5 Reasons Why I’m Not Vegan
Finding the right diet is hard. It can be overwhelming. I know because I struggled to find the right one for me.
There is so much information in the news, in books, on the internet, and from friends and family. It’s hard to make heads or tails of it.
One of the biggest confusions is in whether or not to eat meat.
I don’t have a clear answer for you because the answer really depends on you. Or, I should say your bio-individuality.
Bio-individuality is how your body reacts to different diets depending on its nutritional needs which are influenced by internal and external factors.
Here’s my story about going vegan.
About 10 years ago, I studied for three months at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona. It’s a retreat, detox center, and a raw vegan’s paradise. I was in the apprentice chef & nutrition program. For the three months leading up to it and the three months after it, I was completely vegan.
I was just at the start of my health journey with fibroids and was trying to find hormone balance through food and lifestyle changes. I was already making plans to study nutrition, and a friend of mine recommended that I study the raw vegan diet because it is one of the major nutrition diets. In addition, he suggested I fully immerse myself in it so I could really understand it.
A lot of my research about fibroids also suggested avoiding red meat and chicken, so it seemed like a good thing to try.
First, let me start by saying that my time at the Tree was an amazing experience, and I loved every minute of it. The Tree was my first stop after resigning from my finance job. And it was exactly what I needed.
Remote. Rustic. Exotic. It was completely different than my day-to-day life in Chicago.
It was my mini version of “Eat. Pray. Love.”
If you asked me then, I would have told you that I felt fantastic and being vegan suited me perfectly.
Life was good. I went to bed early, woke up early, went for long morning runs, and prepared and ate amazing food picked fresh from a garden each day.
Looking back, however, I can see 5 clear signs that showed being vegan wasn’t for me.
1. I became a sugarholic.
I was not a refined sugarholic. My folly was Medjool dates. And, maybe because of that, it was hard for me to find fault in it. But, I very often ate a whole 12 oz pack within 1–2 days.
2. I never felt full.
My belly was full — I couldn’t eat another bite — but I was never satiated. It was almost like my mind needed more food. So soon after eating, I was searching for more. That’s where the Medjool dates came in. They filled a void. I craved something sweet, and they hit the spot.
3. I became spacey and could not focus.
This wasn’t really noticeable to me until after 6 months. After the Tree of Life, I moved to Idaho to help a woman open a raw food café. She was SO excited to have a ‘grounded finance’ person there to help. I was surprised and a little embarrassed at how difficult it was for me to do the simplest tasks — like closing out the register at the end of the day. I had to restart counting the money several times because I’d lose track of where I was — $20, 40, 60, 80,100, 120, 120, 140…wait.
I was taking B12 supplements, but I still could not focus.
4. I had low energy and my sugar cravings got worse.
By the time I got to Idaho, my energy levels were noticeably lower. My morning runs got shorter and shorter. Sun Valley was beautiful, but I wasn’t enjoying the great outdoors. I was dragging. My body felt heavy.
I tried to do a 3-day juice cleanse, and I couldn’t last more than a day. I had no energy and was really, really shaky. Because I was working at the cafe, I could not take the time to just rest.
My sugar addiction also worsened. At the Tree, I didn’t have any other option but the Medjool dates to satisfy my cravings. In Idaho, I was back in the “real world.”
There was a whole grocery store full of temptations. For example, there were these amazing vegan cookies that somehow made it in my grocery cart every time I went shopping…and the cookies rarely made it home. (There were at least 6 cookies in the bag!)
5. I stopped getting my periods.
When I arrived at the Tree, I was on the final days of my period. I never got it for the 6 months I remained vegan.
I went to the resident doctor at the Tree. She said I needed more protein and recommended 2 tablespoons of spirulina at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
A lot of people at the Tree ate spirulina for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They had green outlines on their lips. I thought it was a sign of a true vegan and I was willing to give it a try.
I tried, and I couldn’t do it for long. I couldn’t get myself to eat 2 TABLESPOONS of spirulina at EACH meal. I like spirulina, don’t get me wrong. I would even say I love it. But, not enough to have all my meals taste like spirulina every day.
Eating Animal Protein
I stayed vegan until I came to the Bay Area to study nutrition at Bauman College. I had decided that I would stop being vegan when my Bauman classes started to fully immerse myself again in the experience of what I was learning. I was in the Natural Chef Program, so I would be making food that I would need to try.
I was going to wait until I actually made something in class, but I couldn’t hold out anymore. I was now fully back in the real world and back with mainly non-vegan friends. I watched them eat chicken and eggs in front of me, and my body was screaming for me to eat some.
So, I finally ate some animal protein.
I had the Jerk Chicken Lavash Wrap at Jimmy Beans (now Lama Beans) in Berkeley after a long bike ride. I have to say it was one of the most satisfying meals I have ever had in my life. It was like I was living in black and white, and suddenly I was in multi-color. I think every cell in my body jumped for joy.
Within a month of eating animal protein, I got my period.
The insatiable hunger faded away, and my sugar cravings/addiction began to wain.
Now, I balance raw foods with cooked foods; and fruits, vegetables, and grains with animal proteins. I vary my diet as much as possible, listening closely to my body’s needs, changing it with the seasons and my cycle.
Final Thoughts
This was my experience. I’m not sharing this because I think being vegan is wrong. I have many friends who are vegan and thriving.
I’m sharing this because being vegan is not right for everyone. And that’s ok.
If you are not thriving, consider a change. If you want to try a new diet, keep track of what you are eating and how you feel so you can make adjustments along the way.
I invite you to start tracking your food and symptoms in a food journal. You can download my Gut & Hormone Healing Journal here and get started.
