I want to go vegan again...

So I have thought on it on and off. And I am pretty sure I want to do it. But I have a fear of not getting enough of nutrients, especially iron. Last year I read "Skinny Bitch" and really convinced me to give the diet a go. I felt great. Lots of energy, no bloating, and lost more weight even. I felt my body detox, etc... I lasted for almost a 1/2 year. In the end I think I had an iron deficiency. I didn't have health insurance at the time, nor the time to fix it. I just ate a hamburger. I was so tired, and bruising easily. Anyways, I don't think I knew enough about the diet either. So I have health insurance now which is awesome. And my thoughts always come back to being vegan. I remember the hardest thing was my family's influence or comments. They are not sold on it. And going out to eat was hard. And just knowing how to balance my food intake out with the right nutrients needed. So any friendly tips, advice, etc... I guess it seems harder to make the step this time than last time. ~_~

I have been vegan for 8 months now, and it's been a huge learning experience. My family is not exactly sold on it either. Mostly I get called obsessive and impractical... it upsets me a lot more than I let it show.

And, as you'll probably remember, people ask you all the time WHY? Why, why, why... this is the response I've come up with, and I'm behind it 100%. 

I choose to eat a vegan diet because for me, personally, I feel better on both a health and moral level. I believe that one's diet should be as their religion... it should be a completely solitary, personal choice. Each person is so unique, that only he/she knows what makes him/her happy each day. What makes you feel totally comfortable eating is exactly what you should be eating. It is only YOUR business what food goes in and out of your body, and you do not owe an explanation to anyone.

If you put the effort in, and it does take a lot of extra effort if it's new (It's been 8 months and I still feel like I'll be learning for years!) do your reading/research, make sure you're getting everything you need to stay healthy... then a vegan diet can be extremely wonderful, fun and beneficial. If you really want to be vegan, go for it. Don't do it for anyone but you.

Good luck!

Well, you know you can go lacto-ovo veg, too. I was a strict vegan for a year when I started the vegetarian thing, and then switched to a more flexible lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. (Going back to hamburgers... I can't even imagine that, can't believe you did it after being vegan! I guess it also depends on the reasons you're vegan/vegetarian (moral or dietary)). The reason I went lacto-ovo was for more flexibility, especially when eating with omnivores and eating out at restaurants. I am vegan at home.

Folkharpist:

I totally agree with it being a personal choice and no ones business what I eat and don't eat. I only wish it was that easy. Like you said in the beginning it can be emotional. But I am also a christian and not to please the world. ^_^

Last time I chose to be vegan was dietary, and felt awesome in the beginning. It was only towards the end that I wasn't feeling well. And I don't even know what the reason was for sure. I didn't have health insurance, and just knew I was tired and bruising which usually means iron deficiency. Anyways, thank you so much for sharing your view.

Silversabriel: That was another choice I was thinking of doing, the lacto-ovo. Yes, I ate a hamburger. My whole reason going vegan the first time was dietary definitely. Still is more so. At the time, I just knew I was very tired, bruising, and no health insurance. My job was demanding, and had no time to fix it. I guess meat was a quick fix. And I knew no other vegans either, nor was I on this site to ask advice. I didn't have internet. I just remember feeling really not well. But the Lacto-ovo would make my life easier for restaurants, and such. Thank you for your input as well.

I guess I really need to ask myself if I really want to make the step, and reason so that if I do, I can make a total committment. Thanks! ^___^

I'm going vegan again too! I was for  two years once, then I gave in to family pressures to be lacto-ovo, but I only bought cage-free, free range, organic dairy and eggs. Now though, I'm going off to college and being vegan just feels more right for me both morally and health wise.

About the iron deficiency. You should eat beans often, they are chock full of iron. Eat a couple servings a day (a serving is half a cup) and there's half of the iron you need. Grains have a lot of iron too. A serving of oatmeal, bread, pasta, or rice has about 10% of what you need. Plus, leafy green vegetables like spinach have tons too. Add up all that, you probably eat at least 2-3 servings of grains a day if you eat one with each meal, and you'll be getting enough.

I take a muli-vitamin too that has iron and b-12.

my doctor is vegan, and when i asked her about this issue she said that there are just two things you really need to worry about getting enough of when you're vegan. the first is iron, the second b vitamins. one really easy way to deal with this is to just take a veg vitamin daily or every other day with both iron and b vitamins. also, something that i found surprising was that cream of wheat has almost 60% of your required daily iron. red meat is not necessarily the best way to get iron, when my iron was tested (after being vegan for about 2 years, not taking any vitamins) i was only a tiny bit low. so if you like cream of wheat, eat it! otherwise a vitamin will take care of you as far as iron goes.