I Think This Book Is Making Me Want To Go Vegan

lawkat

I am a vegetarian. I have flirted with the idea of going vegan, but probably won't. I have read Skinny B**** and it is pretty one sided. I am all for animal rights, but there are 2 sides to every story.

There is a whole lifestyle change that goes with becoming vegan. It isn't just about the diet for most people. People give up their beauty products, leather products, clothing and other fabrics because they are derived from animals. Just because something says "no animal testing" doesn't mean much considering they are talking about the final product, not the various ingredients that go into that final product. Also, there is a really long list of things that are derived from animals. Read as much as you can about it before making the leap.

Don't try to force your husband to become vegan. He has to want to do it or else he will resist on so many levels.

hilsidney

Another really great book on the topic is Eating Animals by Jonathan Safron Foer. It actually turned my meat eating husband into a near vegetarian. He only eats local meat and dairy now. I've been a vegetarian for 21 years, and a vegan on and off. I don't function well without a little bit of dairy. We mostly buy local...as much as we can.

You should give it a try and see if you like it. Also, like many others have said, you can gradually go veggie. I think just being more aware of where food is coming from, and what is being done to the food is a super important thing to me.

I've always been pretty healthy. My iron levels have always been low, but since I started taking a supplement I haven't had much of an issue.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

BR1986FB

Eat fish. Can't mistreat a fish.
Look for a local butcher that may sell meat hunters bring in, such as venison, elk, wild turkey, etc.

Humans are meant to eat meat, no sense giving it up. Just find a way to eat it that doesn't compromise your ethical feelings.

Maybe you should read the book and then get back to me on that. There is a lot of evidence showing that humans may not be meant to eat animal proteins, and you can very well mistreat a fish.

And perhaps you should read books like Robb Wolf's (a former vegan who's health was in shambles until he went Paleo) "Paleo Solution" and Mark Sisson's "Primal Blueprint."

Not ALL farms are created equal. If you're going to buy that commercially raised (i.e. CRAP) meat where they hoard those animals into pens and load them up with corn until they are about ready to explode, I might agree with you. But if you were to do your research, find local farmers who raised grassfed animals who are allowed to roam, you might be singing a different tune.

Besides, for as much bashing as we've heard about "OMG, saturated fats...ohs noes !!!", recent studies have been showing cholesterol levels in vegetarians are usually off the charts. It's not a healthy lifestyle but to each their own.

hilsidney

Not quite true about the latest studies showing Vegetarians having off the charts cholesterol. Try google scholar, and search some of the most recent pubmed articles and abstracts. It's interesting about cholesterol and how little is actually known about it still. Recent research suggests that having high cholesterol might not have such a strong correlation to heart disease as once thought, and the new thinking is that statins might be completely pointless. I work in research at a university in the college of nursing and public health, so I'm reading a lot of these studies. My dad died of atherosclerosis, and had incredibly low cholesterol. Anyway, I think to state that vegetarians on the whole have off the chart cholesterol levels is off base.

I quite agree about eating local grass fed animals, eggs, etc. My husband does and I support him fully. I'll admit I eat my share of junk food...especially sweets. I remain a vegetarian, 21 years and counting with low cholesterol and great blood pressure.

astovey

I'm reading the book, Skinny *****, and am mortified at the treatment of animals in farms. I have always been "weird" about meat, I don't like touching raw meat(or even looking at it), won't eat it off the bone, and am kind of picky about what pieces I will eat, but after reading this I am seriously considering becoming vegan. I am a little hesitant though, about how to approach this to my husband and how hard it will be to maintain. My husband loooves meat, and will most likely complain if I stop cooking it. How do I talk to him about this? Also is it a lot more challenging to cook vegan meals? I'm not very patient in the kitchen and prefer quick, easy meals. How do you vegans cope with eating out etc? Do the cravings for meat and dairy eventually stop? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

We are a lot alike

Flocker1979

I'm reading the book, Skinny *****, and am mortified at the treatment of animals in farms. I have always been "weird" about meat, I don't like touching raw meat(or even looking at it), won't eat it off the bone, and am kind of picky about what pieces I will eat, but after reading this I am seriously considering becoming vegan. I am a little hesitant though, about how to approach this to my husband and how hard it will be to maintain. My husband loooves meat, and will most likely complain if I stop cooking it. How do I talk to him about this? Also is it a lot more challenging to cook vegan meals? I'm not very patient in the kitchen and prefer quick, easy meals. How do you vegans cope with eating out etc? Do the cravings for meat and dairy eventually stop? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

Same here. I thought I was reading a fun, silly book about nutrition and it was horrific!

ohohraptor

I am a vegetarian. I have flirted with the idea of going vegan, but probably won't. I have read Skinny B**** and it is pretty one sided. I am all for animal rights, but there are 2 sides to every story.

There is a whole lifestyle change that goes with becoming vegan. It isn't just about the diet for most people. People give up their beauty products, leather products, clothing and other fabrics because they are derived from animals. Just because something says "no animal testing" doesn't mean much considering they are talking about the final product, not the various ingredients that go into that final product. Also, there is a really long list of things that are derived from animals. Read as much as you can about it before making the leap.

Don't try to force your husband to become vegan. He has to want to do it or else he will resist on so many levels.

I make my own cosmetics, dont think I own anything leather but am focussing more on the diet aspect of it than anything else. I think I would overwhelm myself if I changed everything at once. One step at a time...

And I'm not trying to force him to do anything...

ohohraptor

Another really great book on the topic is Eating Animals by Jonathan Safron Foer. It actually turned my meat eating husband into a near vegetarian. He only eats local meat and dairy now. I've been a vegetarian for 21 years, and a vegan on and off. I don't function well without a little bit of dairy. We mostly buy local...as much as we can.

You should give it a try and see if you like it. Also, like many others have said, you can gradually go veggie. I think just being more aware of where food is coming from, and what is being done to the food is a super important thing to me.

I've always been pretty healthy. My iron levels have always been low, but since I started taking a supplement I haven't had much of an issue.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

My iron levels are low too. What kind of multi vitamin do you take? I looked at the ones at the health food store today but they didn't have a multi vitamin that had everything I was looking for in it.

ohohraptor

Eat fish. Can't mistreat a fish.
Look for a local butcher that may sell meat hunters bring in, such as venison, elk, wild turkey, etc.

Humans are meant to eat meat, no sense giving it up. Just find a way to eat it that doesn't compromise your ethical feelings.

Maybe you should read the book and then get back to me on that. There is a lot of evidence showing that humans may not be meant to eat animal proteins, and you can very well mistreat a fish.

And perhaps you should read books like Robb Wolf's (a former vegan who's health was in shambles until he went Paleo) "Paleo Solution" and Mark Sisson's "Primal Blueprint."

Not ALL farms are created equal. If you're going to buy that commercially raised (i.e. CRAP) meat where they hoard those animals into pens and load them up with corn until they are about ready to explode, I might agree with you. But if you were to do your research, find local farmers who raised grassfed animals who are allowed to roam, you might be singing a different tune.

Besides, for as much bashing as we've heard about "OMG, saturated fats...ohs noes !!!", recent studies have been showing cholesterol levels in vegetarians are usually off the charts. It's not a healthy lifestyle but to each their own.

It's not ALL about the treatment of animals, actually the main reason for me is because of health reasons. I don't want to turn this thread into a debate but if you'd like to talk about this further you can message me. I'll look into those books, thanks.

ohohraptor

I'm reading the book, Skinny *****, and am mortified at the treatment of animals in farms. I have always been "weird" about meat, I don't like touching raw meat(or even looking at it), won't eat it off the bone, and am kind of picky about what pieces I will eat, but after reading this I am seriously considering becoming vegan. I am a little hesitant though, about how to approach this to my husband and how hard it will be to maintain. My husband loooves meat, and will most likely complain if I stop cooking it. How do I talk to him about this? Also is it a lot more challenging to cook vegan meals? I'm not very patient in the kitchen and prefer quick, easy meals. How do you vegans cope with eating out etc? Do the cravings for meat and dairy eventually stop? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

We are a lot alike

We are?

ohohraptor

I'm reading the book, Skinny *****, and am mortified at the treatment of animals in farms. I have always been "weird" about meat, I don't like touching raw meat(or even looking at it), won't eat it off the bone, and am kind of picky about what pieces I will eat, but after reading this I am seriously considering becoming vegan. I am a little hesitant though, about how to approach this to my husband and how hard it will be to maintain. My husband loooves meat, and will most likely complain if I stop cooking it. How do I talk to him about this? Also is it a lot more challenging to cook vegan meals? I'm not very patient in the kitchen and prefer quick, easy meals. How do you vegans cope with eating out etc? Do the cravings for meat and dairy eventually stop? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

Same here. I thought I was reading a fun, silly book about nutrition and it was horrific!

Lol yep!

hilsidney

My iron levels are low too. What kind of multi vitamin do you take? I looked at the ones at the health food store today but they didn't have a multi vitamin that had everything I was looking for in it.
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I take 325 ferrous sulfate not every day but a few times a week (it can be hard on your stomach until you get used to it). During my TOM i take it every day. I don't take a multi, but I take 1000 iu's of D, Super B-Complex, Calcium, Fish Oil, Curcumin, and Resveratol.

ohohraptor

My iron levels are low too. What kind of multi vitamin do you take? I looked at the ones at the health food store today but they didn't have a multi vitamin that had everything I was looking for in it.

I take 325 ferrous sulfate not every day but a few times a week (it can be hard on your stomach until you get used to it). During my TOM i take it every day. I don't take a multi, but I take 1000 iu's of D, Super B-Complex, Calcium, Fish Oil, Curcumin, and Resveratol.
[/quote]

I just bought the DEVA Vegan 1-A-Day Multi-Vitamin and Mineral Supplement from veganessentials.com. My old multi vitamin had carmine in it. This vitamin has all the vitamins I was looking for plus plenty more. After doing some research this was the best multi vitamin for vegan/vegetarians. The only thing it was lacking was calcium, so I also got the Vegan Calcium Fruit Soft Chews.

reallivefitness

I was vegan for about a year (stopped this past summer), and if that's something you want to, go for it. But, don't base your whole decision on that one book, because there really is another side to the story. I'm from the Midwest and a lot of my friends are farmers, and from what I hear, their farms are nothing like the factory farms I was rallying against.

But veganism can be very rewarding, if you do it right and stay healthy. It's easy to load up on junk food though, since a lot of it is vegan.

The reason I had to stop is because I just felt like crap all the time. I kept trying and trying and trying, but eventually I just had to admit to myself that I was not made for being began. I don't know if it was just that I couldn't maintain a healthy enough diet, or if my body just didn't like it, but my cravings for meat and stuff never went away, even after a year. So listen to your body carefully. There's a lot of shame out there on people who used to be vegan/vegetarian and went back to eating meat, and that makes it hard sometimes to do what's best for yourself. Be careful, but go for it if it feels right to you.

strapple

skinny ***** is what made me start to consider adopting a vegan diet (also being lactose intolerant and having a red meat intolerance)

but honestly i think their methods and scare tactics make it hard for me to take it as a serious health book and not just some rant from a bratty hot chick who probably had a bad experience with meat in her high school days

even if you are preaching a good message (a healthy alternative lifestyle) using scare tactics and propaganda is never okay in my book



HOWEVER
i do suggest the cookbooks

seriously delish~~~ mmmm

strapple

the poster who compared skinny ***** to michael moore couldnt have made a better comparasion xD

Delaina1

After reading Alicia Silverstone's book about veganism, I decided to try it as well. I was having acne problems worse than ever and I had heard that all of the hormones in animal food products could be making it worse. I restocked my kitchen with vegan products and got rid of the animal ones and decided that I would give it a 100% try for a whole month. I saw some minor changes and lost a couple of pounds, but it definately wasn't something that I could do forever. I made some real changes in the types of animal products that I now eat, and I still try to limit the amount of animal products that I consume. Red meat will never enter into my mouth again (did you know that it takes your body 72 hours to process red meat and during that time it is sitting in your guts rotting at 98 degrees?...ewww) And I have a definate love for almond milk and rice milk ice cream now. I try to stick with seafood and beans mainly and occasionally some chicken for my protein and have practically given up all pork products. I only eat organic and free range animal products and eat the seafood that is locally caught (I live on the gulf). It is definately worth trying but very hard to maintan and very hard to cook some of the alternate meat products. It is also super expensive. Vegan cheese is just not the same either.

Good luck! And it is worth trying for a short period! You will probably find some things that you will stick to forever!

kellykat2

I was a vegan for 13 yrs. I didn't make it my life, I ate normal food, not grass and nuts and soy, I didn't count protein/carbs or worry about it, I just didn't eat any animal products. I was never healthier in my life! I think they overestimate the amount of protein an adult human needs.

Then I became pregnant. I needed at least 60 g of protein a day for the baby to grow and be healthy. To a person who eats meat or dairy products this is no problem. Wow. then I had to count the grams. It is rather difficult to get 60 grams of protein in a pure vegan diet. So I decided to add dairy back into my diet. A few pints of milk and a string cheese in a day did the trick. My daughter was born healthy and happy and to this day is very very healthy.

In the past few years I have added meat back. I craved STEAK. Doesn't help when I live by Texas Roadhouse and can smell the steak cooking almost every day. I also loved the smell of bacon and every Sunday could smell it in the air in the summer! So my first meal back was a steak! MMMMMM it was very good.

But I have packed on the pounds since eating meat (probably from menopause!), I'm thinking of getting rid of it too. Not sure I can go back again though. I am always hungry, I was always hungry when I was a vegan. I ate all day long.

Last night on the news they had a story about half the meat and poultry in this country at grocery stores is infected with bacteria. Bacteria that is usually killed with proper handling and cooking of meat, but millions of people get sick each year eating infected meat! It scared me and also my daughter (who is 8 now) she said she is turning vegetarian. She is scared to eat meat now.

alic_e

Hard to get 60g protein a day?
I get 2400kcal AND almost 90g protein. It's not difficult. Just eat beans, soya, tofu etc..
No wonder you were hungry if you didn't cook proper meals and just ate "little bit of something" and chips.
In addition, some people claim you don't get enough iron. Well, I get almost 27mg every day! And my hemoglobin is 150.

I have been vegan... 4-5 years now.

3LittleMonkeys

I read Alicia's book. That what prompted me to go ahead to Vegan. Right now I am struggling. My weight is going up and I am not happy about that. I am only two weeks into this.

Yesterday was horrible. I didn't eat breakfast we were gone most the day and then had lunch at my MILs. Which I skipped lunch since there wasn't anything Vegan to eat and I was being stubborn (I could of had lettuce or strawberries but I was mad and wanted to go home). LOL Silly me... Anyhow, by the time we got home I was starving. I had several bites of my kids Annie's Mac N cheese and then I made pizza topped with steamed shrimp and regular low fat Mozzarella. I was sick. I wasn't satisified, felt awful for my food choices.

I hope this gets better. I know if I don't stick with Vegan, I will probably go to Vegetarian. Eating the shrimp made me sick to my stomach. Like it was something I shouldn't be eating...

katie9730

Good for you! I'd definitely recommend going vegetarian. I have been for about a year and it's given me so much energy.