My Experience with Veganism in College and Tips for Beginners
When thinking about the reasons that one may switch up their diet, there are many options that people may have to consider about their environment and lifestyle in order to make the switch. Veganism, to me, meant cutting out all of the toxins in my diet, like meat and dairy, to have a healthier body. To add to the idea of cleaning out my system, an insecurity that I have struggled with throughout my teenage and young adult years is acne. For me, I thought diet played a key role in my acne flare ups, but I was always too afraid during my teen years to give up certain non vegan foods. I thought veganism would cause protein and calcium deficiencies.
I began to do research on acne connection to meat and dairy when I reached my freshman year of college. I read numerous articles that correlated scientific facts that relate to the hormones in meat and dairy that may cause acne issues. Also, a documentary called “What The Health” that has grown in popularity on Netflix since its release in 2017 caught my attention when it went into detail about negative impacts of the meat and dairy industry. The film captured images of animals being slaughtered and scientific data that revealed all of the good a vegan diet can do for the human body.
I started my vegan diet in October of 2017 and continued it for 6 months. Being a college student, I found dieting to be quite easy at the University at Buffalo due to the healthy options of smoothies, salads, and sandwiches that the school has to offer. I continuously worked out and did not feel like I lacked certain proteins or calcium that I originally thought I’d need. Day by day, I did not notice major changes in my acne, but my body felt the best it had ever been.
Issues with the diet arose when my friends wanted to go out to eat somewhere that I could not find options at, or just feeling very restricted when in social settings with food. Even though I knew what I was doing for my body would pay off, I missed certain foods, like cheese and butter, but I did not want to give up.
In May of 2018, I started to realize that my acne was going away, not because of my diet, but because of a new medication I was on. Since my acne was gone and my diet continued to make my feel restricted, I started to give up on the idea of staying vegan. Even when I stopped the diet, I did not notice a significant difference in my energy, feelings, or acne. The only significant difference was that I started to feel more bloated during certain times of skipping a work out.
From then to now, I have gone on and off with being vegan for short periods of time, so it is not a part of me that I openly tell people about. I do not consider myself vegan, but I do limit the amount of dairy and meat I consume. Meat and dairy are usually saved for special occasions so I do not feel as restricted when in social settings.
I do recommend the diet to any one looking to feel less bloated on the daily basis or lose weight. Being vegan, you consume a lot of vegetables and low calorie foods that make it easy to lose fat.
Some tips that I have for anyone looking to try out a vegan diet include:
- Doing your research
- Sticking to raw foods
- Avoiding processed vegan food
- Meal planning
