Another former veg*n here.
I first became vegetarian when I was 16.
Diet for a Small Planet was my go-to book for recipes and inspiration, and even with the out-dated advice to combine foods for 'complete' protein, I thought I was eating a very healthy diet. By the time I went to college, I was about 20 pounds overweight and had already been treated with Accutane for acne.
When I became pregnant with #1 (I was 20) I really craved meat, so I ate some, but I went back to vegetarian after she was born. I got a job in a health food store and started reading every book we had on health and nutrition.
I ate way too much soy, but this was 10 years ago when soy was all the rage and no one (that I knew, anyway) was talking about how it could possibly be bad for you. I thought I was eating better because I lost weight (by counting calories, eating low fat, etc.) and felt pretty good.
Then I started having gall bladder attacks at age 25. I went to the doctor a year later knowing it was my gall bladder, and he told me that I was "too young and too thin" to have gall stones, but I insisted on having an ultrasound to confirm and ended up having my gall bladder removed at age 26.
Then I got pregnant with #2, and I stayed vegetarian for most of that pregnancy and all of the 2.5 years I nursed her.
And that's when I read
The China Study and became vegan. I read all of the books by the doctors recommended in that book - McDougall, Ornish, Esselstyn, Barnard. I really went hardcore at that point.
I got pregnant with #3, and a few months into that pregnancy my thyroid started to go wonky. It really tanked after he was born, but I kept going. I wasn't a 'perfect' vegan, but I tried really hard.
When I got pregnant with #4, I had
intense cravings and dreams about eating meat, fish and shellfish especially. My body needed the nutrients it wasn't getting and let me know it! I started eating meat at that point, but I wasn't doing TF. After she was born is when I felt the absolute worst and started reading more about TF, went low carb, avoided grains, ate a LOT of animal fat, and my health improved
drastically!
Now I'm feeling normal again, but I still love vegetarian food. I love beans and rice, and I still sometimes eat tofu or tempeh or seitan (I wish it tasted bad to me, but no such luck!), and I regret it every single time.
Anyway, sorry to write a novel! I never thought I'd be here five years ago...
Wishing you a healthy journey!
