A Vegan Diet: Will this work for me? What's the best way to transition? Any suggestions or tips to stay on track? How do you feel now that you have become a vegan/vegetarian, and what made you make the switch if you did?
Okay, so here's how this idea of becoming a vegan popped into my head. I was sitting at my computer desk, which had an array of soft drink bottles/candy wrappers/other trash atop it. Ironically, I was watching a YouTube video about obesity in America. I had an epiphany. My family has a history of obesity. I haven't been to them gym lately. And obviously my diet is not..err...balanced atm. At first I was researching diets like Atkins or South Beach, but they all seemed so commercialized and boring. Then I started thinking about Veganism (sp?) and what I learned about it matched the goals I wanted to accomplish.
Honestly, as much as I love animals, being an animal lover isn't one of my main reasons for wanting this. The reason why I want this is to improve my state of mind, health, and well-being. From watching a couple Vlogs about choosing the vegan lifestyle, i've also realized that this is definitely NOT going to be easy!
I live in North Carolina, which is known for fried everything and sweet tea. I live with my parents, who are very fond of meat. And, most importantly, I love meat!! So you can see that this might be a little challenging for me.
Some other information to know: I'm 19, female, and weigh 126 as of today. I've always had a fairly high metabolism, but since i've quit tennis it seems to have slowed down (not surprisingly). Also, i'm at high risk for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, if that makes a difference. I don't smoke or drink.
I figure there must be at least a couple of TL'ers who are vegans, or are like me and what to become them!
Look up the paleo diet. It is based around eating grassfed meats and local grown vegetables. Eliminate all processed foods and you will feel a difference.
I could try that approach! transitioning slowly until eventually i'm completely vegan. And the main reason i'd prefer to go straight to veganism is because if I went halfway I don't think i'd be able to control myself from going back to my old ways lol.
On November 07 2011 10:47 Newbistic wrote: May I ask why you chose veganism and not vegetarianism or even soft vegetarianism (eggs/diary maybe even fish being ok)?
Completely agree, when you want to change your diet, change it to this. This way you actually get the proper nutrients, and you can still have the LOTS of kinds of food that have dairy in them.
On November 07 2011 10:53 retroactivekingpin wrote: I could try that approach! transitioning slowly until eventually i'm completely vegan. And the main reason i'd prefer to go straight to veganism is because if I went halfway I don't think i'd be able to control myself from going back to my old ways lol.
You're less likely to go back to your old ways slowly transitioning. If you transition too fast, you'll probably get tired of your new diet and go back to your old habits.
On November 07 2011 10:53 retroactivekingpin wrote: I could try that approach! transitioning slowly until eventually i'm completely vegan. And the main reason i'd prefer to go straight to veganism is because if I went halfway I don't think i'd be able to control myself from going back to my old ways lol.
You're less likely to go back to your old ways slowly transitioning. If you transition too fast, you'll probably get tired of your new diet and go back to your old habits.
My wife and I are doing slow transitions as well. Part of it was that we both went back to school and cutting meat out of our diet was a great way to save some money. After doing that we decided to start cutting out diary as well. Since we're not doing it for ethical reasons (although we both love animals) we don't worry too much about the occasional diet slip - we'll eat just about whatever we're served if we're visiting someone or are stuck on the road with "only" fast food options.
First of all, whoever says stuff like "being vegan/vegetarian isn't healthy" has no clue. Period.
However, you are going to need to put in a lot more EFFORT if you want to only eat vegetarian food (and even more so if you'd like to go vegan) if you want to stay healthy.
"It's not healthy" applies because of so many people are like "hey, ima go vegetarian/vegan" and simply stop eating everything that doesn't fit in. There are certain vitamins/minerals and stuff like protein that most of the people in the western world get from either their meat or randomly from stuff that's not included in those types of diet.
I started being a vegetarian about 6ish years ago when a friend of mine (she did the same martial art as me, about ~30h per week of pretty hard workout) who was vegan kinda converted me by saying "go ahead and watch earthlings. If you make it through the whole film without feeling bad for eating meat, I'll stfu" =D.
The hard part in the beginning for me were two things: Protein and weight gain. What I basicly did at first was just remove all meat/fish from what I ate before. Result was eating too much stuff like nuts/cheese and my training didn't work out well cause I simply lacked the protein needed. However, I fixed all of those issues over time. Once you're at the point where you feel that your body feels weaker/worse than usually you start getting those little hints again where your body tells you what it needs. If I find myself staring at a piece of meat even though I started to hate how it tastes - I know I'm lacking protein for example.
Random tips: -Inform yourself. Become conscious about what you actually stuff into your body. Learn what you need, what's good for you and how to obtain it. -If you, as you say, actually LOVE meat, don't stop eating it imo (yes, this is coming from someone who doesn't eat meat because he loves animals <3). Learn where you food comes from, learn where it's not from animals who suffered from the day they were born. Start eating stuff like chicken over swine.
Personal suggestion: Do it step by step. Definitly. You can try those whenever you feel like it.
-Stop eating meat. Try it for a month or two. Whenever you feel like you NEED meat, grab a random protein resource of your choice. Keep eating fish. If you go back to eating meat after a month or two and it still feels right for you, stay with it. -Stop eating anything with a lot of refined sugar and sugar substitutes. (This one is hard as fuck). No coke. No sweets. No chocolate. Read what's actually in your food. I can promise you from personal experience, if you did that for a month and you drink a glass of coke afterwards you won't be able to believe that you ever drunk something that disgusting. It's horrible. Once you're getting used to it again you'll like it again. Don't worry. You'll be able to choose whether you want to keep that stuff in your life or not.
In case you are past the "no meat" stage and feel fit or maybe even fitter than before I'd start removing fish and obvious stuff like eggs and milk from my diet. Do it slowly. Give it time after you removed certain major things. Read up on where you get the stuff from that's in it.
Personally over the years I've become pretty relaxed to what I don't consume, but I'm always aware of what's going on. If I buy stuff for myself I'd buy soy milk. If I'm at a restaurant and get cow milk I won't bitch at the waiter. If I'm in the mood for fish or cheese (fuck, I love em), I eat them. The only thing that I really completely stopped was meat. Just can't stand the taste anymore. =P
How I felt with the whole thing? Awesome. In retrospect the greatest improvement in lifestyle came from learning how my body really works, what it needs, what it doesn't need. I still read on the little stickers about what's in this or that and decide if I want that or not.
If you're aware of what you eat you can consciously make the decision to eat what's bad or what's good for you. - If you're not aware of those things you will most likely eat shit unhealthy because of pure laziness. I hate not having a choice when it's about the only body I get in this life. =)
Feel free to bomb some more question, especially when it comes to sport vs vegetarian diet. Pretty sure I can give some pointers there.
if you have to ask an online community to aid in making such a drastic decision, then you probably shouldn't make this change.
there are better (less drastic) ways to diet (or control obesity in general with exercise) and i suggest checking out those before trying to change something big.
whenever you want to change your behavior, you can't make a giant step or you'll fail and scrap the whole idea. instead try to go for a small change until that becomes your standard. then make another small change.
On November 07 2011 10:47 Newbistic wrote: May I ask why you chose veganism and not vegetarianism or even soft vegetarianism (eggs/diary maybe even fish being ok)?
The more limited your diet, the more difficult it is to acquire all the proper nutrients.
Because being vegan just makes you better than most people.
That's so wierd!! I was just reading The Skinny Bitch before I came onto TL haha. I am also seriously thinking about going Vegan. I'm not overweight now but I feel like I eat super unhealthy and that if I continue eating this way, I WILL be overweight when I'm 40. Anyway, the best advice I've read so far is transition slowly so it sticks rather than jump in and tomorrow just try to do everything differently. I got this book and they made a cookbook too that I think I will try out. I don't know any vegans or even vegetarians in real life so I figured I'd have to do a lot of experimenting and reading haha. Good luck to us both!! =D
I'm a vegetarian and I can tell you that if you prefer to eat unhealthy foods, you will eat unhealthy foods whether you are vegetarian or not. I'm inclined to think people who go veggie are likely to eat healthy because somebody who doesn't pay attention to their diet and make it an area where they exercise conscious control isn't likely to go veggie... rather than it being a matter of causation.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
EPT
