Off and On Vegetarian Goes Vegan

Introduce yourself to the vegan bootcamp community here and tell us a little about yourself and your journey!
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Valerie1
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:45 pm
Stars: 20
Course: Introduction

Hello! :) I'm an almost 40 year old mom and full time law student in Ohio that has been on and off vegetarian for twenty years, revisiting veganism for the second time in my life now. I went fully vegan when I was 20 but there weren't nearly the resources there are today and as a young mother I found it challenging to maintain.

I decided to stave off of meat and animal products again several months ago initially for environmental reasons - well - and also because I adopted a rescue kitty who sort of opened my eyes and helped me make some ethical connections. During my research I found that I was unable to separate the ethical issues from the environmental ones, and so there has been little difficulty removing meat and dairy from my diet. The only real challenge I have found is weight gain and finding a supportive local community. Some of this in part due to the pandemic. Busy mom and student life mean I have to plan ahead a little more, and being in a small town there are few local vegans to connect with to share ideas and recipes. Looking forward to learning more and connecting with others in a similar situation!
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Activist Hub
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Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:42 am
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Course: Dairy Milk
Courses Completed: 7/31

Hey Valerie!

Welcome! Super cool to see you here. For sure 20 years ago it was much harder to eat a vegan diet then it is today, like night and day. Really glad you connected on an ethical level too, we love hearing that! We hope you enjoy the courses, come back anytime to let us know how you're doing, and welcome again!
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Wendy
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Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:29 am
Stars: 250

I went vegetarian when I was 12 and stuck with it for 18 years. I wanted to be vegan but found that it was hard due to lack of information about products and lack of people understanding what I was wanting. For example, I can't stand going out to eat and having a waitress tell me the only "vegan" item they have is a Ceaser Salad :cry-unhappy: OMG fish in the dressing, rennet in the parm, butter on the crotons. Or a friend/family member really sincerely trying but makes ambrosia salad with gelatin! Again, these things are not even vegetarian let alone vegan. So the internet makes it MUCH easier, there are a lot of apps that help too like Happy Cow. People are becoming more aware and can accurately serve vegan food. There are certifications like the bunny rabbit on products, allergen warnings are a newer thing. Overall, it's much easier now. I live on a border town between Washington and Idaho and they are very much behind the times here with only a few grocery stores and I have been vegan for 8 years now so I know that you can do it too! Just focus on what you CAN have and do not, I repeat, DO NOT, focus on what you can't have otherwise the only options you can think of are things that you can no longer eat or use. It's also ok to eat more as there are less calories in vegan food, unless your dipping deep fried tofu in vegan mayo and living off vegan cheeses. Watching all of the youtube videos available now also help A LOT. Good luck!!! Great choice btw :)
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Valerie1
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:45 pm
Stars: 20
Course: Introduction

David: Thank you for the warm welcome! I am thrilled to learn more and become more educated on a topic that I am truly finding myself becoming passionate about. We are working on three months vegan now and you are right - there are so many options that just weren't available 20 years ago! It's a blessing and a curse!!!

Wendy: Thank you for the warm welcome and advice! Yes, here it is very similar. Few understand the differences between vegetarian and vegan here, but that's ok. I take it as an opportunity to share because maybe it will influence their choices for the better down the road. So far I don't miss too much. I suppose I may have a different take in a year. Social gatherings seem to be the most difficult. The social burden it puts on me and others. But I think that will become more manageable the more folks in my circle become familiar with veganism. There seem to be lots of transition products available too that will probably hang around for a long time for me. Beyond burgers for one, though not necessarily a staple, really help to quash a craving for something heavy, substantial, and carnivorous. Outside of what I would consider minor hiccups, it's been a pretty smooth and painless transition.

I think much of my weight gain has to do with the pandemic and isolation. This boot camp will provide me some distraction from that, which is wonderful, and help me to become more educated so I can speak from a place of knowledge.

I'm really looking forward to diving into the courses, and hopefully connecting with more like minded folks.
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