A Vegan Diet Takes Some Work Sometimes

So, I follow a Vegan diet 99% of the time.  The remaining 1% I reserve for not being in offense.  My allegiance above all others is first and foremost to Christ and so, in some circumstances, I will not question the content of certain products.  I do not consume outright, obviously animal product loaded foods, but I may let some margarine containing items slide.  The Bible is very clear about not offending.  However, recently, I have felt that I could potentially return to eating at least seafood.  Part of this comes from so many other "vegan" bloggers quitting and from what I have come to understand was probably malnutrition.  As far as vegan quitters go, trends can be fairly contagious, but I try very hard not to just jump on any old bandwagon.  But all in all, here's how I got there...

Several months again, I suffered a miscarriage that led to long term bleeding.  It lasted approximately 3 months.  It was overwhelming, a bit depressing and greatly reduced my appetite.  When it stopped, I felt fine.  Then I returned to a normal cycle and that was when I began to feel very tired and I craved meat.  I was crabby and I just wanted something easy.  I also just didn't feel well.  I thought it might have been iron, but the doctor's tested my blood levels and said I was fine.  I was getting very frustrated.  I began to confess this to friends and someone who tells me constantly "I don't know how you do it," told me that maybe I needed to look at it from a different perspective.  She has no idea how that sank down into me and helped me.

I took some time to self-diagnose.  I could tell very easily that I was not consuming enough complex proteins.   I don't do much soy because of the studies done on it.  I don't have a lot of caloric room in my diet for loads of nuts - even though I love them.  But I began to make it a point to consume a large number of leafy greens, sweet potatoes and beans and nuts.  I would consume at least 1 of the starchier foods with a serving a of greens.  I also took 1 Hemaplex iron supplement every night along with some Chlorella samples I had.  I added 1 tbsp of Maca powder to my breakfast smoothie.  After a week, I was feeling much better.  Two weeks in and I full throttle again.  I can make it through the day without craving a nap or a piece of salmon.  While this has nothing to do with a Bible verse or anything Biblical wisdom related, I wanted to share because it happens.  Often.  Be encouraged new vegan, your struggles can be overcome with careful food planning and exercise.  You could eat more nuts if you had more caloric wiggle room.  Just because you crave meat, doesn't mean you should give up.  It just means you need to dig in heels and purpose to push through.  Go get yourself a bowl of Dashi free Miso and enjoy your day.