Thin "Healthy" Vegan

Words & Photos by Emilie Berthiaume

ster • eo • type

noun

a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing."the stereotype of the woman as the carer"

synonyms

standard/conventional image, received idea, cliché, hackneyed idea, formula "the stereotype of the rancher"

Stereotypes exist everywhere. In some ways, they can help us make sense of the world around us and help simplify information for our brain. They can be useful in comedy and in stories as a basic idea for a character. In real life though, they can cause problems.

I am here to address a stereotype that has been very prominent in my life since I stopped consuming and purchasing animal products: that vegans are thin and healthy. There is this expectation always lurking in the back of my mind reminding me of how I am supposed to look, simply because I am vegan. When I tell someone about my choices, I imagine what they are thinking:

Well why do you look like that then?

I don’t want to be skeptical and assume that every person that finds out I am vegan exercises this type of judgment, but I can at the very least recognize an element of surprise in their face. Sometimes, I even catch a discrete look up and down my body. It doesn’t match.

Having been vegan for two years now, I’ve often heard arguments promoting this diet with the promise of weight loss, clearer skin, more energy. Healthier. I am living proof that being vegan does not automatically mean all of these things will come true. There are just too many other factors at play: how much sleep one gets at night, how many vegetables one eats, if one has access to sunlight, how much exercise one gets, and how well one manages stress.

I’ve been there though, in that type of mindset. During my first few months of exploring vegan foods, I felt invincible. Looking back now, I can understand why: in the span of one day I jumped from eating huge portions of take-out pizza with extra cheese and meat to making all my meals at home, all vegan and mostly gluten free. I was also exercising frequently because I was motivated. When people asked, I would tell them I made the switch to veganism for my health, because I found people were often more receptive to this than when I said it was for the animals. It became second nature to think that a vegan diet made me healthier than others.

After a while, I started discovering the more processed foods, such as foods that are accidentally vegan (like the chocolate and vanilla creme cookie that shall not be named.) Looking back on the last two years, I can recall many companies launching cheap vegan alternatives of their products. This is great news for the animals because it means that supply and demand is working! In Canada, we’re talking everything from delivery pizza, mac and cheeze, margarine, mayo, to ice cream, cookies, and even croissants.

It’s all there, in front of me when shopping. The first time I notice it at the grocery store, I get so excited and have to try it. I’m voting for the switch to vegan options with every dollar that I spend. Then there are times when I am stressed, emotional or simply busy (being the boss-lady that I am.) So lately, I have been experiencing the less healthy side of being vegan, and that’s okay.

Let’s talk about stress eating. I do it. I lead a busy life and I am addicted to achievement. If I don’t achieve something tangible every single day, I feel incomplete. Sometimes, all of these commitments that I signed up for somehow all the due days always fall closely together.

I know how to be a healthy vegan, and I often can be an unhealthy vegan. The last few months for me have been filled with growth and development. I have also noticed some changes with my body: I have taken on some more weight, I don’t quite fit in all my pants, and my bras fit a bit differently now. With this, I have learned to embrace my body how it is and I want to keep feeling proud about who I am and what I have accomplished, even if it means I’ve put on some weight because of the added stress.

There was a period of time where I would feel guilt for the way I look. I am a very committed vegan and would love to see more people try it out. In the way that I used to see it: it was my responsibility to look good (but then again, what is “good”?) so that more people would be tempted to pursue the lifestyle and harm fewer animals. I thought: if I look healthy, people will see this as proof that eating vegan is sustainable and will benefit them.

I’ve stopped looking at it this way. So many online campaigns about the vegan lifestyle revolve around healthy, fit humans already - and that’s great. I have started to notice a void, though. I don’t see much of representation from plus-sized vegans out there. Just like in most situations, showing diversity can be a great way to be inclusive and give people the courage to approach. If people see more variation in body shape, colour, height, age, etc, the vegan movement will look like it belongs to everybody.

Many people I speak to see vegans as sharing one specific lifestyle: one of compromise. By embracing my curves and telling people that I am vegan, I feel like I can start to break down this stigma that I experience. Veganism can work with any lifestyle or habit, so long as a few modifications are made to replace animal products.

You can make it work for you! If you want to be a healthy vegan, you can. If you want to be a busy vegan who craves junk food and prefers watching movies to doing exercise, you can. If you have a perfect skin complexion, you can be vegan. If you have acne, you still can. Whoever you are, you can make your lifestyle vegan.

In my opinion, the fact that being vegan can work with any lifestyle would help make this amazing movement more inclusive. This could diminish the power of some of these stereotypes associated with being vegan; such as vegans are skinny or veganism is another diet with “too good to be true” promises. The truth is, a longer, healthier life is not guaranteed, and being vegan should be about the animals. Anybody can show compassion toward others and try to avoid harming them. It’s a choice that should be accessible to everyone. r