Veganism in Africa

I would assume that if you are reading this blog, you are aware that I am vegan and have been since January 2009. You probably have often even been annoyed at my "vegan-ness" and failed to understand why I won't eat a food produce that contains "traces of milk."

Unfortunatley, the whole veganism thing isn't working out too well in Uganda and Rwanda. At the time of this writting, I am still vegan and have not consumed any animal product. The deal, however, is that my body is angry at me. I have been feeling weak, shaky, and light-headed. I have to consume huge amounts of food in order to ever feel full. I have been sleeping a ton but never still always feel tired. I am constantly achy and have had a hard time running.

You see, back in the states I derive most of my protein from green, leafy vegetables, soy products, nuts, and protein-rich grains like quinoa (oh my gosh, quinoa sounds incredible right now). Here, none of those items exist. The only vegetables they serve are cabbage, cucumber, and carrots. These are all great vegetables, but unfortunatley they don't really contain protein. While g nuts (a lot like peanuts) are served here, they're not consistently enough available to be a solid source of protein. The bread here is all white bread, not the grains that would supply me with protein. And I don't think Africans really believe in soy products.

The only source of protein I have had are beans. And beans are great, but on average they have only been served every other day. In the states, I am for about 40 grams of protein a day. Here I don't think I've ever gotton more than 10 grams, and that's at the high end.

Protein and fats is what makes you feel full. When the majority of the foods that I eat are very starchy foods that contain neither protein or fat, I have had to eat a lot in order to ever feel full. And that feeling doesn't last very long. As an athlete, consuming only starchy foods is not an ideal scenario.

I love being vegan. I think it is one of the healthiest choices I have ever made and I feel great when I can maintain a well-balanced vegan diet in the states.

But here, it just doesn't seem to be possible for me to walk 2 hours a day on average, get an hour of exercize (or more a day), manage 8 hours of class a day without getting more protein and a wider variety of nutrients. So, I have decided that I will start incorporating eggs into my diet. I really, really don't like the idea of consuming casein (the protein in milk) so I am still going to avoid dairy, but eggs are high in protein and readily available. Most chickens here are cage free and treated much more ethically than in the states.

So, I plan on ordering an omlete tonight at dinner. Hopefully this choice will make me feel better. But, for those haters who don't like me being vegan, know that this is a choice based on the circumstances and I will most definitely return to my annoying vegan self back in the states.