My Two Attempts at Going Vegan

“I know of a few foreigners who have gone vegan, but you’re the first Indian I have come across in person who is following a vegan diet”, said a colleague of mine when she noticed I had gone vegan for around a month.

Personally, having known a college friend who promoted being vegan, it wasn’t as much a new concept for me. Additionally, maybe because I had studied nutrition, it didn’t intimidate me as much either.

In my first attempt, I could sustain for two months comfortably. I lost a little weight too. My rigorous work schedule and exercise regimen were contributing factors. However, after two months, I started feeling I needed to plan better to maintain optimum energy levels. Finding it difficult to maintain my health satisfactorily, I went back to being vegetarian. 

After 3 years, in January 2020, I attempted going vegan again. I was better prepped, my family was acquainted with my weird food experiments, and I was more determined. I had a stronger sense of purpose this time. 

Wanting to do my bit to raise awareness regarding animal cruelty, environment-friendly lifestyle, and impact of veganism on health, I decided to opt for a low-key way of going about advocating what I stood for, and this time it was easier. 

In my experience, just changing the cooking medium enabled me to eat just about everything that I used to. Developing a taste for certain foods and quitting others was slightly tricky but was too small a price to pay in comparison to my bigger goal of standing for the causes I felt for.

Entering March 2020, I am happy to share that I’ll be continuing to stay vegan for another month (I’m taking it month by month so that I don’t get overwhelmed).