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311pilgrims

Hi all, my name is Sarah. I've been a vegetarian for 6 years and had a few short trials with being vegan. I try my best to be mostly vegan but I soon falter when people cook for me and are proud about making a vegetarian dish or I go out to eat with friends. I'm starting to really crack down lately and hopefully by the start of fall, I will be FULL TIME

I never really liked meat as a kid, HATING chicken and really only liking meatloaf, ham, fish and lamb!! So in college I decided one New Years Day that my resolution was to be a vegetarian. Well, it stuck around for a long time!

Now I'm in my 20s, an RN and in graduate school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner and I really care about my health and the ways that diet modification can lead to longer, healthier, disease-free lives. This isn't just for myself but for my patients and family to learn from my example.

So MFP members, I'm always looking for support and great diet/menu ideas as well as ways to say no to foods that others have prepared and not feel so badly about refusing it. I do care about animals too, seeing Vegucated really opened my eyes to the abuses that animals face, but for me the Vegan diet is mostly about health promotion.

carnes16

Hi I am Cathi I am a recent transition (2 month) to vegan (eating only) have to kids (10 & 13) who are vegetarian 90% of the time.

I decided to go vegan after watching forks over knives and vegucated, I put on 15 pounds since making the change (not to mention the last 10 I was trying to loose before switching) I am now looking to start looking at where my calories are coming from.

I am always looking for recipes and motivation. I sure do miss my dairy....

carnes16

Hi Tierra - I have found this site helpful for some ideas...

http://plantbasedonabudget.com

cacaoginger

I'm Helena, only recently started eating a vegan diet after educating myself on the dairy industry, I didn't eat meat anyway so that wasn't a problem! Im not trying to lose weight, I seem to maintain a healthy bmi of 19 no matter what I eat atm but I'm tracking my food to make sure I'm getting enough nutrience as a vegan :-) One thing I'm struggling with is iron and also calcium so I'm taking supplements atm but any tips would be nice! I don't eat cereal often, I know it is fortified with iron but I always eat oatmeal for breakfast. Hi!

shaktipeach

I am Jessie and have been on MFP for a few months, but am really giving it 100% after just kind of dipping a toe in and hmmming and hawing about calorie counting. I experimented with a vegan diet 3 years ago in an effort to support my dad through some health issues. I read a few books and was pretty horrified about the food industry, and of course the treatment of animals. I slid down the slippery cheese slope and continued with a vegetarian diet. I want to feel as good as I did when eating vegan, and so It has been a few weeks again cutting the dairy out. I also want to lose 15-20 pounds and have been losing/gaining/recycling 10 lbs for about a year. I never really participate in forums or groups, and I think having the support might make the difference....

AnswerintheSky

Hey! It has been a long journey to this quasi-vegan state that I find myself in. I married my ex- in 1980 and, since he was a lacto-ovo vegetarian, I ate vegetarian at home for the first 15 years or so. Then I decided to become a vegetarian completely. A few years later I decided to try veganism with the help of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and their 21-day Kickstart (several times).

I have been separated (and now divorced), living on my own for the past two years. It is just in the past two weeks that I have overcome the temptation to eat most of my meals out. There are not many vegan options for dining out within range of home and work, not to mention the expense. Oops, I think I just mentioned the expense! But I don't buy any non-vegan groceries so this new beginning of being my own cook will help me to stick to my veganism.

A downfall I can't seem to resist are the treats that my co-workers bring into the office to share. They are guaranteed to have eggs and dairy in the baked goods.

I'd love to friend some people who are interested in veganism for health issues. That's what motivates me!

MissHalez0716

Hellllooo I have been vegan for 5 months with my boyfriend. I am just trying to be healthier, make some friends, and of course look awesome like a possum in the nude, ya know what I'm saying?! TEAM VEGAN! Feel free to add me =]!!

jenna311

Hello all - wow, lots of experienced vegans here. While I originally joined MFP to lose weight (and I still have that goal), I very very recently (like this weekend) decided to become vegan for ethical, not health, reasons.

I'm super new to veganism and have so many questions - I am constantly doing research on how to make it all work in this crazy omnivore society I live in. (deep in the heart of Texas). It's tough. But I'm committed.

I would love an experienced mentor if anyone is willing. Just friend me and inbox me if you are interested. Thanks!
:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

jloupas

Hi - I have been on MFP for awhile, but this is my 1st group. I became vegan in April after watching Forks over Knives and LOVE it. I've lost about 43 pounds. I'm looking for new recipes and food ideas!

Razzaz

Hi I'm splodgez and I've been on off vegetarian/vegan for many years, I have been vegetarian for about a year but want to become vegan gradually again my weak spot is cheese and eggs

kbails386

Hello!

I'm still in the transitioning phases of becoming vegan but my resolution this year is to be a completely clean vegan by the end of 2014.

I am the absolute WORST when it comes to cravings and such (cheese is my favorite food). Also gelatin and egg avoidance are proving to be more difficult than I thought.

Any low cal suggestions are also appreciated. I am a ballet dancer and need to keep a super slim figure.

KelliAK

Hi,
I have been vegan for almost 5 years. I moved to Alaska 2 1/2 years ago and have been gaining weight slowly. I want to drop 20 pounds and focus on whole foods. I have lost weight in the past logging my food and know it works so that is my plan. Logging makes me aware of my portions which tend to grow if I let them My family are not vegan

krista2131

Just started my vegan journey about 2 weeks ago. It is one of the best decisions I have made in my life even if everyone I know doesn't completely understand. I have heard the most ridiculous comments and questions these past two weeks. The most shocking one was "When have you ever heard of a vegan living until they are 100? Get back to me in about a year when you are pale and sick from this lifestyle you are choosing." This was the most comical thing to me, I have researched for about two years before I made this decision.

I don't expect everyone to agree with me being vegan, but this is my choice and hoping to find others out there that are like me. The treatment of animals and my health are the number 1 reasons to why I chose this lifestyle. Just can't wait for that moment when I can tell people "told you so" when they realize that this lifestyle was the right one.

IslandJade22

Hi everyone!

I am currently transitioning to veganism and have never been more excited to get healthy, do my part for the environment, and respect the animals I love so much.

My transition has been a gradual one, as I have been researching and experimenting with ways to get healthy the natural way. I don't want to put artificial, disease-causing products into my body any longer. I realize that I have slowly been making the transition over to veganism over the last month or so, as I have been eating less meat and dairy products and a lot more fruits and vegetables. What really prompted my decision, however, was watching documentaries that have shown the cruelty and exploitation of animals. When I found myself crying my eyes out, heart breaking, I knew I had to make the switch. I love fruits and vegetables, so I don't feel like I'm going to be deprived of anything. I'm not unrealistic, though. I know there will be tough days, but I just have to remember what all this "food" is doing to my body. I'm getting back to the beginning...to the perfect diet that we were intended to eat. I'm focusing on actual plant-based foods and won't get into all the processed vegan food they have available in stores. I realize that eating processed vegan food is just as bad as regular processed foods. Kris Carr, well known author and cancer survivor, said it perfectly, "If it comes from the garden, I'll eat it. If it has a shelf life longer than myself, I won't eat it."

I can't wait to share my progress with all of you! Thanks for being here.

rjdunn87

Hi everyone! I just joined the group and am relatively new to MFP as well. I've been vegan for a little over eight months now, I made the jump from pretty much full-on omnivore, I just cut things out one by one so as not to shock my system too much. Eight months later and I feel great and am loving the changes in my energy, my body, my mental state, and so many other things. I did drop about ten pounds after going vegan just from the diet changes, but I'm now finally taking control of my health and taking it to the next level with serious workouts and calorie counting to get to my goal weight.

I eat mostly clean, unprocessed whole foods, though by no means am I perfect in that regard. I do a lot of cooking at home and so always love to share great recipes! Isa Chandra is basically my goddess. Oh, and I moved to Seattle about four months ago and let me just say, it is vegan heaven here!

MidnightMonster

Hey fellow vegans!!

Im 20 and have been vegan for 6 years now I love it so much and just feel so great.
I'm also nut free, gluten free and dairy free

Can't wait to see if I can find any new meal ideas!!

Feel free to add me as a friend

SmilingRN2010

Hi!

I started out vegetarian... a few too many late night documentaries on the excesses of the food industry and animal treatment as well as all changes in how our food is made and I couldn't do it anymore. I was tired of meat. I was tired of preservatives and I was just plain tired. I became vegan when I started having issues with my stomach. Yay allergies.

I feel so much better now.

I lift heavy things for fun and my trainer said he didn't think I was getting all my calories in for the day. I thought he was wrong. So I joined on here and started tracking... he was right. I have been no where near enough calories even though I am full and I eat many meals during the day.

I'm excited for new recipes and ideas for nutrient and calorie dense foods.

Feel free to add me!

hellosunnybear

Hi,
I extremely new to vegan life.
Im not there quite yet but want the support
Vegetarian, trying to educate myself and learn to cook so I can be successful.

Veggie for moral reasons!
23, Australia

purplemoon42

Hey everyone! My name is Jenna. I am a newbie to being vegan. I started about a month ago after a friend wanted me to join her in it. We read the The Kind Diet and it really opened my eyes to where my food was coming from. It was too easy to just go to the store and not think twice about what I was buying and the pain and suffering that it caused to bring meat to that point. I thought it was gonna be a tough transition to go vegan but so far a month into, it has been a lot less difficult than I thought. I wanted to broaden my vegan friend base to have people to talk to about it so here I am! Can't wait to get to know everyone!

VeganTikka

Greetings! I am a chubby vegan. I became a vegetarian 23 years ago and have been vegan for the past 15 years. My whole family has always struggled with their weight and although we all went veg over the past 20 years, we each managed to gain weight... quite frustrating, considering that most folks lose weight and feel better after making the switch! In any case, I've accepted the fact that I have to follow a very strict sugar-free/low-carb diet in order to lose weight and am optimistically doing so. I just completed my first 7-day juice and found it an extremely positive experience - my energy levels increased greatly and my digestive system was the calmest it's been in years! Proud to be here and looking forward to sharing with all my fellow veggies!