Food Diary Friday & Why I'm Not Vegan

This week's video has been requested for a while, and it has taken me so long to post because I was busy with all sorts of projects and didn’t get around to the editing of the video, and once I got around to the editing I totally forgot to get around to the uploading. But it’s up now, so I hope it’ll give you some new inspiration and motivation.

NOTE: I don't want people seeing this video to think that they, too, should necessarily eat the exact same thing I eat, or that if they eat what I eat, they will automatically look like me or their bodies will automatically react like mine (especially because I was not feeling particularly well on the day the video was made). If people copying other people’s lifestyles would magically turn into them, I know what I would’ve done a long time ago! (Spoiler: it just doesn’t work).  

I’m super-glad that so many of you find my videos inspirational. However, I don't want to promote an unhealthy obsession with food, or for people to copy my plan to the letter. I want people to eat what makes them feel energized, healthy and happy! I want people to understand that their bodies are all very different and unique. Everyone is wonderful in his/her own way ☺   

Now let's get to the video!

MY MEAL PLANS:

May 25, 2016: 

May 25 Cronometer.com - click to enlarge

Breakfast (7:00, 9:30): 
- 1 Slices of bread with cream cheese
- 1 Slice of bread with chocolate (100%)
- Bowl of Morgenstund porridge with 200 mL full-fat milk, honey, cinnamon, flax seeds and watermelon

Lunch (12:30): 
- Bowl of penne with yesterday’s scampi-leek-paprika sauce (if you want to know what I have to say about portions, check out my earlier post, Eating Disorders FAQ: Calories, Quantities, Exercise and More)

Snack (13:30): 
- Slice of bread with peanut butter (the jar is almost empty – noooooo)

Dinner (18:30): 
- Humongous (yes, even for me) plate of mashed potatoes and salmon casserole (with shrimp, carrots, leek, and white wine/cream/cheese sauce)

Dessert (21:00): 
- Bowl of Greek yoghurt with 2 small bananas and nuts and prunes


May 26, 2016:

Breakfast (8:00, 9:00): 
- 2 slices of bread with ham
- Bowl of oatmeal with watermelon (it didn’t fit in the bowl, hehe)

Snack (11:00): 
- Lu chocolate biscuits

Lunch (13:00): 
- 5 slices of homemade bread with avocado and bacon

Snack (16:00)
- Homemade (oops, accidentally wrote hoe-made, hehe) delicious tiramisu with white chocolate, mascarpone and Speculoos

Dinner (18:00): 
- Sweet potato casserole with zucchini, eggplant, paprika, mozzarella and breadcrumbs

Dessert (20:00, 21:00): 
- Cote d’Or double-lait praliné chocolate (gotta love Belgian chocolate)
- 1 Slice of bread with 1 small banana

Some of the things I ate during the weekend

If you want to see some of my earlier meal plans, check out my earlier posts or my blog's Table of Contents (oldest to newest below):

• Album of all my related YouTube videos
• A Day in My Life (Anorexia Recovery Meal Plan)
• UPDATE: Anorexia Hospitalization | My Inpatient Experience
• Comments Anorexics and Bulimics are Tired of Hearing
• Weight Maintain Meal Plan | Anorexia Recovery and c. 1 kg Portions
• Eating Disorders FAQ | How Many Kcal Do I Eat in a Day?
• What I Eat in a Day | Anorexia Recovery & Pie as Big as My Head

As you might have noticed, some of my earlier meal plans include energy drinks, specifically those from the brand Nutricia (Nutridrink/Fortisip), which I think are by far the best brand (I tried a few). If you, too, think you need these drinks to add into your diet (there is no shame in admitting this -- I myself included them in my daily meal plan for over a year), I would personally suggest the following flavors:

• Bananananana 
• Chocolate (this one is with extra proteins)
• Apricot 

Any other ones you might want to try will be at your own risk ;) (pineapple and coffee are awful, so be warned).


Anyway, on to my rant about veganism.

WHY AM I NOT VEGAN?

1. I try to inspire others toward eating disorder recovery. I want to be an example for others, and I don't think I can be if I revert to veganism, as it is not something I would personally suggest in recovery.
2. Although I agree with all the principles of veganism, I feel like it already is quite difficult for me to gain weight as is, so currently I don't think it would be doable for me to change.
3. I feel good, happy and healthy with the foods I am currently eating. Why risk my health by changing my diet so drastically?
4. I get in all the nutrients I need and my blood tests come back with positive results. I don't lack any vitamins or minerals, and with veganism this is much harder to ensure (and this isn't the only danger).
5. Changing to a vegan diet would mean I'd need to do a lot of research and read all the food labels labels, which means...
6. Veganism might be a way of switching out one way of restrictive eating for another.

Trust me, I have considered going vegan. With all the hype about it, who hasn't? Nonetheless, I don't think it is the right choice for me, although I do limit my meat intake and make sure to buy bio/organic produce. Even my hair products and shower gel are vegan-friendly!

SHOULD YOU GO VEGAN?

Just because I'm not vegan doesn't mean you can't be. Veganism is a great thing and I whole-heartedly support it. However, the earlier points still apply. If you are coming from an eating disorder background, I do want to warn you. Eating disorders are, at their core, really just anxiety disorders. Reinforcing food avoidance really won’t help you overcome that.

Furthermore, to be successful at the vegan lifestyle you need to know a lot about food and food labels. A LOT. Whenever you go to the supermarket, you need to read all the nutritional labels and be consciously aware of what you buy and eat. You need to find good alternatives for the foods you are banning from your diet, as just cutting out foods won’t do it for your health. THIS IS A REAL CHALLENGE IF YOU COME FROM A PAST WHERE YOU DID THIS EXACT SAME THING FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. Turning to veganism could easily take you from one way of controlling your intake directly to another. A spontaneous restaurant trip or lunch with friends will suddenly become a challenge.

Before jumping right into the newest diet fad (whether it be veganism or any other hype), try to decide for yourself: do I want to become vegetarian/vegan/etc. to help the animals/world, or mostly just to cover up my eating disorder? If you choose the former, ask yourself the follow-up question: could it be a trigger for me? If you choose the latter, well, focus on recovery first. Once fully recovered from your eating disorder (whether it be anorexia, bulimia or EDNOS), you are much more capable of making major lifestyle decisions. In the meantime, you can reduce your footprint by going vegan part-time (maybe once or twice a week), or by eating vegetarian (this, too, is a great way to save animals, but without limiting yourself in such an extreme way as in a vegan diet. Check out Onision's YouTube video for some more insights on this).

For now, choose fair trade and free range. After you have successfully beaten your eating problems, go ahead and rethink your choices, and not just about food. Look at the broader picture: for example, does that steak on your plate really outweigh the impact of your iPhone usage?

I know there are people that won’t agree with me on my views, and I've seen more than one YouTuber claiming that veganism saved her life, but I’m not sorry for going against the grain. This is what I believe to be true, and what I think to be the best approach. Veganism is simply not for everyone. It just depends on where you are in your approach to food, yourself, and your recovery.


Make sure to listen to your own body and to make this decision when you are truly ready for it. It is of the utmost importance to be honest with yourself and to make the decision that will put your own health in the first place.

Although I don't eat excessive amounts of meat, I do eat dairy, fish and eggs and am therefore not a vegan

Next week I’ll be posting an amazing new recipe I’ve tried out, but in the meantime, make sure to check out JUST PERFECT, to subscribe to my channel and blog, and to connect with me through the below networks. See you on Friday!

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