The podcast: http://undergroundwellness.com/the-podcast-about-what-to-do-when-a-vegan-diet-stops-working/

Recently I had to go vegan as animal products started giving me terrible stomach aches. My doc recommended antacid tablet, but I hate using medication, so I just cut it all out. I feel great and I love cooking vegan—to me, it’s more adventurous.

Food is a very personal thing and it’s very similar to religion: they are both influenced by your upbringing, there is a lot of comfort in their rituals, and you don’t want anyone telling you that the way you’re eating/worshiping is wrong.

I think the most important thing to remember about eating clean, healthier, or transitioning to any type vegetarian or other diet is that YOUR MEALS MUST BE WELL PLANNED!! This has been a HUGE problem for me for many, many years!! It is very hard to resist the temptation of quick, unhealthy, or processed foods sometimes when you’ve been too busy to pack or prepare healthy meals and snacks!! But I’m realizing more and more that the extra time & sometimes money (buying organic, etc.) is saving me money from doctor’s bills in the long run because I won’t get the hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. that is plaguing such a huge percentage of our race!

I also want to say that even if people just start off with meatless Monday’s to start incorporating more veggies into their diet you are bound to discover and get creative with beautiful, delicious produce that you may not have ever even tried otherwise! Thanks again!

My body (especially my stomach) is happiest when my diet is mostly whole grains, vegetables and a little bit of fruit, but I have a hard time letting go of the meat. It seems to go in cycles. Sometimes I CRAVE meat like nobody’s business, but other times it’s okay. If I could get past the meat cravings, vegetarianism would be easier for me. I could never be vegan though…a life without cheese isn’t a life worth living! lol

I have been flexitarian (semi-vegetarian) for almost a year. I don’t feel any sense of responsibility to animals rights etc. (no offense of course to anyone that does). I simply woke up one day and realized I had not had a taste for meat in weeks and I was tired of politely turning it down or throwing away wasted meat left overs.

I talked to my boyfriend (whom I live with) and we decided we would shop for recipes that did not always feature meat as the main staple. I still LOVE bacon, I have a cheese burger 1x a month. Fish is divine. Other than that, I prefer my meat camoflauged in other dishes (Like Panamanian Arroz con Pollo) or not at all.

After living abroad for the second time this summer, I realized I had inadvertently went “organic” twice. In neither Central American country I lived in, did I have access to processed food. I ate like a pig, drank whatever…but NOTHING I ate was processed (thanks culture/being spoiled by my home-cooking host mothers). Each time my ezcema/scalp sensitivity/blood sugar/back pain and weight improved drastically. This summer I came home to the USA from Panama after 2 months 11 lbs lighter, with barely any exercise.

Again I talked to my BF (who had some serious health complications this year) and we decided to spend the extra dough it takes to incorporate more farm fresh/organic foods into our diet each day.

3 Years ago, I would never have guessed, I could become a flexitarian who snubs processed food most days. But life (God blessing me to live abroad/Boyfriend having cancer) changed my outlook on how long we have to live and what good things we want to do in the life we have left.

Being a raw vegan though takes the cake. I could never do it. More power to you on that. That is going to take strength because I could never live without cheese or fondue lol by choice.

I still eat veggies, fruits, and complex carbs. But I cut back a little on the carbs, because I notice I gain more weight when I start rely on them a bit more than I should. ^_^

I used to be a vegetarian(then whole food vegan), and unfortunately my iron deficiency anemia came back full force. I was taking supplements, combining my iron rich foods with vitamin c rich foods, avoiding foods/beverages that took away iron from my body, etc… Nothing worked! My skin was breaking out, my hair was brittle, I was irritable, etc… I was at a loss. I was getting sick and ironically, fat, from eating complex carbs in the vegan diet. And I didn’t have enough energy to work out properly and excuses came soon after. I even cut out all junk food and it still didn’t help!

With the support of my loved ones (and most importantly God) I left veganism for more of an omnivorous diet. Humans are naturally omnivores, so why not? I feel tons better! I try to eat at every meal (or at least one) a combo of meat and vegetables. I am lactose intolerant, so I go easy on dairy (lactaid is my friend for calcium!). Bringing back beef and eggs and combining them with leafy greens really helped a lot. I take an omega 3 supplement (flax oil, people in my house can’t have fish oil due to allergies) and a standard multi to help out, too.

So I’d want to advise people to be careful with veganism and listen to your body! I had to learn the hard way and I almost got myself seriously sick. Being an omnivore is the best thing that has happened in my life. Our ancestor hunted animals and supplemented that with foraged fruits and vegetables. That’s the way God made us and I’m glad to have listened to Him.

May God bless you with good health! <3

Overall, I have felt physically better by leaps and bounds. The change in my diet has drastically helped me address the fatigue issues I’ve been experiencing as a result of my hyperthyroidism (which has also been quite flexible over the past two years, dipping down into hypo a few times) No gallons of coffee necessary – I feel great!