New friendly vegan :)

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rjdunn87
rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to introduce myself. I've just joined and started logging my food consistently and would love any other vegan or non-vegan friends for motivation! I'm currently 185 pounds and trying to get to 150 (for now). I finished day 18 of the 30 Day Shred today and will be starting Ripped in 30 after the holidays.

Let's see, other things about me… I'm 26, a new graduate student, live in Seattle with my boyfriend and my puppy. I've been vegan for about eight months and have lost about ten pounds in that time (I've only just started exercising consistently). Anyway… feel free to add or message me. My diary is public as well.
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  • asianmonkie
    asianmonkie Posts: 264
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    I'm not vegan but I love to eat vegan food when I can. The hardest part is finding good and easy recipes so I don't always have to eat out. Feel free to add me!
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
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    Added, thanks :)
  • Justwatchmerun
    Justwatchmerun Posts: 21 Member
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    Not a vegan, but vegetarian :) Add me if you like!
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
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    I did, thanks!
  • aresqui
    aresqui Posts: 1 Member
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    also a vegan, we could swap recipes. Add me if you like
  • yanglovesmj
    yanglovesmj Posts: 28 Member
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    I am a vegan here too! but totally cheating on one single thing thats quest bars! thats the only thing i cheat on though! good luck to you the most important thing is to constantly stay motivated throughout the journey which i think is the hardest :) haha cuz i find myself spiraling in a vicious cycle of cheating and fasting which is tormenting and its getting to me very recently. i've been really disciplined for three months til only now. anyway nice meeting you fellow vegan :)
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
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    I am a vegan here too! but totally cheating on one single thing thats quest bars! thats the only thing i cheat on though! good luck to you the most important thing is to constantly stay motivated throughout the journey which i think is the hardest :) haha cuz i find myself spiraling in a vicious cycle of cheating and fasting which is tormenting and its getting to me very recently. i've been really disciplined for three months til only now. anyway nice meeting you fellow vegan :)

    Aww don't get too hard on yourself! Veganism is super difficult especially at the beginning. There are a few things that I wish I could cheat on, but I know that if I let myself have one thing it would just be a downward spiral. Nice meeting you too! Feel free to add me if you like, we can keep each other motivated!
  • makemewannadie
    makemewannadie Posts: 401 Member
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    feel free to add me- same goes to any vegan newbies! i've been vegan for nearly 5 years now and would be happy to support :)
  • jraps17
    jraps17 Posts: 179 Member
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    not vegan but vegetarian add me.
  • Dolls1313
    Dolls1313 Posts: 3
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    I was looking for another friendly vegan to connect with! I just started today and I am excited and very nervous. I am 21, live in Milwaukee, WI with my boyfriend and cats, I am 5'6" and 162 and hoping to lose about 15-20 lbs. Contrary to your post, i have been vegan for about 3 years and the past year i have been eating junk and have actually gained weight. My issue is money, its so much more inexpensive to buy pasta then buy a whole bunch of ingredients to make a complicated but healthy dishes. What kind of meals do you make? I would love to swap recipes with some other vegans trying to lose weight!
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
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    I was looking for another friendly vegan to connect with! I just started today and I am excited and very nervous. I am 21, live in Milwaukee, WI with my boyfriend and cats, I am 5'6" and 162 and hoping to lose about 15-20 lbs. Contrary to your post, i have been vegan for about 3 years and the past year i have been eating junk and have actually gained weight. My issue is money, its so much more inexpensive to buy pasta then buy a whole bunch of ingredients to make a complicated but healthy dishes. What kind of meals do you make? I would love to swap recipes with some other vegans trying to lose weight!

    For sure, feel free to add me, my diary is public! I make a lot of recipes from blogs like Post Punk Kitchen or Oh She Glows. We try to limit our pasta intake to once per week, usually in the form of mac n cheeze, haha. Other than that we like to do lots of different things… Indian food is always a favorite, Thai as well. Stir frys, soups, etc.
  • neilsonnata
    neilsonnata Posts: 9
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    Hi -- I am newly vegan (5days in) and been on MFP for about 4 months!
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
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    Hi -- I am newly vegan (5days in) and been on MFP for about 4 months!

    Congrats on making the jump to veganism! I've only been it for about eight months but let me know if you have any questions or want to share recipes. How's it going so far?
  • Zx14chick
    Zx14chick Posts: 255 Member
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    I would like to start eating vegan. I am lactose-intolerant, but that is really my only motivation other than just wanting to eat healthier. I am looking for suggestions on the easiest way to get started. Also, have those of you with spouses, roommates, whatever, find it more difficult to eat vegan if they aren't vegan. If so, how do you combat that?

    I have previously done the Paleo plan and find it difficult due to recipes. Perhaps my biggest problem is that I'm not that much of a cook and find myself overwhelmed if a recipe has too many steps or too many ingredients.

    Do you suggest watching the horrific videos on how animals are treated through the process of preparing them for our meals to get started? I have heard that watching them has been what has triggered a lot of people to become vegan. I'm sure my questions are making some of you laugh, but that's okay. I figure it's best to be honest to get the best answers for me.
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
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    I would like to start eating vegan. I am lactose-intolerant, but that is really my only motivation other than just wanting to eat healthier. I am looking for suggestions on the easiest way to get started. Also, have those of you with spouses, roommates, whatever, find it more difficult to eat vegan if they aren't vegan. If so, how do you combat that?

    I have previously done the Paleo plan and find it difficult due to recipes. Perhaps my biggest problem is that I'm not that much of a cook and find myself overwhelmed if a recipe has too many steps or too many ingredients.

    Do you suggest watching the horrific videos on how animals are treated through the process of preparing them for our meals to get started? I have heard that watching them has been what has triggered a lot of people to become vegan. I'm sure my questions are making some of you laugh, but that's okay. I figure it's best to be honest to get the best answers for me.

    In my personal opinion, the easiest way to get started is to cut things out gradually. I tried going vegan all at once a few years ago, and it only lasted for about a week or two because I shocked my system and hadn't educated myself enough about how to get the nutrients I needed. I was hungry and felt weak all the time. When I decided to do it for real in March, I started by just cutting out meat to begin with (you could go even slower and just cut out red meat, then chicken, then fish, etc.). I would let my body adjust to that and then cut out something else, like cheese or eggs. I never really did much dairy because it never agreed with me so that wasn't too much of an issue. While I was going through this process I also started doing a lot of research about the potential dangers in a vegan diet, what kinds of vitamins were going to be more difficult, and what types of foods I needed to make sure I ate to combat those potential problems. But also, and this may sound stupid, just listen to your body. I learned very quickly how to eat properly so that I have energy throughout the day, don't feel weighed down, don't feel like I'm lacking protein or anything like that. It does take some time though.

    As far as cooking, I would just suggest starting slow. There are lots of great easy vegan cookbooks out there, beginner vegan cookbooks, vegan cooking for the crock-pot, things like that that you may find helpful as you're getting used to needing to do more cooking with potentially unfamiliar ingredients. You don't have to be a master chef to make great vegan food. For example, if the idea of pressing and marinating tofu is intimidating at this point, you could always make a tofu scram where you literally just saute some veggies, crumble in the tofu right from the package, cook and season. Delicious and still one of my fall back meals for any time of day.

    As far as watching the videos… I've watched a few documentaries, like Forks Over Knives and Vegucated, but I don't think that's absolutely necessary. If you feel that you need to see those images for it to really stick for you, then by all means. But I think that's a personal choice. I don't try to push those videos on people because they can be really difficult to watch. I usually cry, haha. For me, I already knew how animals were treated so actually seeing it was less important. But again, if you think that might be good motivation for you to stick with it, then that's fine too.
  • mandy2128
    mandy2128 Posts: 77
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    I'm not totally vegan but have been slowly dropping out meat and dairy from my diet. Feel free to add me! :)
  • cookiealbright
    cookiealbright Posts: 605 Member
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    :flowerforyou: Hi and Welcome! I'm not vegan, but I do like Pine Nut and Anise Cookies which are vegan haha. I'm here everyday and you can add me if you like. Good luck to ya!
  • ohtheveganity
    ohtheveganity Posts: 25 Member
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    I'm vegan! Been vegan for almost a year now (11 months.) I chalk up 30 pounds of my weight loss to JUST my diet, because I didn't start REALLY exercising until a few months ago!
  • caramelgyrlk
    caramelgyrlk Posts: 1,112 Member
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    I do not know what I am anymore (lol). I am 1/2 raw and 1/2 traditional vegan and I am craving fish and seafood. Not sure how to handle that.

    Anyways, I am here daily and provide support to my friends.

    Feel free to add me.
  • ohtheveganity
    ohtheveganity Posts: 25 Member
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    For some people going vegan overnight works, and for some it doesn't. It also can really depend on why you are doing it. Someone who has very strong ethical dilemmas with eating animal products might have more resolve than someone doing it for health, but even that is not always the case. I was able to go vegetarian all at once, and then vegan all at once 4 days later. For me, it was the graphic images that enabled me to go and stay vegan. Literally two hours before I decided to go vegan, I was eating eggs for breakfast and joking with my mom about how I could do vegetarian, but I could never go vegan. Then I found a speech online that really changed my perspective. My mom came home from work that day and I had to tell her I WAS going vegan! If you want to watch it, it's on youtube. "The Best Speech You Will Ever Hear" by Gary Yourofsky. There is a short, 4 minute video clip from factory farms but most of it is discussion. I would say for a beginner getting into animal rights issues it's a pretty easy jump of point if that's the route you want to go.

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