Mistakes Vegans Make – Here are the biggest ones we found
I’ve been vegan for a several years now and I’ve noticed things that help grow the vegan movement, and things that turn people off from being vegan.
I want to let you know the mistakes vegans make that I’ve witnessed so that maybe you don’t make them too.
Not Eating Enough
This is probably one of the biggest mistakes vegans make and is a huge problem, especially for beginner vegans.
Vegan food is typically lower in calories (especially if you are eating lots of whole foods) so it can be easy to under-eat. Under eating is bad because if your body isn’t getting the calories that it needs, it starts to crave other things.
For new vegans, this could easily mean non-vegan products, because your body knows that they’re heavier.
This could lead someone to stop being vegan because they might say “I was always hungry all the time” when in reality the issue could be fixed if they simply consumed a higher number of calories.
Restricting Yourself Too Much
I see so many vegans that put rules and restrictions on what they can and can’t eat on top of already being vegan.
A common example is raw veganism, or high carb veganism. There are definitely people out there who are thriving on a raw food diet, but I also know that there are people who try eating raw, deal with the above issue that I mentioned (not eating enough) and then go back to eating animals.
They feel like their diet is so restrictive when in reality if they just ate some potatoes or rice the issue would be fixed.
Cutting Family & Friends Out
It’s understandable that when you go vegan you are passionate about it and want everyone around you to change.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the way the world works. Some people just take longer than others to change and you can’t expect everyone to change at the same time as you.
You can disagree with your friends and family members and still have them in your life. Cutting them out of your life gives them a bad image of veganism and probably turns them off from ever going vegan in the future.
Expecting vegan alternatives to taste 100% the same as non-vegan foods
Almond milk doesn’t taste like cows milk, and that’s just a fact. The thing is, it’s still delicious anyways. We need to stop expecting alternatives to taste 100% like their counterparts.
Sure, there are things that taste the exact same like vegan mayo, vegan margarine, etc. But for foods such as cheese, it likely won’t taste the same as cow’s cheese and that’s okay.
If you have an open mind and don’t expect everything to taste the exact same, you’ll have an overall better experience with vegan food.
Enjoy these unique flavors and appreciate it for what it is!
Focusing on the bad
In a world full of so much negativity, it can be easy to focus on the bad things in life. Especially when you are vegan, your eyes are opened up to so much wrongness.
Millions of animals are dying every second. This is an extremely difficult fact to deal with. I know it’s hard, but if you try to focus on the positive, it really makes all the difference.
Instead of thinking about how many animals are dying, try thinking about how many people are going vegan every day, which means less animals are being killed.
I heard that for veganuary, 3 million people signed up!! That is amazing.
Being too hard on themselves
Finally the last of the mistakes vegans make is if you slip up, eat something that isn’t vegan by accident, buy something that’s tested on animals without realizing, or have leather from before you go vegan – it’s OK!
You don’t need to beat yourself up about it. No one is perfect, and being vegan is about doing the best you can. The best thing to do is move on with your life and continue being vegan and helping animals.
If you accidentally ate something non-vegan at a restaurant, it’s not your fault! These things happen to even the best of us. Remind yourself that it wasn’t on purpose.
Do you know any other common mistakes vegans make?
If so, let me know in the comments! I would love to hear them.
