Veganism?
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I did read parts of the Eat to Live book and its definitely a way of eating that takes some commitment. You have to eat a ton of vegetables of different varieties to ensure you're getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. I don't think I could physically eat so many vegetables in one day (or afford so much organic produce!)
I think like with any way of eating you can do it incorrectly and get some bad side effects like being tired, cranky, etc0 -
My main advice is to get educated about nutrition--here's a useful website for that: http://www.veganhealth.org/ You'll want to track your protein, iron, calcium at least until you get into a routine. A B12 supplement is a good idea, too. I also watch my (healthy) fat intake to make sure I'm getting enough. If I get too low on that, I have trouble feeling full since fat is very satiating.
I did my transition slowly, first to vegetarian and then slowly finding alternatives to various other animal products (eggs, milk, cheese, honey, yogurt, butter, sour cream, etc.). Some people go cold turkey but it can be quite overwhelming a change.0 -
I've very recently been eating strictly vegan (two weeks so far) for health and ethical reasons. Just like some people have said it can be easy just to eat a bunch of pasta and junk food and that is probably not going to get you where you want to be. I have had a fairly easy go of it but it's not the same for everyone. I've struggled most of my life with binge eating, and since I've started, I've not binged at all. The first few days were tough, I was not use to eating all plant based foods. In fact, I used to go days before eating a fruit or veggie. So, while my body was adjusting I was hungry all the time. I made smart choices, an apple or banana, some juice, or a smoothie, and by the end of the week, I didn't feel like I was depriving myself so I stuck with it. I've lost 7 lbs so far and I'm eating healthier than I ever have. Not everyone in your life will be supportive but you're doing this for you, not for them. Good luck, if you decide to go with it!0
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A good movie to watch is Vegucated. 3 people try veganism for 6 weeks. It's a great movie and shows the animal ethics and the possible health benefits.
I agree with J Currie. "Vegucated" is worth watching to understand the motivation to be vegan and how it can improve your health. It did not convince me to totally become vegan, but I am including more non-meat meals as a result of watching this.
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You can lose a ton of weight by dropping dairy & excess animal products.
Watch "Forks Over Knives"!!!!
My husband lost 25 pounds just by going vegetarian - no exercise, no dieting, no counting calories - he just quit meats & soda.
"Needing Protein" is a ridiculous statement. Protein is found in plants. Complete amino acids can easily & simply be eaten with beans, peas, and other foods.
- Having recently been pregnant, I still eat fish a few times a month, and if I'm out & about I've eaten turkey. However, I attribute our diet which prioritizes fruits, vegetables, beans instead of fatty fatty burgers & bacon with our health.
- Veganism is a challenge though, and I would not attempt it along with weight loss. I would attempt not eating pigs, cows, chicken, milk, and cheese. Then you can see if you want to incorporate other facets into your life. I love animals too & feel a lot less guilty when I make other choices.
- Also, almost all Americans get excess protein, which is linked to many health problems. We are deficient in many other things- potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber - many other nutrients which should be attained by eating more fruits & veggies. No one ever went to the emergency room from eating too many vegetables, but they sure land there from eating too much fatty meat!
The very real risks of consuming too much protein: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/03/too-much-protein.aspx
Missing nutrients in the standard american diet:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/missing-nutrients-in-your-food0 -
I'm on my second week of transitioning to a whole foods vegan diet. It's not that hard and it's not that expensive. Buy local produce when you can, shop produce that's on sale. Try to use a majority of organic and local but it doesn't all have to be organic. Just wash all produce very well,
A big misconception is it should be a diet filled with loads of fruits and vegetables, but really the majority of your caloric intake, 55% or more, should be complex carbohydrates and most whole grains and beans are cheap.
I avoid most processed vegan foods and I try to cook with very little to no oils. My protein comes from whole grains, legumes and nuts.
As for supplements, it all depends on your dietary needs. I find many of the whole grain products and whole grain cereals are fortified with, iron, some B vitamins including B12 and many of the non-dairy milk replacements are fortified with D, B12 and calcium. Read your labels.
As for eating a multitude of different types vegetables in a day, it's amazing how many veggies you can pack into a soup, season it up, puree or eat it chunky. I'm not a salad person but I can blend my green veggies up in a banana smoothie, add them to a soup or mince them up to flavor other foods or blend them into dips.
Everyone should consider eating a lot less meat and dairy. The more meat and dairy you consume the bigger your carbon footprint.
http://ecowatch.com/2013/01/21/factory-farming-global-warming/
As to the why should you go vegan? Because it's the most conscientious thing you can do both for your body and your planet.0 -
You can lose a ton of weight by dropping dairy & excess animal products.
Watch "Forks Over Knives"!!!!
My husband lost 25 pounds just by going vegetarian - no exercise, no dieting, no counting calories - he just quit meats & soda.
"Needing Protein" is a ridiculous statement. Protein is found in plants. Complete amino acids can easily & simply be eaten with beans, peas, and other foods.
- Having recently been pregnant, I still eat fish a few times a month, and if I'm out & about I've eaten turkey. However, I attribute our diet which prioritizes fruits, vegetables, beans instead of fatty fatty burgers & bacon with our health.
- Veganism is a challenge though, and I would not attempt it along with weight loss. I would attempt not eating pigs, cows, chicken, milk, and cheese. Then you can see if you want to incorporate other facets into your life. I love animals too & feel a lot less guilty when I make other choices.
- Also, almost all Americans get excess protein, which is linked to many health problems. We are deficient in many other things- potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber - many other nutrients which should be attained by eating more fruits & veggies. No one ever went to the emergency room from eating too many vegetables, but they sure land there from eating too much fatty meat!
The very real risks of consuming too much protein: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/03/too-much-protein.aspx
Missing nutrients in the standard american diet:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/missing-nutrients-in-your-food
There are literally hundreds of threads on here from SAD-eaters trying to get enough protein.
Also, in.0 -
I think it's great if you want to do it for ethical reasons.
I would have a hard time eating a healthy sustainable diet doing it, but I don't have the ethical commitment to back me up. (I have issues with factory farming, so try to opt out to some extent, but don't think eating animals or using their eggs and milk is wrong.)0 -
You can lose a ton of weight by dropping dairy & excess animal products.
Watch "Forks Over Knives"!!!!
My husband lost 25 pounds just by going vegetarian - no exercise, no dieting, no counting calories - he just quit meats & soda.
"Needing Protein" is a ridiculous statement. Protein is found in plants. Complete amino acids can easily & simply be eaten with beans, peas, and other foods.
- Having recently been pregnant, I still eat fish a few times a month, and if I'm out & about I've eaten turkey. However, I attribute our diet which prioritizes fruits, vegetables, beans instead of fatty fatty burgers & bacon with our health.
- Veganism is a challenge though, and I would not attempt it along with weight loss. I would attempt not eating pigs, cows, chicken, milk, and cheese. Then you can see if you want to incorporate other facets into your life. I love animals too & feel a lot less guilty when I make other choices.
- Also, almost all Americans get excess protein, which is linked to many health problems. We are deficient in many other things- potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber - many other nutrients which should be attained by eating more fruits & veggies. No one ever went to the emergency room from eating too many vegetables, but they sure land there from eating too much fatty meat!
The very real risks of consuming too much protein: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/03/too-much-protein.aspx
Missing nutrients in the standard american diet:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/missing-nutrients-in-your-food
Not really.
I'm not going to find 120g of protein from eating plants, at least not if I want to stay within my calories.
So... did they wind up in the ER because of the protein, or because of the fat?
You do realize that protein from animal sources is not exclusive to "fatty fatty burgers" and bacon. I use ground beef that has only 10g of fat and 20g of protein for under 200 calories worth of meat. Which is about the same macro breakdown for salmon, and gosh darn it, those websites sure like to tell us we should be eating fish like salmon a few times a week!
Your husband lost 25lbs because his exclusionary/restrictive dietary intake resulted in an unintentional/unmonitored drop in calories. He could have done the same by cutting out all carb sources (including veggies and fruit). He ain't no special snowflake.
So yeah, bunch of hooey in your post. If one has ethical or religious reasons for going vegan, I'm down. If they think it will make them somehow way healthier than anyone else because "omg woo woo meat is gonna kill everyone" then yeah, no. Remember when fat was demonized to all hell and people thought dietary fat makes people fat? Remember how that ideology eventually fell out of favour and got replaced by carb fear? Apparently now protein fear? Soon it will be excessive vitamin intake fear. Apples will kill us all.
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You can lose a ton of weight by dropping dairy & excess animal products.
Watch "Forks Over Knives"!!!!
My husband lost 25 pounds just by going vegetarian - no exercise, no dieting, no counting calories - he just quit meats & soda.
"Needing Protein" is a ridiculous statement. Protein is found in plants. Complete amino acids can easily & simply be eaten with beans, peas, and other foods.
- Having recently been pregnant, I still eat fish a few times a month, and if I'm out & about I've eaten turkey. However, I attribute our diet which prioritizes fruits, vegetables, beans instead of fatty fatty burgers & bacon with our health.
- Veganism is a challenge though, and I would not attempt it along with weight loss. I would attempt not eating pigs, cows, chicken, milk, and cheese. Then you can see if you want to incorporate other facets into your life. I love animals too & feel a lot less guilty when I make other choices.
- Also, almost all Americans get excess protein, which is linked to many health problems. We are deficient in many other things- potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber - many other nutrients which should be attained by eating more fruits & veggies. No one ever went to the emergency room from eating too many vegetables, but they sure land there from eating too much fatty meat!
The very real risks of consuming too much protein: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/03/too-much-protein.aspx
Missing nutrients in the standard american diet:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/missing-nutrients-in-your-food
Not really.
I'm not going to find 120g of protein from eating plants, at least not if I want to stay within my calories.
So... did they wind up in the ER because of the protein, or because of the fat?
You do realize that protein from animal sources is not exclusive to "fatty fatty burgers" and bacon. I use ground beef that has only 10g of fat and 20g of protein for under 200 calories worth of meat. Which is about the same macro breakdown for salmon, and gosh darn it, those websites sure like to tell us we should be eating fish like salmon a few times a week!
Your husband lost 25lbs because his exclusionary/restrictive dietary intake resulted in an unintentional/unmonitored drop in calories. He could have done the same by cutting out all carb sources (including veggies and fruit). He ain't no special snowflake.
So yeah, bunch of hooey in your post. If one has ethical or religious reasons for going vegan, I'm down. If they think it will make them somehow way healthier than anyone else because "omg woo woo meat is gonna kill everyone" then yeah, no. Remember when fat was demonized to all hell and people thought dietary fat makes people fat? Remember how that ideology eventually fell out of favour and got replaced by carb fear? Apparently now protein fear? Soon it will be excessive vitamin intake fear. Apples will kill us all.
This.0 -
Why people gotta get so uppity? To each their own right? I don't hear people argue half as much about what kind of music they like as they do about the food they eat.0
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I don't think I could ever go vegan myself, but am kind of heading that way. I am trying not to eat processed or cured meat. Eventually I want to raise my own food, so I know what it is fed and how it is raised, and how it is killed. I want to keep my own bees like my grandparents did. I support farm sharing for raw milk, and investigate my meat sources. I don't like wondering how my meat was treated. I do think there is a correlation between what you eat, and what you eat eats. The stuff that is fed to cows and pigs is pretty disgusting, same with farmed fish and chicken. Plus what they do with all the excrement is pretty horrible. I have drove by the huge feedlot in the middle of NE a few times and feel sorry for residents around there.0
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Congrats on considering veganism for animal rights! Though as others have said, if you're doing it solely for weight loss, there are probably better methods. You can certainly lose weight on a vegan diet, same as you can on any diet, if you watch what you eat. Vegan baked goodies and creamy pastas still exist!
Be aware that getting enough vitamin B12 is a challenge for vegans, as can be the obvious iron. Protein shouldn't be a problem if you're smart about your food choices.
I jumped on the veganism train at the start of the year, and have lost about 2 pounds so far - mostly, I suspect, because I gave up my beloved croissants, haha! My parents have been vegan for a good 20 years or so, and are in excellent health. But my mother only lost a lot of weight when she quit carbs, so make of that what you will.0 -
I like to hunt them down and shoot them myself. It's a fun hobby with the benefit of eating them, too. Animals taste good.0
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Meat is good for you. I have a hard time with people saying that they are not eating meat because of animal rights when they are in opposition to human rights. From the perspective of what is best for animals and the environment, it is necessary to kill wild animals in moderation to reduce starvation and disease. Among farm raised animals, there are many species that do well and thrive because we eat them for meat that would likely go extinct if there weren't people taking care of them to provide a food source. (Sheep, for example.)0
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SergeantSausage wrote: »I like to hunt them down and shoot them myself. It's a fun hobby with the benefit of eating them, too. Animals taste good.
I'm going to get tossed out of the vegan community for saying this......but.....I completely respect people who hunt for their food. To me it's different, that animal was out there living its happy (or otherwise, nature is cruel) animal life before you went out and killed it.
It wasn't standing in its own filth in a feedlot, or have its beak clipped, or stuck in a cage too small, etc......My main issue is with factory farming.
There I said it..... I'm going to turn in my vegan membership card now....
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I was a vegetarian for 5 years and when I first switched to the diet I lost some weight, but it was never my reason. A fantastic side effect was my health, I did not get sick once during those 5 years, not even a cold. I did it with the help of the book Skinny *kitten*, I highly recommend it. Also if you are looking for tasty vegan recipes the restaurant Vedge put out a cook book that is just fantastic. I just got it and have been cooking from it every chance I get. The dishes are tasty and innovative.0
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Vegan here! I'm vegan for ethical reasons primarily, health reasons secondary. I've been vegetarian for five years, vegan for one. Being a vegan doesn't have to be heard, just remember to read and learn. It isn't for everyone, but if you do like the moral side to it, try it! Worst thing that happens is you don't like it. Insider tip: PETA sucks, don't just on the PETA wagon.
Now, you CAN be a healthy vegan, and it isn't hard, just eat fruits, veggies, beans, and whole grains. (Again, read read read.) But it's also easy to be a junk food vegetarian. I gained weight when I first switched, because Oreos, french fries, and coke are all vegan, and I hated vegetables. White bread and ketchup sandwich, anyone?
Some great resources are Forks Over Knives, Crazy Sexy Diet (Kris is amazing, but a little out there) Eat To Live, and the McDougall books.
Best of luck, and if you need a friend for motivation, feel free to add me!
Also, I want to address and earlier comment, not all vegans are preachy. (Again, PETA sucks) I live with my carnivore mother, sister, and am dating a carnivore, and I never try and convert them. Different strokes for different folks.0
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