My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!
I’ve made it through my second year as a vegan, friends! Oh, what a ride it was! After making it past one year as a vegan which had a lot of ups and downs, I thought my second year was going to get easier. Boy was mistaken!
You hear people say that the first year is a break it or make it year. They say if you can live entirely plant-based for a year then it means you are capable of living this lifestyle forever.
My experience in my second year was very different from my first. As you read every single word in this post, you will discover the good, the bad, and the ugly of what my second year was like. I hope some of it resonates with you and helps you predict of what to expect in your second year as a vegan.
THE LOWS
1. Temptations!
It was a dull winter afternoon at the office and my coworker was having a baby shower. They had the most beautiful cupcakes that looked SO delicious. Unfortunately, they were not vegan.
I couldn’t help myself. I had one. “I’ll just have a bite of that cupcake” – I told myself. I ended up eating the entire cupcake.
My second year was filled with temptations! I was a very strict vegan in my first year. My first year was about learning about plant-based cooking and adjusted to my new lifestyle.
Once I got a hold of everything in my second year, I wasn’t so hard on myself anymore. I know it may sound strange to some of you. To me, it was more about listening to my body and, to be honest, being a little more relaxed about my decisions.
2. You realize you’ve become lactose intolerant
The second thing I tried after eating baked goods was cheese. I quickly realized that I became lactose intolerant after not eating cheese for more than a year.
Throughout my second year, I had cheese a few more times, mostly at social gatherings. It wasn’t something I was seeking to eat, rather I happened to taste it as part of an appetizer.
I didn’t beat myself up for it. It was just something that happened and I accepted it.
3. Health scares
I started to experience hair loss in my second year as a vegan. I know that hair loss is quite common among vegans. It may happen for various reasons and everyone is different. For me, it was lack of protein.
It sounds so silly to say that! As vegans, we’re always questioned on where we get our protein which is one of the most annoying questions. I couldn’t believe that protein deficiency was a reality for me!
Hair loss scared me. A lot. I upped my protein intake by consuming plant-based shakes and after many oil treatments and masks, my hair growth has returned.
4. I’ve gained weight
In my first year as a vegan, I lost about 10 pounds. In my second year, I started to get weight little by little.
Maybe it was my body adjusting and finding its new normal. It may also have to do something with me not eating 100% clean. Or it may be due to the fact that I couldn’t lift weights for a while due to my shoulder injury. Who knows!
I now weigh about 5 pounds more than I used to weigh before becoming plant-based. It bothered me for a bit but now I’m starting to accept it.
I still work out almost every day by either walking, lifting weights, or doing yoga. My body is finally getting more toned. And this new weight may be my new normal.
5. Questioning my decision
As you can see, my second year as a vegan was a little rocky. This made me question my entire decision of whether a plant-based lifestyle was right for me.
After a few months of pondering, I’ve realized plant-based is the right choice for me. This is how I want to live even if I’m not perfect 100% of the time. I’ve learned not to be so hard on myself and be kind to myself. It’s OK to mess up sometimes.
THE HIGHS
1. I think I know my stuff!
My first year as a vegan was all about learning. Learning what to eat, how to cook, how to eat out. The second-year was a breeze! I finally felt like I knew what I was doing!
I became more familiar with which ingredients were plant-based and which ones weren’t. I know more about nutrition than ever before after reading dozens of nutrition books.
I’ve learned to listen to my body and how I felt after eating certain foods. I know that my body does better when I consume fruits and have one raw vegetable meal during the day such as salad.
2. From kitchen beginner to pro
I started SimpleFitVegan during my first year to record my journey as a plant-based cook. I’ve always been a good cook but vegan cooking was very different and challenging.
They say it takes 10,000 hours to master anything. I’m pretty sure I came close to it with all the cooking I had been doing!
I feel much more confident about my meal planning. I even wrote How to Meal Prep Without a Recipe Guide where I created my 5-minute express meal planning system where you don’t need a recipe!
3. I know how to order at restaurants
After two years of eating out, I’ve gotten better at anticipating what I may order at various restaurants. I’ve even eaten at barbecue places which I thought was impossible before. Turns out barbecue places always have yummy sides like mashed sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, green beans, and side salads!
The key to ordering at any restaurant if they don’t have any vegan options is to ask them to make you something without eggs, meat, and cheese! You could also be proactive and lookup a dish that is vegetarian and ask the waiter if it’s possible to leave out dairy. Most places do accommodate.
I’ve also moved to a new city and discovering my new favorites has become fun!
4. Have my go-to vegan responses ready
This one is my favorite! After being asked the same questions repeatedly for over a year, I naturally developed my favorite responses. Here are some of them:
“Is it hard?” – Sometimes, but over time it gets easier.
“Why?” – Because that how I want to live.
“Don’t you miss meat?” – Have you heard of an Impossible Burger?
“How do you get enough protein?” – I pay close attention to what I eat!
“I couldn’t live like that, it’s too restricting!” – Personal choice 😉
5. No longer a novelty
At first, plant-based living seemed so new to me. There were a lot of new ingredients that I had never cooked before like tofu and tempeh.
I learned how to make chickpea and tofu scramble, vegan queso, and even a shakshouka!
The second year was less of a novelty. It more so a way of living my life which I love.
6. Family has become more accepting
This took a while. There were three types of reactions from my family when I first started eating plant-based. One side of the family couldn’t understand why I’d never want to eat meat, another side of the family was worried about my health, and the other family members resented and wanted to ‘convert’ me.
The first year was uncomfortable. The second year was better. As my family learned more about plant-based living and saw that I was doing OK they became more accepting. Some of my family members even started cooking plant-based dishes for me!
My husband and I have also figured out how to eat dinners together without cooking two separate meals. If you’re interested more on this topic, I wrote about it more extensively in a post: How To Live With a Non-Vegan Partner.
7. I’ve found my rhythm
I can finally say that I’ve found what works best for me, mentally and physically. I try to be kind to myself and not beat myself up if I slip.
If my friend is having a birthday and her cake is not vegan, I will eat it. Eating one slice of cake won’t ruin my otherwise plant-based lifestyle.
I know some people may disagree with it, but it’s what works for me. I know this doesn’t make me a true vegan, but I’m not after a title. Through trial and error, I’ve learned to do what is right for me.
My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!
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