I initially decided to go down the path of becoming a vegan during a time when I was very fit, when I was researching a lot of different ways to be the best version of myself. It didn’t have anything to do with the other part of veganism, but that was to come later.
It was a pretty easy process for me, as when I decide to do something that I’m interested in, I will do it to till I hate it (an ADHD quirk).
Giving up meat and dairy was easy as I had already been transitioning off dairy due to it making me feel unwell when consuming it and I didn’t often eat red meat. I wasn’t ever really into one specific food group that I missed when I gave up. A lot of people mention that eggs and cheese being a hard food to give up, but for me I had already given up eggs as they caused me some stomach issues and I only ever ate cheese if it was on crackers.
So, when I took the plunge, my main food group was banana smoothies, and to be specific I would add 10 or more bananas in a blender with water. That would last me most of the day, and because I was already intermittent fasting, it ended up being a one meal day, sort of diet. I wasn’t ever into the mock meats, as I really enjoyed food to taste like the food it was. When I ate meat, I never really wanted heaps of condiments masking the food I was eating. The other foods that I ate were legumes, rice, pasta, peanut butter, dates, carrots, that sort of thing. Nothing really was that much different from my previous diet. I got into a bit of the vegan “junk food”, although prior to being vegan, I never really got into junk food, but it was good to see how much food was available to vegans.
It’s been 10 years now since becoming vegan and I don’t ever look back and think it was the wrong choice. I did start off choosing the path for fitness, but it wasn’t long until I became “vegan for the animals”. It’s a choice you need to make for yourself but it’s worth looking into. Worth seeing where animals come from before they end up on your plate. If it doesn’t bother you, that’s fine, but you need to understand why it means so much to me.
About Nathan Jackson
Nathan is an experienced and passionate graphic designer. They firmly believes in the role of graphic design in telling a story, explaining a complex concept and promoting accessibility and inclusion. Nathan has extensive experience working in the public relations and communications industry. They are highly skilled at photography, logo design and the Adobe Creative Suite. They generously share the knowledge and expertise and offers training to junior staff members to improve their graphic design skills.
