10 things you should know about being vegan

I have now been vegan for four and a half years and vegetarian for 8. It  has been a strange journey, learning how to listen to my body, how to properly read product labels, and how to negotiate with die-hard non-vegan family and friends. When I decided to go vegan in 2011 I truly intended on only changing the way that I ate.  I didn't want to be one of those vegans that bitched about their belief system, or who made people feel uncomfortable at social events, or who inconvenienced their family at Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners. I thought it would be  a simple matter of just substituting certain products for others.

But it really isn't that simple when it comes down to it. Yes, changing the way that you eat is entirely up to you and really doesn't take much effort, but there are certain challenges I was just not prepared for, and other things that it was just impossible to predict. For the most part, though, these things aren't discouraging. Rather, they are wonderful side-effects of changing your life and living for something greater than yourself!

1. There will always be some people who just don't support your choice. I was not  expecting this at all. I was never one to really involve myself  with other people's choices, and I always just assumed that what I chose to put in my body was my business. Why would anybody give a sh*t about whether I choose to eat soy cheese rather than cow cheese? It's not as though I am rubbing it in their faces or  forcing them to eat it. What I have come to realize, though, is that often people will rag on your for your ethical life choices because it makes them uncomfortable. When they see  you living your life with a purpose beyond your own selfish needs, it makes them feel bad  about their own choices. So, naturally they feel the need to degrade you and make you feel as bad as they feel. This is classic school-yard bully mentality. When it comes to friends and family, often a careful and thoughtful discussion, brought up one on one will do the trick and stop the bashing. My dad used to put meat on my plate at family dinners, but after much discussion, he now makes me vegan meals when I come to visit!
2. Not all Beer is vegan. This was a HUGE shock to both my and VOMD's systems. I had good vegan mentors early in my transition who helped me navigate the LCBO and Beer Store, but when I met VOMD he hadn't changed any of his drinking habits, two years into his vegan journey, because he had honestly just never considered the fact that beer would be made with animal products. He was still drinking Guinness! But I know plenty of vegans who had done the same thing. Luckily we came across an amazing website called Barnivore that tells you whether the beer, wine or liquor you are going to drink is vegan or  not. They even have an app!
3. The jokes literally NEVER stop. If you are female, it is very likely that you will get dirty "meat in your mouth" jokes from men. If you are male, it is very likely you will get jokes about femininity and being girly (as though being feminine is something to be embarrassed about.  WTF society!?) Even people who support your decision to be vegan are going to make jokes. This is in large part because they simply cannot wrap their heads around how meaningful this choice is  for you. If you are like me at all, then watching someone consume a steak breaks your heart into little pieces. People around you don't  understand that this is something that is deeply felt, and not just a casually  made diet choice. The only way to deal with jokers is to respond positively. I've found that if I get upset or angry because of a joke, the jokes will continue or become cruel. Meanwhile, if I joke back about obesity, consuming breast milk as an adult, or kidney stones, then it is more likely that the jokes will change or cease altogether. Sometimes it's just a matter of responding to cruelty with joy - when someone is rude to you or makes a shitty joke, say something nice to them. Tell them you like their haircut or their outfit. It throws people completely off their rude joke game. 
4. You probably will become a raging, militant vegan activist. I never thought that I would be vocal about my food choices. I initially thought of it as a personal choice, but after about a year of being vegan I started getting nuts about it. I started researching like a crazy person, sharing my opinion with strangers in grocery store lines, and having debates with old guys at dive bars. This is not  because I am a jerk - it just began to strike me that people around me should know what I know! I want to world to care and I will do whatever I can to share my story with whoever will listen. This might mean that some people will become offended, but often I find people are very receptive. People like learning about how they can make healthy choices. It also helps that as a vegan you look and feel better than you did before - people are way more likely to take food advice from beautiful people! Wink!
5. Protein isn't really that big of a deal. When I was vegetarian I justified my  intake of dairy and eggs by saying that I had to get my protein from somewhere! But when you become vegan you learn that it is literally impossible to eat wholesome vegan food and be protein deficient.  Even if all you eat is fruit you will get enough protein. If you are not calorie  deficient, you cannot be protein deficient. Protein isn't "meat" specific. I wish I had known this YEARS ago. 
6. Sugar is kind of a HUGE deal. Fist, not all sugar is vegan. Second, sugar is just NOT good for your body. Third, honey is not really all that ethical (but I have made the choice to eat honey that is as ethical as possible). Fourth, Agave and Maple syrup take a LOT of resources to make  and are really expensive. This means that in the end you will probably opt out of most sugars, even if they are vegan. Luckily I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but this has been a huge struggle for VOMD. He is constantly looking for new and inexpensive vegan sweets.
7. You will probably start caring about compost, and organically grown vegetables, and farmers markets and recycling. Being vegan ends up not just changing what you put  in your  body, it also starts to make you question what you've  been surrounding yourself with, what you've been throwing away, and where you are buying everything. You start to realize the impact your vegan diet  and lifestyle has on the planet and will begin making conscious choices about other aspects of  your life - like choosing not to buy the red peppers in a plastic wrapper, buying laundry detergent without chemicals  in it, and bringing your own reusable bags to the market. You might stop wearing deodorant, stop washing your hair, and stop wearing chemical laden make up and cosmetic products. You will also probably become intensely feminist, a supporter of local movements and start researching about how to live off the grid. In short, it is likely you will become a dirty hippy... and LOVE it. 
8. Not every vegan is going to like you. And you will definitely not like every vegan. When I first went vegan I had awesome mentors and friends who showed me the ropes, shared recipes with me, and inspired me to stay on the right path. They never judged me for my ignorance, nor did they ever make me feel bad when I messed up. But, it turns out that going vegan doesn't automatically make you a good person, and vegans can be cruel to other vegans and carnists alike. As someone who is wholly in it for the animals and has never thought of my choice to be vegan as something that makes me better than anyone else, I sometimes am shocked when I hear other vegans telling one another that they are doing it wrong, or for the wrong reasons. I've seen posts on facebook from one vegan to another saying that there is no way this person is vegan because they are too fat! Can you imagine!? This is something that everyone vegan or not has to start working on. There is no way that you can live a life happily if you are constantly cutting other people down. And you really do have a better and larger impact on other people by  being kind. 
9. Eating seven overripe bananas, or mashed potatoes on their own are perfectly viable meal choices. I used to think that a meal consisted of meat, starch, and veggies. When you go vegan you learn that you don't really need to break down your food this way - as long as you eat a varied diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables you are going to be healthy. So, now that I am a vegan I never look in my cupboard full of potatoes and onions and think there is nothing to eat. I just eat the damn potatoes on their own. 
10. It is literally the best choice you will ever  make for your mental health, for your body, and for the planet. When I first went  vegan it was honestly just because of the heartache I felt and continue to feel over the suffering and needless death of nonhuman animals. I never thought it would be this fun and make me feel this good. I feel healthy, I feel strong, and I feel happy. 

There are plenty of other things that change in your life when you make the decision to live a better life. Some are things I wish I had thought of sooner, but for the most  part I am just pleased with the journey. 

I would love to hear about what you did or did not expect about going vegan! Or what you want to know about going vegan before you make the decision to shift your lifestyle in  this direction!

Happy Wednesday!

-J