Yes, during my senior year in college I tried veganism. For years, people constantly told me that if I went vegan, my acne would magically clear up and I would feel better about myself. I was already a vegetarian who didn’t consume much dairy or eggs, so it didn’t seem that difficult. Despite not being able to eat with my friends a lot and it not clearing up my skin, I learned a lot about myself, and it did make me feel better about what I was consuming. Now that I have graduated and moved back in with my parents so I can find a job and pay off my loans, I have begun to add more meat, dairy and eggs back into my diet. But I still follow many principles of the vegan diet and hope to try it again soon.
When I decided to give veganism a try, I read various blogs and articles that focused on how easy the vegan diet was because of all the food you could still make for yourself. What about college students who eat in the dining halls and don’t have the resources to make their own food? I want to focus this article on what a person who is vegan eats, my personal experience and the reason I haven’t continued the diet. This will give people a different approach, and hopefully help them figure out if they want to try veganism.
A major rule about being vegan is to carb up. According to nutritional experts, 45 to 65 percent of a person's daily calorie intake should be carbohydrates. Since I am also gluten free, I eat a lot of rice, potatoes, quinoa, fruit — yes, fruit is a carb — and any gluten free options, since they are also usually vegan. These simple carbs are great because they make you feel full without the heaviness of complex carbs like bread, pasta and other gluten-filled options that aren’t usually vegan. I used to start my day with a vegan gluten-free bagel with same blueberry jelly and fruit to boost my metabolism and keep me going until lunchtime.
Now, you’re probably asking me, what about protein? How can you live off of carbs when the doctor always says that protein is the most important aspect of one's diet. According to nutritional experts, all adults should get 1.0 to 1.1 grams of protein per kg of healthy body weight per day. Beans, mushrooms, tofu and even quinoa are great sources of protein that are vegan. By eating these options, I never got sick from the mystery meat and seafood, felt healthier and even lost some weight. For lunch, I use to eat a lot of rice and beans because they are great sources of carbs and protein (respectively).
Many students ask me if I ever got tired of eating the same limited selection all the time. Usually, the dining hall food selection wasn’t that great, and I had naturally gravitated towards those options, even before I went on the diet. My options weren’t that limited and I felt better that I wasn’t attempting to eat the mystery food that my friends usually got sick from. I would say that any student who wanted to try veganism could because everyone survives off of a balanced diet of carbs, protein, and veggies. This experience wasn’t always positive and there are reasons that I decided to stop the diet.
One of the biggest issues, and the reason that I stopped, is the constant stress of not being able to eat with my friends. Many of the healthier options on my campus usually had long lines and my friends didn’t always have the time to wait for me to get food so we could eat together. When I would go off campus or on vacation with my friends and family, it would be difficult for us to find a restaurant that would allow me to get something more than a salad. Since graduating from college and returning home, where my mom also cooks dinner for me, I have found that the vegan diet is too stressful to maintain. This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t try the vegan diet again.
I don’t care that it didn’t clear up my acne; I never felt healthier and better about myself than during those four months. I don’t want people to read this post and think that I am trying to get everyone to try veganism to feel healthier because I do understand that everyone’s situation is different and not everyone feels the healthiest on a vegan diet. Instead, I wanted to make sure that people understood that it is possible to try veganism, even if they are living off of dining hall food on a college campus.
