Fail

About four and a half years ago, in September 2013, I decided to convert from a Vegetarian to Vegan. The change may seem gradual, but it is not. It is certainly less drastic than someone going straight from non-Vegetarian to Vegan. There are several risks in going Vegan, and primary one is about getting sufficient nutrition without any animal products.

In my over 4 year struggle, I discovered several aspects about being a Vegan. I am listing a few here

Reasons

1. Health - Its healthier as it removes a vast array of junk food off the table
2. Weight Management - It helped me in reducing weight. (Combined with exercise I lost over 15kgs of weight)
3. Environment - Animal products are typically harsher on environment than plant based products

Observations

1. Its lonely - It’s difficult and most will never attempt.
2. It requires support - Your family, friends and colleagues need to support you. I found mixed levels of support and quite a bit of opposition as well
3. Exceptions - You will need to make exceptions, in order to not be a jerk.
4. Unexpected - There may be unexpected consequences. I ended up in emergency room for uretric colic. I don’t know the root cause for the same, however it may be just due to insufficient fluid intake. Vegan diet is harder on stomach (Counter intuitive fact)

Fail

In the end it was a grand failure. One learns and moves on. I am no longer a Vegan. I don’t intend to try again anytime soon. If any of you are planning on taking the plunge, best of luck, its going to be a long and arduous road ahead.

Best, Umang