Why I'm no longer vegan (after 6 YEARS)

kinda scared to post this but oh well LOL
sending u all a hug!!! xoxo

follow me on IG for more updates + pics of my food hehee!!!

✪ INSTA @_amberalexander
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[kneestaycold]

YES! People’s food journeys are NOT linear! They change throughout our lives and I appreciate you so much for being transparent because sometimes it’s hard to be open about our relationships with food. Thank you for being open about it even though we aren’t entitled to know! Much love to you!

[PaoloQuispe]

It’s interesting how similar our experiences were at the beginning. I went vegan a few weeks before my 14th bday and it was basically my last attempt at losing weight bc I had already tried many diets prior to that. As I was listening to you, I genuinely almost felt like you were talking about me 😅. I’m still vegan, but just like you, my reasons changed as I matured. Now I’m actually majoring in nutritional sciences, working on becoming a registered dietitian. My relationship with food has changed quite a lot and I’ve learned so much more studying nutrition. I think you worded everything very well and I’m glad you were willing to be open about this even though some people can definitely be judgmental at times. The idea has been created that vegan = healthy automatically when that’s just not the case. I’m glad to hear you’re prioritizing your health and feeling better about yourself! I think for anyone trying to improve their relationship with food, going to a dietitian is a great first step (shameless plug for my future self). Unfortunately, not everyone has access to those resources, but at least obtaining your information from the right people/places such as (again) registered dietitian accounts and not from people who just want to spread misinformation and fear. Keep doing you Amber!

[premg]

your video popped up on my feed, maybe because I'm vegan (i'm from india).

here is my take on your video amber, science is very clear that vegan diet (planned as every diet should be) is healthy and nutritionally adequate for all stages of life. Veganism is not a cult, fad or diet (whoever says it is, is not in it for the animals). Veganism is a social justice movement for animals. we recognize that non-human animals, deserve our moral consideration and basic right not to be exploited or killed by humans for 15 minutes of taste pleasure. animals are not commodities; they are sentient beings who can feel pain, suffer just like us. When you view animals as just food, it's very easy to be disconnected from what really happens to animals (unnecessarily inflicting pain, suffering & ultimately death). I hope you revaluate your position on veganism. you are young and have lot of influence on people too with your YouTube channel.

True Vegans (ethical) don't support animal welfarism, we only support animal liberation.

I recommend you watch slaughter footage (or) dominion(2018) (or) Earthlings (2005) and make up your mind whether what we are doing to animals is justified?

highly recommend you check out 'Earthling Ed' YouTube channel and his talks. "You Will Never Look at Your Life in the Same Way Again" talk by earthling ed.

[papercut]

It feels so wonderful to finally hear someone put my exact thoughts and emotions towards veganism into words. I love vegan food and its positive effects, but I have also suffered from an ED in the past and just cannot be monitoring all of my food intake the way I’d have to if I were 100% vegan. I completely understand where you are coming from Amber, and I am happy that you are able to prioritise yourself and your mental health like this! Being 100% vegan is just not meant for everyone at every stage in their life, and that’s okay!

[kindredmcguire]

I just hit three years of being vegan and I know I definitely didn’t start for the right reasons because I was also restrictive and hyper focused on food, but now I intuitively eat and am in a way better relationship with food. Overall, I really related to this video and try not to worry about what people think and do what’s best for you! ❤

[yagadoob]

i love how you’re super honest on how you became vegan to show both negatives and positives on changing your diet up like dat!! mucho love on whatever journey you follow💟😊😊

[craftasticYT]

9:52 perfectly worded🥺 Amber!! I didnt know you went through this. Thankyou for being so honest & so brave❤ I really wish you all the ily

[tiffany]

you were one of the people that helped me become vegan. other animals deserve liberation from suffering and needless death. they aren’t a food group like you see them as. they are individuals like you and me. i’m sorry that you felt like it restricted your eating and that you needed to feel socially normal and mentally well by paying for other beings to suffer and die. i know that the world isn’t perfect and there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism, but animal products always have a victim unless they’re lab-grown. it’s intentional and unnecessary harm. hopefully, someday we’ll have lab grown flesh, body parts, and breast milk that everyone can enjoy soon.

i also struggle with disordered eating and feeling like i can’t eat with everyone around me. i grew up in a culture with a lot of animals served as food, roasted whole pigs on tables, and all that. but culture can change and evolve. i can’t live with myself knowing that i’m eating the body parts and secretions of nonconsenting beings who can’t escape from their pain.

[leah-fkyd]

i know 100% your transparency means a lot to everyone! amazing video amber :D

[gisenda]

Maybe your title should say " why I no longer eat plant based" because there is a difference.
We're you vegan or plant based? Because it sounds like you were more plant based, due to you eating plant based foods for the health and diet aspect. Veganism today, is not a diet or a fad or a health based lifestyle . You are vegan because you just do not want to eat animal products, which cause animals to be hurt, exploited, & slaughtered. You believe animals have the right to live just like you do, and would never want to pay for someone to hurt them. You do not want to wear animal products either. It is not really the health aspect. You still can eat junk food vegan foods, unhealthy vegan foods, and an array of foods that are similar to their meat counter parts. Because it is not a diet, or fad diet if you are a true vegan. But if you do it for more health reasons and do it for the animals, then that is more of plant based eating lifestyle. Plus it sounds like you followed extreme plant based crazy nuts, that did not help in your journey. But there are also extremists in other fad diets like the Atkins diets, keto diet, pretty much in every diet craze. Too bad you were exposed to those types of people, which affected you, and maybe enhanced a slight eating disorder. Hope you have a good healing journey in life.

[roshnipatel]

You aren't vegan anymore cuz you went vegan for all the wrong reasons

[lunchablecheese]

I’ve never seen a “no longer vegan” video, I recently gave up on being vegan in November and I felt so guilty but I’m glad you’re saying this queen

[cjiv]

Wow this such a great video. I relate so much despite not being vegan. I was a young kid looking into veganism for the sake of losing weight and developed an eating disorder which I still struggle with as a now sophomore in college. I also still struggle with eating in public. It’s really crazy how much the internet warps young minds this way. This vid really comforted me about my own eating habits. I’m really glad ur bettering yourself tho!! Xx

[alexshannon]

This is why veganism is not a diet. When framing the topic of veganism as just your diet, you're shielding yourself from the ethical issue. It makes "leaving veganism" feel like a backslide on eating healthy or just a natural growth in your preferences as you mature. The reality is that you're now participating in a global holocaust of over 100 billion sentient animals a year. None of the problems you experienced are exclusive to eating plants and can be solved without slaughtering people. We do all deserve to eat, but no one has the right to take your life from you to make themselves feel better. If it's not okay to do to you, it's not okay to do to someone else.

[kaepiper]

i’m so grateful to have found kind youtubers like spencer barbosa, nutrition by kylie, and fitgreenmind who make body positive and health positive content. younger me needed that really badly. though, my mindset was awful and even though i was aware of the right things to do in regards to weightloss and insecurities, i was still horrible to myself. thankfully i’ve gotten out of that and i treat myself better. i’ve become healthier not only through food but by speaking kindly to myself. i’m not vegan though i’d love to be closer to one some day. i’m actually vegetarian as of october 2022. the social aspect and the money aspect of veganism is definitely a deterrent for me as of right now. being vegetarian, i have access to more things.

i appreciate your transparency. as viewers of other’s content, you never know what goes on in someone’s life no matter how l things appear online. i’m happy you’ve decided to step away for your own mental health. you deserve to eat! from what i do know about you, you’re such a beautiful and hilarious person, you deserve to feel good about yourself!!

[susi]

What about the animals? Apart from one tiny mention at the beginning and saying you “know what animal welfare means for you”, you do not mention them. Veganism is NOT about the environment. Veganism is about animal rights. The victims on your plate are not just “food”. What you eat IS a big deal when it entails death and suffering for innocent animals. Even if as you say you are not eating meat, there is still great suffering in the egg, dairy and fish industries. Baby male chicks are ground up alive as they are unnecessary in the egg industry. Dairy cows are forcefully “artificially inseminated” (raped) in order to fall pregnant and then have their babies taken away from them at birth so that we can steal their milk. Plus when they are no longer “productive” where do they go? Straight to the abattoir. Dairy cows will be murdered at around 6 years old when naturally they could live for 20-25 years. Fish are sentient beings who suffer as they are suffocated and often cut open alive. Veganism is NOT about restricting what you eat. I’m sorry you had a bad experience with the HCLF cults but veganism doesn’t have to be like that! You can eat perfectly normally (and accessibly, if as your accent suggests you are somewhere in North America) without animals or animal products on your plate. If you take this as some kind of personal attack you are really not getting the message here - you seem like a sweet girl and this is the first video of yours I have seen so nothing against you - but I would urge you to really rethink the ethical consequences of your decisions and the real victims here - the hens, the baby chicks, the cows, the stolen calves, the bulls whose semen is stolen from them, the fish.... and not the minor inconvenience of having to check a food label or say no to a marinated egg.

[dariahester]

I’ve been a vegan for about 3 years. I started doing that because I wanted to be more healthy and consume more veggies and fruits. However I’ve developed some bad digestive issues due to mineral deficiency. Now I will try to slowly incorporate fish, meat, eggs in my food. I’ve had a craving for meat and fish before but completely ignored it due to my commitment not to eat any animal products. It is always crucial to listen to your body and don’t overlook it !

[ms.soapii]

social media was def the main cause of my disordered eating habits. it’s so sad how you, me and so many other young people develop bad eating habits bc of influencers at such a young age. i remember under eating starting from the age of 12 and i got super restrictive and got depressed bc i wasn’t looking different (thinner). I even told my parents that I wasn’t gonna eat meat for a month to “try it out bc I was curious” but in reality, I just heard influencers and social media saying cutting meat will help weight loss. uGHHH I JUST RELATE TO THIS VIDEO SO MUCH AMBER, tysm for being so open and honest :, )

[ohsugarblitz]

This is not meant to disrespect you or invalidate your experience, but I really wish people in general would stop seeing veganism as a diet or a meal plan to lose weight. Veganism is a sociopolitical movement to stop animal explotation, cruelty, and to see them for the intelligent, sentient, worthy of respect and compassion beings they are, what you eat in consequence to those ideals is just part of it, so when someone says "I am no longer vegan", were they really vegan? Does it mean they stopped caring for animals? Does it mean they no longer respect their lives? Probably not. What they really mean is that they stopped eating a plant-based diet, which is totally valid, because one can choose to have a plant-based diet for reasons other than animal liberation, such as health, the environment, to treat a condition, etc., so when it no longer works or feels right, you can change your diet to something that makes you feel better.

Having said that, I'm happy you're in a place where you feel better and more comfortable with what you eat, and that your relationship with food and self image is improving.

[qzjzivr]

This Youtuber has definitely proved to me that I can be strong with meat instead of Boring Vegan Foods. I wish i knew that from the start because as a person who never liked diets at all, i was so naïve to eat, And due to that I never drank or ate anything and that became a problem for me, until 2009 when i started eating and that became a life changer for me. It helped me to be more cautious about not eating, and why It causes me to be hungry everyday. With meat, I knew that it made me who i am since 2011 when the first time i tried spaghetti bolognese and i fell in love with it instantly and to this today i never felt sorry for eating it 😂. All Jokes Aside, you definitely know how to explain the reason why Vegan food is terrible without being disrespectful and im proud of you because of that. Continue the kindness that you share with your videos everytime you film it and post it online on youtube ❤😊.