I was a vegan for 3 years. for animal rights reasons, and I still am a vegetarian of 7 years.
I had read all of these "great effects" that it had had on others and I was very excited to experience these!
I'll admit that it did make me feel superior to others
the constant "oh wow!!! how do you do it!?!?! I could never do that!"
but I never actually ate a HEALTY, BALANCED, vegan diet.
I just felt fatigued and miserable, and heres why:
unfortunately it lead me down a dark, slippery slope. I had lost A LOT. of weight. (which was good, because I was extremely overweight as a kid) and
I unfortunately let it get to me..
It led to me eating anywhere from 400 to 800 calories a day, with out me every consciously trying or monitoring this. eventually it turned to me
fasting for days upon days. up to five or six days with consuming NOTHING but water.
I eventually lost the "control" and turned to bulimia for three years.
I would purge anywhere from 2 to 6 times a day, every day. food is on your mind, ALL of the time. yes, I'm serious. it is the first thing I would
think about when I woke up, I'd think about it all day, and then I would think about it before I would go to sleep. HECK. I'd even had dreams where I
would binge and NOT purge what I ate, and I would wake up. TERRIFIED. trying to figure out if it was just a dream or if it was reality.
I would be freezing cold every day. (there were days where I could wear up to 7 sweaters, no joke) I went from 220 pounds, to 128 pounds at 5'9.
I passed out and started convulsing at a concert.
I'd have involuntary hand spasms and other body spasms. my sports coaches, teachers, family, and friends would constantly ask me if I was mentally and
physically okay. I would experience memory lapses that could last for hours. I honestly don't even REMEMBER, much of that time period in my life
really... it's all just like.. a blur, kind of. or like my mind just skips over it...
I was bitter, I isolated myself, pushed away all of my friends and family, and I just let myself go deeper and deeper into this hell.
I'm doing much better now:
It has been one year as of this month that I have not purged my food. :]
it is still an ongoing struggle for me though, with my body image and food itself, and I realize that it probably will never go away.
I'm not saying that this could happen to ANYONE. it's my personality, my past, and my experiences that lead me into this.
I just ask, or beg, really, that anyone that chooses a vegan diet does so for the right reasons, and carefully monitors their intake and makes sure
that they are getting enough calories and nutrients to nourish your body. please.
I'm sorry I went into "preachy- mode" but I just don't want anyone to ever feel like I did. just please be careful if you do chose to make such a life
style change.
(I always HATED when people called Veganism a "diet" xD)
it can be such a wonderful thing!
edit on 31-3-2012 by novemberecho because: (no reason given)
I know some vegan bodybuilders who don't supplement at all, but the ones that do, use
vegan supplements. So what? The argument isn't about supplements, it's about meat eaters vs. non-meat eaters. The point is, there is far too much
stereo typing in regards food consumption in relation to body type. Far too many people associate a body type with certain types of foods and make
assumptions based on that, then regard them as fact. The fact is, you CAN (and they do), get more than enough protein to build muscle without
supplements and without meat. You just have to do your homework first!
