Our newest guest blogger to join the VBU! family is Maggie Farquhar, author of Walk The Earth Vegan. The blog is a vegan lifestyle guide for everything; from the best food & beauty products to interviews with leading activists & business owners, in the veg community. The mission is to provide you with the resources and knowledge to live a healthy, beautiful & conscious lifestyle. Excellent! Find Maggie on social media: blog, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
When an individual thinks about going vegan, often a first question would be about convenience. “Will I be able to still eat out with my friends?” “Won’t I starve?” “What about my favorite foods?” Of course you can still eat out with your friends, but it may be a bit different now. They’ll probably tell you how bad they feel that you “can’t” eat “normal” food [And that’s okay.] Depending on where you want to eat, and on where they want to eat, you can usually find something in between. Being vegan isn’t all that hard. Also, if happen to call ahead, or look online and have no luck, perhaps you can suggest a vegan friendly restaurant. If not, then bring a smoothie, juice or snacks with you. Hopefully your friends will see how much you care for them, and next time they might be more flexible. Regardless, most of the time, you can find at least something. Even if it’s as simple as french fries or a garden salad. Be patient and try to explain to your friends why veganism is important to you. Don’t give excuses such as “i’m not really hungry” continuously. It’s not healthy for you to go without eating like that all the time. As determined as I may seem, being vegan isn’t about being perfect. It’s about living a life that is as cruelty free as possible. There’s no need to beat yourself up, and while most of us may do it for the animals, we need to take care of ourselves, as well. Even if that may mean not going out to eat as much with omni-friends.
Thus, the importance of having a vegan support group. It could contain merely one person or thousands. I encourage you to join a local meetup or facebook page. I know for me it can be tough to find good vegan support [of the same religion], but luckily with technology, I’m able to connect with people via facebook, with people of similar values. And I believe that it can be very helpful in your vegan lifestyle. Even joining a vegan humor group, and seeing something funny & relatable in your feed can brighten your day, greatly. It reminds you that you’re not alone, and that there are vegans like us out there. I know it has for me.
There are many type of groups that can help you be accountable as a compassionate being such as; a religious group you identify with, humor/comedy groups, local based groups, interest based groups etc.
Don’t hesitate to find group(s) that will support you. Of course you may not be on the same page about every single things, but you’ll have something.
As always, feel free to email me with any questions you have. As I would love to help a fellow vegan (or anyone!) out! [email protected] or at WalkTheEarthVegan.com
