to try Veganuary wit dietary limitations?

[miniaturepixieonacid]

I really want to try a vegan diet. I've thought about it on and off for years but never done it and am now obviously seeing Veganuary everywhere and am suddenly quite excited to give it a go (maybe just because I can't sleep, I don't know!)

But I don't know if it would even be possible with these challenges:

I already don't eat red meat but I am hugely reliant on chicken and eggs - hard boiled egg every day for lunch and chicken or tuna almost every evening. Replacing them would be really hard, I think.

I hate nuts. All nuts, including peanut butter and almonds. I also hate beans and pulses, including baked beans and chick peas. I hate tomatoes, onions and avocadoes.

I have a long history of anorexia, bulimia and OSFED. Possibly ARFID too. Fairly stable for years now but it's always a factor.

Would I be unreasonable to give it a go regardless of the above or do you think it couldn't be done healthily? I know I'd be ok for a month but, I presume, the point of Veganuary is that you are then inspired to keep it going long term.

Fuller SJ, Brown A, Rowley J, Elliott-Archer J. Veganism and eating disorders: assessment and management considerations. BJPsych Bull. 2022 Apr;46(2):116-120. doi: 10.1192/bjb.2021.37. PMID: 33928893; PMCID: PMC9074139.

Easy to look up - there is a lot!!

And it's one of those things you look out for when working with people who've had EDs.

If someone's veganism predated the issue, or culturally it's significant, then it's different. But someone saying, "I can't eat <huge list of vegan foods> but I want to be vegan. Oh and I've struggled with EDs." It doesn't take a genius.

@MrsHemswoth actually, a vegan diet is not at all restrictive 🤣. You are basically cutting out meat, dairy, eggs and honey - you are opening up to a world of vegetables, legumes, and fruit. Thanks for making me look at the OP again though.

I'm not a knowledgeable person on ED, so I'm not going to be responding to this thread again. I missed that paragraph when I was reading the OP's initial post.

@miniaturepixieonacid there is a vegan section on this site and I wish you all the best.

Ummmmmmm...

I hate nuts. All nuts, including peanut butter and almonds. I also hate beans and pulses, including baked beans and chick peas. I hate tomatoes, onions and avocadoes.

From the OP.

And restrictive isn't an insult. It IS restrictive because it restricts what you can eat. I eat legumes, beans, nuts and tofu. You don't have to be vegan to eat those.

I eat LCHF. That is restrictive too. Great, delicious and good for me. But restrictive.

@MrsTerryPratchett what is LCHF? Like I said, I'm bowing out because I know nothing about eating disorders, therefore, I don't feel able to offer this OP advice anymore.

Low carb, high fat.

Why do you want to try being a vegan? I wouldn't suggest any sort of restriction on food categories to someone with an ED unless they were necessary, like an allergy or celiac disease. Controlling food like that can be a manifestation of disordered eating and in fact I have hear that a lot of times that's how Ed is presenting - controlling types of food rather than just restricting calories.

Thank you so much for the advice in both directions.

I am very aware of the links between veganism and eating disorders (not just veganism tbf, I know a rexovered anorexic who is now vegetarian and one who is gluten free) but I'm not sure that new fixations have to be negative. It can be a way of switching the focus from weight and calories onto health or sustinability. It's a hard line to find though, I get that. And, I don't know if things have evolved (I hope so!) but it used to be the case that a lot of ED treatment centres did not respect vegetarian and vegan diets, even when they were pre existing. You could only have 3 'dislikes' and they weren't allowed to be 'common fear foods' like meat or cheese. So you had to eat them regardless. Which is completely barbaric, I think, but definitely used to happen in the 90s and 00s.

I am not actively restricting food or anything right now so I don't think that's where the wish to give it a go has come from. But I can see that it's possible and/or that it could be come a problem. I am just feeling more and more guilty about meat produts the more people turn away from them. I feel like, eventually, we're all going to have to do it. But maybe I could look at some smaller compromises first.

@miniaturepixieonacid that's partly why I suggested to see the gp
You could easily introduce vegan things into your diet, some you might love some you might hate.
Food is fuel or bodies need.
Whatever you decide to do good luck with it.

With your restrictions you might find it difficult to eat sufficient varied protein to be healthy.
You could try to do a day or two a week and see how it goes.

@miniaturepixieonacid do you like hummus? Chickpeas and sesame seeds but all whizzed smooth.

My DS would prefer not to eat meat for ethical reasons but he is allergic to dairy, eggs, all nuts, some seeds and some legumes. I consulted a couple of dieticians and a vegan chef and they all agreed that it would be very difficult to get sufficient protein into his diet and he'd probably end up over reliant on processed substitutes if he tried.
Obviously your eating disorder is another side to things which I have no experience of so I won't attempt to comment, but purely from the nutritional view I'd say you could probably follow a vegan diet short term without it being a huge problem, though I don't think it would be a very good diet. Longer term I think you'd really struggle to maintain a healthy diet and it's probably not a good idea at all.

I am just feeling more and more guilty about meat produts the more people turn away from them. I feel like, eventually, we're all going to have to do it. But maybe I could look at some smaller compromises first.

So don't eat meat. If you do chose or need to eat meat, buy organic high welfare meat.

The point is, eat mindfully. Don't follow a fad: feeling guilty because others turn away from meat is not mindful, is not taking ownership of your choices. There is no need for an all-or-nothing approach; it just puts you under unnecessary stress.