A Vivacious Voice for Veganism: Excuses, Excuses at Her Active Life

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A Vivacious Voice for Veganism: Excuses, Excuses

Posted April 30, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Katie Drummond

Section: Her Fitness, Her Health, Her Motivation, Her Nutrition, Diet Myths, Healthy Eating

Woman with tofu “I was vegan for awhile, but...”

I’ve heard it before - over, and over, and over, in fact. It seems like as soon as someone finds out I follow a vegan lifestyle, they feel the urge to relate their story of veganism gone wrong. Not enough iron to sustain their athletic pursuits, battles with their partner over veggie burgers for dinner or difficulty finding tofu at their local grocery store. I’ve heard every excuse from well-intentioned women and men who say they’d “love” to go vegan, if only circumstances allowed.

As a vegan for ethical, rather than nutritional, reasons, I try to steer clear of advocating veganism because of its health benefits. However, they are a strong selling point for the lifestyle, one that has made veganism a trendy “diet” lately - just take a look at the copies of Skinny Bitch gracing the vegan cooking section at the bookstore for proof. For me, veganism comes down to animal rights, and I’m willing to make sacrifices, go the extra mile (literally, sometimes) to hunt down a vegan meal or ingredient, or endure awkward family dinners if it means staying true to the work that inspired my transition. To be honest, if veganism as a “diet” made way for veganism as a lifestyle, I don’t think the same excuses would apply. Still, I thought it might be fun to dust off a few of the best reasons people eschew vegan living, to prove that you can get around the seemingly insurmountable barriers to an animal-free kitchen.

1. I felt so weak all the time, I had to start eating meat again. One close friend of mine tried veganism for a few months, but soon found herself feeling burnt out, tired and lethargic on a daily basis. She attributed the problems to her new eating habits, and assumed she was lacking in iron, B-vitamins or protein. In truth, she probably was - the girl was noshing on white bagels, fruit salad and veggies with hummus. Not only was she taking in far too few calories to fuel her activities, but she wasn’t considering her nutritional needs or taking steps to meet them. You can get everything you need for a high-powered, athletic lifestyle by eating vegan: iron from legumes and dried fruit, B-vitamins from fortified foods or nutritional yeast and protein from soy foods, beans and nuts. If you feel safer supplementing your diet with a multivitamin, be my guest - but if you plan properly and eat a variety of nutritious foods, you won’t be lacking energy.

2. I don’t want osteoporosis, and milk is the best way to get calcium. Sure, hormonally injected fluid from a bovine udder is one way to get your calcium, but there are other, viable and arguably preferable options. If you evaluate a full scope of research on the matter, you’ll likely conclude that vegan sources of calcium (think soy milk, cruciferous veggies, and tofu) offer equal absorption rates to non-vegan ones. In fact, some studies show that high protein diets (like those rich in meat and dairy) are linked to greater amounts of calcium excreted in the urine - instead of going to your bones. While we could debate about the best sources of calcium for days, and researchers do, it’s irrelevant, because there are excellent vegan sources of calcium - more than enough for you to get your 1,000-1,200 mg per day, my dear. Combine that with vitamin D from warm sunshine on your vegan face (or from fortified foods), and you’re all set.

3. I don’t have time! Vegan eating is so inconvenient. Um, okay, stop whining. Unless you subsist on a daily regime of potato chips and pizza pops, I have a feeling you take time to create a fairly balanced, healthy meal plan for yourself - grocery shopping, cooking batches of nutritious food and opting for fresher choices when you can. All three of these principles apply to a healthy vegan diet, as well, with minor differences. Your grocery bill will probably be cheaper (or at least list fewer processed and packaged items), your weekend cook-a-thons will include new ingredients and recipes, and those fresher choices will simply not contain meat or dairy - is that so difficult? Sure, you can’t grab a candy bar at the corner store when strapped for time, but let that be a positive, rather than an inconvenience, and push yourself to try a little harder to tote trail mix or protein bars in your bag. You’ll save money and eat better, and it won’t take more than five extra minutes.

The choice to be vegan shouldn’t come down to overcoming excuses - it should be about doing the right thing (in my humble opinion). Do a little research on the topic, and don’t let thoughts of malnourishment or time-sapping cooking interfere with your investigations. You can - and will - be a well-fueled, sassy, super-healthy vegan athlete. I would know, because I am.