“Are you still vegan, then?”
I’ve heard that so many times now. Why not ask “Are you still atheist?” or “Are you still wearing socks”. I guess there’s just an assumption that I won’t stick with it long term; that at some point I’ll just jack it in and go back to the hotdogs. And I understand that, since I was so rampantly carnivorous until a year ago. But – as a friend has told me many times – I’m also incredibly stubborn. To some degree I’ll remain vegan because I’m just too bloody-minded not to.
There’s also the fact that – for most people – the very idea is just too alien to accept. I know, because I was there too. Married to a vegetarian and with veggie children, I never once wavered from the meat path. Of course I thought about it, but I just knew I couldn’t do it. I loved meat too much. It was too much a part of my lifestyle. And I’m lazy. Sticking to such a restrictive diet just sounded too much like hard work.
As with many things – exercise, in particular – it’s a case of mindset. If your head isn’t in it, it won’t work. Being an occasional runner too, I know how much of that is mental as much as physical. And after that Christmas carbonara, followed by a surprisingly enjoyable Vegan-uary, something clicked in my head. Something that changed me from lazy to stubborn. Whereas before I’d thought “I just can’t do that”, I then started to think “Well, I can’t stop doing this now…”
So when people ask me that question, all it really does is make me dig my heels in even further, making me more committed to stay the course.
“Yes, thank you. I am still wearing socks.”
