The resolution at the top of my list on December 31, 2015 stated two simple words: “Go vegan!” I wanted to make a definitive change in my diet since I was struggling with both my acne and my weight, and I figured that a diet with a moral backing would be easier to stick to. For almost three years I was able to stick to a completely vegan diet (along with a few bites of pastry here and there,) but after taking NUT 10 last year I began to reevaluate my ability to consume all of the necessary nutrients through the diet that I had chosen.
A couple months ago I adopted eggs and fish back into my weekly food groups, as I was lacking a lot of the essential proteins my body needed to thrive. I wanted to make an effort to try and balance out my diet rather than just “eating healthy.” This is actually a common misconception that I held for all of my life; fruit, veggies, and minimum carbs are a guaranteed healthy diet, and will provide you with everything your body needs to stay energized and healthy. Sure, eating a large salad and avoiding processed foods made me feel amazing! But eating in this way did not give me the energy and stamina that I require as an active college student. It felt extremely off putting to eat meat again after such a long hiatus, but I began to feel a change in my energy levels and functionality in day to day activities like biking to campus or focusing in class.
I am not saying that a vegan diet doesn’t cover the bases as far as a person’s health is concerned:a person can absolutely get every nutrient that they need through a vegan diet! It just takes planning, awareness, and meal prepping with the intention of filling in the gaps that those who eat a vegan diet can easily fall into. I had to evaluate my ability to shop for these nutrients, and concluded that at this point in my life it is much easier (and cheaper!) to utilize fish and eggs to fill in the gaps that painstaking legume and vitamin research left me when I was 100% vegan.
I respect the environment, its animals, and the impact that eating certain food products has on both the water supply and carbon emissions. For these reasons, I still avoid all other meat and animal products, such as dairy and gelatin. However, as an individual I need to make certain that I am not making personal sacrifices that I cannot live up to or that ultimately leave me unhealthy and unmotivated — finding a balance is ok!