I went vegan in my 40s and these 7 unexpected things changed that had nothing to do with food

When I stopped eating animal products at 35, I expected my grocery list to change. I expected to learn new recipes and field awkward questions at dinner parties. What I didn't expect was for veganism to become a doorway into examining everything else in my life.

Five years later, I can tell you that the food part was actually the simplest piece. The real transformation happened in places I never anticipated. Here are seven things that shifted in ways I'm still processing.

1. My relationship with discomfort completely changed

Before going vegan, I was excellent at avoiding things that made me uncomfortable. I'd spent nearly two decades in finance perfecting the art of not looking too closely at anything that might disrupt my carefully constructed life. Reading about factory farming broke that pattern wide open.

Once I let myself sit with that discomfort instead of running from it, I found I could sit with other hard truths too. The job that was slowly draining me. The friendships I'd been maintaining out of obligation. The way I'd been performing a version of success that wasn't actually mine.

Have you ever noticed how avoiding one uncomfortable truth makes it easier to avoid all of them?

2. I became a better listener

Something strange happened when I started paying closer attention to the impact of my choices. I began paying closer attention to everything, including the people around me.

My partner Marcus noticed it first. He said I seemed more present in conversations, less likely to be mentally drafting my response while he was still talking. I think examining my assumptions about food made me realize how many assumptions I was making everywhere else.

Listening became less about waiting for my turn and more about genuine curiosity. What was this person actually trying to tell me? What wasn't being said?

3. My spending habits transformed

This one caught me off guard. I'd spent years in finance, so you'd think I already had a handle on money. But veganism introduced me to a different kind of financial awareness: the question of where my dollars actually go.

I started researching companies before buying from them. I became interested in supply chains, labor practices, environmental impact. My Amazon cart got a lot smaller. My local economy got more of my attention.

It wasn't about perfection. It was about intention. And that shift rippled into every purchase, not just food.

4. I stopped performing wellness

Here's something I'm almost embarrassed to admit: before going vegan, a lot of my "healthy" choices were really about appearing healthy. The expensive gym membership I rarely used. The supplements lined up on my counter for show. The green smoothies I posted on social media but didn't actually enjoy.

Veganism required me to actually learn about nutrition. I had to understand what my body needed and how to provide it. That education replaced performance with genuine engagement. I started running trails because it felt good, not because it looked good. I meditated because it helped, not because it was trendy.

When's the last time you did something healthy purely because it served you?

5. My tolerance for inauthenticity dropped dramatically

Once you've made a significant life change based on your actual values, it becomes harder to tolerate situations where you're pretending. The corporate dinners where everyone laughed at jokes that weren't funny. The networking events built on mutual insincerity. The relationships maintained through careful performance.

I don't think I became judgmental of others. But I became much less willing to abandon myself in social situations. This cost me some connections. It deepened others immeasurably.

My parents still don't fully understand my choices, and our conversations can be tense. But at least they're honest now.

6. I developed patience I didn't know I had

Veganism in your 40s means constantly explaining yourself. It means watching people roll their eyes or launch into defensive monologues about their uncle's farm. It means sitting at tables where your choices are treated as personal criticism of everyone else's.

I used to react to these moments with frustration or over-explanation. Now I've learned to let them pass. People come to new ideas on their own timeline, if they come at all. My job isn't to convert anyone. It's to live according to my own values and answer questions honestly when asked.

Research on stress management from the American Psychological Association suggests that accepting what we can't control is fundamental to wellbeing. Veganism gave me daily practice in exactly that.

7. I finally understood what enough means

This might be the biggest shift of all. My entire career was built on the assumption that more was better. More money, more status, more achievement. Going vegan made me question that logic at its root.

If I could be satisfied with simpler meals, maybe I could be satisfied with a simpler life. If I didn't need the most expensive option to feel nourished, maybe I didn't need the most impressive title to feel valuable.

I left finance at 36. I write now. I run trails. I have enough. That word, enough, used to feel like settling. Now it feels like freedom.

Final thoughts

I want to be clear: I'm not suggesting veganism is a magic solution to life's complications. It's not. And the dietary choice itself matters less than the willingness to examine your life honestly.

But for me, changing what I ate became an invitation to change how I lived. The food was just the first domino. Five years later, I'm still watching the others fall.

What might shift in your life if you let yourself look closely at one thing you've been avoiding?