-term. I’m still inspired to try out vegan meals and follow vegan recipe influencers for inspiration like Halle Burns and Hitomi Mochizuki. I would consider myself plan-based with a Mediterranean diet influence as 80% of my meals don’t contain meat or dairy, but for my own health I eat meat at least 2-4 times a week.
If you are thinking about going vegan, by all means try it! Do what works best for your body and don’t feel pressured by others to eat a certain way. If you have any questions or advice, drop them in the comments below!
Here are some movies & videos I found most interesting on my food/diet journey:
- Gary Yourofsky (this one is a bit graphic, but I still recommend watching it. He points out that the main reason people remain vegan is for the animals and this has really stuck with me. I’d like to point out though that some of the videos he shows of cows being slaughtered are from Halal butchers, which requires cows to be killed by bleeding out, a brutal and inhumane practice that should be stopped…I don’t care what your religion says, sorry not sorry. The majority of slaughterhouses don’t kill their animals that way and that’s for a reason.)
- Kiss the Ground (a 2020 film available on Netflix! This film shows the benefits of regenerative agriculture and how our current farming practices are destroying the planet. They point out how cattle raising can be beneficial if done responsibly. Features Woody Harrelson and Ian Somerhalder).
- The Game Changers (a 2019 film also available on Netflix. I appreciate how they show the benefits of going plant-based specifically and don’t use the word vegan at all, because there’s a major difference between the two! They also feature Arnold Schwarzenegger as he tells why he went plant-based after years of eating animal proteins).
- Mikhaila Peterson’s Ted Talk (political associations aside, her story is truly incredible. She was ill her entire life, trying plenty of different diets before coming to the carnivore diet and only eating meat, which cured her of all her symptoms. Truly goes to show that one diet isn’t going to work for everyone, to be open-minded about food and to do what’s right for you and your body. Also, they removed this video from Ted Talk due to cognitive dissonance and the narrative not fitting their world-view. Judge for yourselves and don’t listen to everything the mainstream media tells you.)
YouTubers that I watch for cooking inspiration:
- Halle Burns (vegan and shows creative recipes on her TikTok, Instagram reels and YouTube Shorts)
- Hitomi Mochizuki (also vegan and her ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos include some yummy and creative recipes!)
- The Elliott Homestead (not vegan, but as their channel name suggests a homestead channel where the matriarch of the family shows how she makes their food sustainably and from scratch using ingredients they make themselves.)
- Cooking with Flo (videos of Florence Pugh’s Cooking with Flo segments from her Instagram stories. She follows a Mediterranean diet and I always find her cooking videos inspiring. She makes me excited to get in the kitchen, try new stuff out and cook!)
Love,
Amber
Instagram: @ambermirrelle
Amber Mirrelle 