Feel like a vegan failure~!?!
Answers: I recently made the transition from a meat eater straight to Vegan lifestyle almost a year ago- I feel wonderful and lost a ton of weight, but I am debating on going to just vegetarian because it's so hard for me and I really miss cheese. I love soy milk with cereal and some of the soy cheese is ok, but I feel like I am a failure??? Has anyone gone through thi? Everything I read in the beginging said to start out vegetarian and work your way to becoming vegan and I just skipped right to being vegan....
You are not a failure.
It is not your fault, but rather that society makes it very hard for us to be vegan.
I went to Olive garden last night, I could only eat two things there. Unbuttered bread and one pasta dish. Before as a vegetarian, I had so manyh more choices.
If being vegetarian is easier, that is okay. Try to make vegan choices when you can, but if the situation is hard, be vegetarian.
Look these are just lables, the main thing is you are trying your best to limit cruelty. And that makes you a star! Never a failure.
Be vegetarian. - Try your best to cut out eggs and dairy when you can. You are not a failure.
Eating lifestyles are not about being a failure or success. You do what your body needs. If you need time to transition your body, including your cravings, then take the time to do that.
Aww it really is great that you are trying your best to reduce suffering. I would suggest that you should stick with your vegan lifstyle if possible, and if not just try to go shopping on a day your not craving cheese. If you do end up buying cheese i would wait 10 minutes before eating it and making sure that it is really something you want to consume, because after you do it is going to be a lot harder to stop.
I've been a vegan all my life, and I was raised by vegans. You do know you can buy certain "cheeses" which are vegan? I call it cheese, but it is sold as vegan safe. Here's some examples of what is for sale, and also a make your own:
http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/p...
http://www.galaxyfoods.com/ourbrands/usa...
http://vivaciousvegan.blogspot.com/2007/...
Don't be too hard on yourself, or let any of the extremists upset you. Most vegans that I've met in my lifetime are a 'flash in the pan'. They will preach PETA and get in your face, and five years down the line you will see them in a restaurant dining on a steak dinner. Being raised by vegans, I have seen this way too many times.
It's amazing that you went straight to vegan and are only questioning it after a year! At this point in time, I say to try sticking with it, you've done it for so long. Have you tried all the soy cheeses? Maybe you'll find one that will satisfy you.
If it doesn't work out, why not splurge on a dairy cheese every once and while, or other things you miss?
Keep trying!
I agree with most of the responses here. You are not a failure. Veganism is a path you take. Just because you step off the path once in a while (or think about it) doesn't mean you've changed your direction.
I crave chocolate sometimes. Tonight it is so bad that if we had any in the house I'd be eating it (I'm talking some kind of milk chocolate concoction). Cheese and yogurt and milk are tough for both of us. Usually, these cravings pass, but every once in awhile...
It helps me to think about how these things come to us. I guess, if I lived on a farm and I raised the animals myself and they were truly free-roaming, well treated animals, I would probably consume milk and cheese. But I don't and factory farming practices are so barbaric (and unhealthy for us, the consumer), that I can usually rationalize the craving away.
We didn't ease in to being vegan either. I think that would be harder... to be constantly tempted by the foods you grew up with and really enjoyed, but can't have anymore. So, I don't think that's really the issue for you.
You may also want to consider that if you start incorporating cheese into your diet, you'll be eating a lot more fat than you probably are now, which could result in weight gain. Just think how hard you worked to take it off!
You do what feels right for you, I love my cheese and I've been vego for 27 years Toasted sandwiches without cheese wouldn't the same It is one of my few weaknesses and I have cows milk in my tea, maybe if it makes you feel better try having organic there is a cheese that is made without animal rennet which is more vegetarian that might be more acceptable to you, all the best ,you are not a failure.
You're definitely not a failure.
That's awesome that you went straight to vegan.
Now that you've been vegan you don't have to worry about the slower transition. But don't let your desires get the best of you. It might be difficult sometimes but if you've done it for this long, it shouldn't be that hard. Just don't think about it. I'm sure there are other brands out there to try, home made recipes and ways to "spice up" what you already have. Especially if you don't eat it plain, but rather mix it into something or have it with a sandwhich. Then it's hardly noticeable [using the current brands you have] that it's not the "real" thing.
Be contented. There are many of them failed in the fundamental test towards human...compassion towards defenseless and weak beings.
Don't beat yourself up. Being a vegan is not for everybody. Many people are content just by being a vegetarian.
You say you miss cheese. Have you checked out the book "The Uncheese Cookbook" by Joan Stefaniak? There are numerous recipes that you can make up that will take the place of cheese in your life.
Read vegan cookbooks... you will find new ways to eat... and you will be happy again.
First off, congratz for being a dietary vegan for a year.
Secondly, and I only mean this to sound harsh enough to get your attention, why did you become vegan? For the animals sakes or for yours? Most find that if they do it for a dietary reason, the cravings for the foods come back. Their logic: why not, everyone's eating them; go ahead and have some cheese.
But if you became vegan for the animal concerns then why not continue. The cows giving milk for your cheese are still living a life of cruelty and pain. If you were a cow, how would you like to be continually pregnate? How would you like to give birth every 18 months and have your child taken from you without seeing it, only to have the process start over again until you are no longer making a "profit" for the company that considers you a "agri-machine"? Your child if it is a girl will suffer the same fate as you and your male offspring will either be shipped to a veal crate for his only 3 months of life (1 in 5) or be shot and thrown in a ditch (do a web search).
If your being vegan only for self-motivated diet based thinking then your not really vegan (definition from the American Vegan Society). Animals need our help. The second thing we should be thinking about is our taste buds.
aww I know what you mean. I decided to be a vegan first, but I cant resist the chocolate. especially cause I live in the place where they dont sell any good vegan stuff, so I'm a vegeterian.