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Hi, I did some dietician work for a while and just want to give you some advice that works really well for myself and tons of other people.
Most people think their diets aren't what they should be and they try and make a big switch. While this works for some people, it fails after a while for most. It is sooooo hard to drop from your diet foods that you love. If you like soda, pizza or candy (I sure do) it is really hard to never have them.
I would suggest to you a different plan instead of going vegan (since you don't really have the animal lover crazy motivation to do it).
Instead of limiting what you eat, try ADDING one piece of fruit to whatever you are going to eat every day, and try adding one vegetable. I know this may seem as if you are just adding calories, but you really aren't. You don't have to skip a snack or anything, just add 1 of each.
This has worked for tons of people in my life and myself. When I want a candy bar, sure I don't always have it, but sometimes I do, whatever. I started with 1 fruit and 1 veggie and then added 1 glass of milk (I didn't get any calcium). Now that I am eating this extra food, I crave that 2nd can of soda less, or the 5th handful of chips. Take it really slow, it is really tough to make big changes in diet for anyone and can be really stressful.
Anyway, this is kind of long winded, but to me, if you are looking to just be healthier, you can get the same benefit from eating more healthy food as you can from having less crap food.
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On November 07 2011 11:20 Artifice wrote:
Eat healthy and exercise. Being a vegan isn't healthy.
what!? Vegan can be just as healthy as a traditional diet if done right, it just can be expensive and a pain in the ass depending on where you live.
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On November 07 2011 13:00 Trezeguet wrote:Show nested quote +On November 07 2011 11:20 Artifice wrote:
Eat healthy and exercise. Being a vegan isn't healthy. what!? Vegan can be just as healthy as a traditional diet if done right, it just can be expensive and a pain in the ass depending on where you live.
I think his point was that just being vegan doesn't qualify as healthy. It's how well you can control your diet, not the fact that you're just claiming to be vegan, that will make you healthy.
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It can be expensive, definitely. Especially if you attempt to replace cheese with vegan cheese, mayo with fake mayo... etc.
I'm also female, 21, and I weigh 110 pounds. It's important to note that I'm 5 feet tall, so being short means that any extra weight is super noticeable. I've never been fat, but I have gone through periods where I felt the need to be healthier and lose 10-15 pounds.
I lost the weight easily when I went on my vegan-ish diet. I didn't go crazy and avoid foods that had minor non-vegan ingredients, I simply followed the general rules of being a vegan. I think the big thing is avoiding cheese and dairy in general - typically related to calorie and fat heavy foods, like butter. Otherwise, I would have just gone on a vegetarian diet.
Above all, the best way to live healthier and lose weight is a complete lifestyle change. I was never committed to being vegan, I only used it as a short term diet for weight loss purposes. Now, I simply eat smaller portion and limit my intake of "bad" food. I also exercise so I can enjoy those bad foods a little more often. 
Edit: Btw, that fake vegan food shit is usually not any better for you than real versions of cheese/butter/mayo/etc. They sometimes contain more fat and calories.
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Male, 20s, ~140 lb.
I am an on/off vegetarian/vegan. I try not to enjoy other living things, until I notice that it's making me feel poor then I break and eat some meat. It's not easy. I also cook most of my own food, which makes it cheap & healthier than eating out, but it consumes a lot of time.
The hardest thing is maintaining nutrition, particularly iron, certain fats, & vitamins you'll find in meat ezpz. You're going to get a lot more sugar on a vegan diet from fruits, so if you're not physically active and you have a predisposition to diabetes... eh.
If your sole objective is losing weight & staying healthy, you can do this by exercising more. Don't rely on your youthful metabolism -- it's going to go someday and then you'll turn as fat as your lifestyle permits. If you exercise though then you can eat some unhealthy stuff, including meat which is only unhealthy in the very very long run. I know vegetarians that put on weight because despite their dietary choices, they still never exercise. Don't choose this diet thinking it's low in calories. Eating meat doesn't make you fat -- a sedentary lifestyle does. Veganism over vegetarianism is purely an ethical distinction of approved/unapproved foods, primarily dairy.
As a female, you're at higher risk for osteoporosis down the line, so you'll have to think about exercise and Ca/P later on.
If you want to ease into it, I'd say try finding wholesome filling meals (I never eat leafy salads, I prefer rice, beans, and other vegetables) with a diversity of fruits & vegetables , and make meat a once a week meal, or whatever balance suits your needs. It will take a little while for your body to adjust, and you may feel "different."
tldr: exercise exercise, everybody exercise.
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Oh and that state of mind, body, spirit, or whatever... that's nonsense. You're either in good nutrition or poor, and you can have good nutrition eating meat & plenty of things that vegans avoid.
People may be describing their initial joy and positive mentality that comes with aligning your actions with your ethics. They may also just be outgoing people.
Personally, I notice a dip in my physical (athletic) abilities when I pig out on junk food. But I also notice a similar dip in my mental abilities when I fall behind on fats & vitamins. Brain foods and all of that -- it's harder to focus and reason through complex problems, you just feel like vegging on TL. :p
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Go vegetarian first. I'm not a real vegetarian as I still eat seafood, but I don't eat meat, and well vegan is pretty hardcore as you can't have eggs/cheese. Also more important than being a vegan, you should try to get as many organic food as possible.
Pesticides are really awful for health, and at the meantime you can contribute to promote something that is environment friendly.
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My suggestion is try out vegetarianism first, it isn't an easy switch and you will probably crave meat at first. However, this doesn't eliminate candy and such, but I think that you'll find if you can live off of vegetables and nuts (nuts are very important in a vegetarian diet due to their protein content that you will no longer be getting from meat) for a few weeks without feeling the need to eat junk food, you should try to transition in veganism. I couldn't never become a full vegan, I love cheese and milk!
Good luck with whatever you decide and if you'd like you can drop me a PM (I'm also female, of similar age and weight and i don't drink or smoke) I'd be happy to talk about it further!
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strongly urge vegetarian over vegan. I tried vegan for a week and it was really hard (and i go to a school that serves vegan meals). As far as I know, going vegan can be quite costly, as the best sources of protein come in nuts, which can be quiet expensive >< As a vegetarian(or pescatarian i suppose) for the lulz, I like being able to fall back on eggs and fish for my sources of nutrition, and not eating meat this way is way cheaper.
As a vegan you have to be super careful, there's a lot of secret killers you don't even think about (like lucky charms) Things made with gelatin and cream made my week hell lol.
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You should look into semi-vegeterianism. One of the main problems with the American diet isn't that we eat meat, it's that we eat too much meat, especially red meat and processed meat which is a risk factor for diabetes and colon illnesses. Try a diet where you eat red meat a maximum of once a month and eat chicken/fish occasionally. It sounds like you want to try veganism more as a "fad" than as a serious life choice and I have a feeling you will just eat a lot of bread and pasta instead of having a healthy vegan diet 
If you want a good "fad" diet to follow I reccomend looking at the Medditerranean diet. Healthy oils, nuts, fish, omega-3, high fiber bread, and fruits and veggies, can't go wrong. Or look at the DASH diet. Another healthy diet designed for people at risk for hypertension/obesity.
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I am an on/off vegetarian/vegan
You can't be an on/off vegetarian. What if I eat meat every second day? Am I an on/off vegetarian then?
Guess I'll just echo what everyone else has said: don't go vegan straight away. Take it down one step at a time. Try semi-vegetarianism like the poster above suggested, and if you still feel like you wanna go further try out a vegetarian diet.
I recommend taking multivitamins as a supplement too. They provide a nice safety net in case you are missing out on some important nutrients.
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EPT
