An Additional Thought on: Veganism and Restriction

In an episode titled ‘bodies, restriction, & veganism’ Persephone ‘Sephy’ and Erin ‘Wing’ delve into a nuanced, anecdotal, and informative conversation on food restriction and body image.

The episode produced a conversation around veganism as a type of food restriction.

Wing discusses her decision to defer from her veganism in, amongst other elements of self-reflection, the name of abundance, food freedom, and enjoyment, and Sephy was examining veganism under the light of body image and diet.

‘I wanted to just have a bit of space from feeling like…indulging myself wasn’t important’. 

Honouring your desires and cravings is one of the first principles of intuitive and free eating – how can you eat intuitively and freely if you are cutting yourself off from a huge range of ingredients and flavours?

Sephy explains that veganism was always, for her, an eating disorder, with the inner mentality of ‘I can restrict better than all of you’.

Her story about feeling like she ‘had no right to’ a macaroon that wasn’t vegan really stuck with me and her comparison of veganism as a mask an eating disorder could wear felt very profound. She also spoke about how the only thing that would’ve deterred her from veganism was if it made her put on weight.

Many people have issues and a history of food restrictions. Upon reflection, it was only when I decided to go vegetarian and partly vegan, that my personal turbulent relationship with calories and health subsided slightly. Instead of restricting over one thing, I was restricting dairy, meat, scrambled eggs, and other things that I enjoyed – in the name of a ‘moral’ and ‘healthy’ diet. I only allowed myself to have milk in my coffee once I discovered oat milk. I got the same feeling about meat as I used to get about ‘overconsuming’; an icky, unpleasant, regretful feeling. ‘Vegan’ began to have a halo effect and safe-ifying food such as cheese that I wouldn’t eat – meaning that it started to mean much more than just a moral choice.

I think it is important to look into the reasons behind why we do things. I have since adopted a much more flexible diet that gives me a lot of joy and freedom. I think that self-imposed (rather than imposed by health professionals, religion, culture, or safety) labels on diets and lifestyles can have a slightly harmful effect especially if someone has a history of body issues or disordered eating. They are based on a principle of restriction, and I think anything that we find ourselves committing to, to the point of distress if we deviate, should be reflected upon.

I am, after my own introspection and listening to this episode, an advocate for label-free diets that come with no restrictions and are based on the principle of variety and fun.