On vegan diet
Almost two months ago I've decided it was time for me to give a go to the animal friendly diet (it wasn't my new year's resolution, it just happened like that). I decided I would try it for a month, just to see how it is.A month has passed yet I haven't gotten back to my old eating habits. I'm doing this the adjusted way, my way, but it still feels great! I don't know how long I will stick with it, I'm not giving any promises, but I'm certain I will always have the compassion in me.
I have found it very hard to survive on a vegan diet in Italy. I don't want to use it as an excuse, but it really is, trust me! It works perfectly when eating at home, the problem is eating out and at other people's houses. A plant-based diet seems like something so hard to understand, and the few who get it seems they don't accept it. You can't even have a non dairy cappuccino for breakfast!
At the beginning I was feeling tired and grumpy, but then I got some vitamin B complex supplements which helped a lot. (B12 can be found naturally only in foods from animal sources so supplement is needed.)
I have put on some weight which might seem weird because people usually go down, but I have been eating way more white carbs than I did before. I still have to work on that even if I did not do this to lose weight.
I think this is psychological, I feel like I'm substituting animal products... I will figure it out eventually.
Here are the pictures of what I have been eating:
On more than one occasion I was in a situation where I felt uncomfortable refusing food that I "wasn't" supposed to have, so I ate it. If I want to be honest, most of these times I really wanted it.
At my friend's place for a dinner; a friend I haven't seen in ages bringing Laduree macarons for a desert at my place; a friend of mine coming by my place at a late hour with 1 kilo of my favorite ice cream; my (by now) ex flatmate making a Bavarian breakfast just for me (it was an old promise and she had all the ingredients flown in from Germany); my best friend's traditional sushi birthday dinner (and this year it was even a goodbye dinner); my Argentinian friend bringing me traditional cookies from home...
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| Rose petals macaron; rose petals- white chocolate, pistachio and coffee- almond ice cream; mochi ice cream |
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| Alfajores and mate, Argentinian traditional cookie and drink; Bavarian breakfast; more ice cream |
I am well aware vegan is a lifestyle and not a diet, but I'm not there yet. I'm not ready to completely change my lifestyle and I'm not sure I'm even going there, but for now this is where I stand!
If anyone has any advices, especially on the supplements, please fill me in!
I've been a vegetarian for 2 years and I also gained weight! I ate more pasta and rice and bread, because I was just so hungry. But then I started eating lots of legumes and it got better.:) Hope you'll stick to your plan and survive on a vegan diet in Italy with ease.;)
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy for you!! It's REALLY difficult in Italy. I used to live in Milan before I moved to London and it's much easier here. When I first started on a vegan diet, I felt very irritable and my skin just went crazy. That's because there's a thing called detox: all of the icky stuff you've been eating is leaving your body. I've been vegan since June and I've only been feeling really good for like a month or two. B12 supplements are really important - almond milks and rice milk is fortified, but get the supplement as well, just to be on the safe side. Like Peet says, eating tons of bread and pasta isn't probably the best idea :) remember that it's not all about cutting food out: you also have to bring IN new foods into your diet, such as legumes, beans, grains, ecc. You're going to do just fine, I'm sure!
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