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Hi - I am on Day 1 of Week 2 of eating vegan. I have been a "sloppy" vegetarian/pescatarian for about 15 years with varying degrees of commitment and success. Recently I have been working with nutritionists and trainers trying to help me lose weight for health reasons. So I have spent the last several months being talked OUT of my vegetarian leanings and pushed toward the whole Paleo diet. I was feeling more and more ill and my blood pressure kept going up, even with medication. A friend suggested that I watch Forks Over Knives to get back on track. Today was weigh in day. Lost 4 lbs this week, feel way more energy and my blood pressure was normal for the first time in several months (still on the meds of course). I have been following the PCRM 21-day Vegan Kickstart plan. I am hoping that this group will help counteract some of the social pressure I am getting and be a source of inspiration.0
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Hello
My name is Virginia and I am only VERY recently a strict vegetarian or an almost vegan :P. I watched a horrifyin documentary on animal cruelty and I am doing everything in my power to stop supporting all companies that do not treat animals ethically. I have always been overweight and I have dieted for as long as I can remember, but this is so different. It's not about my weight anymore, I don't care about the scale and I feel good about myself. I have found meaning and purpose in improving my eating habits and I'm happier than I've been in a long time. I don't get cravings anymore and I feel energetic and well, healthy. I am looking for some MFP friends that share the same passion I have for a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.
Virginia 0 -
I had been a vegetarian for 10 years and just got sick of the "trouble". There never were veg choices anywhere that I went. Now, 15 years later, I decided to become a vegan after some painful female issues. I had read that it cured some women of female pain. I decided to give it a "try". I didn't think it would make a difference. Wow! I am completely pain free! I have been a vegan since October 2011. I tell everyone that I can. Now, I bring food with me. I don't let my choice to be a vegan stop me from doing whatever I want. I really enjoy My Fitness Pal. Even though I eat very healthy, it helps me keep track of my nutrition to make sure it is balanced. Also, I don't overeat.0
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Tim here! I've been vegan for going on for twenty years. Unfortunately I have a sweet tooth and that is my downfall. A bad move was moving a fifteen minute walk away from a vegan cupcake shop! Other than my cake addiction, the rest is all wholefood. I went vegan in my teens after a brief spell as a vegetarian. The reasons were based around intensive animal farming. When I found out about dairy farming and the egg industry (I was one of those naive veggies that believed that so long as the animal wasn't killed..blah blah.. then it was okay to eat their produce), naturally I went vegan.0
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Hola
I am a brand spanking new vegan. Feeling pretty good about it. Haven't told anyone though and not really keen to tell my friends about it either yet, so it will be challenging as I know they do not understand and that is frustrating. I was on and off vegetarian for a while and I just feel stupid saying it to them in case I cave in and start eating cheese or whatever again. Right now I am very determined to keep this up as long as possible (I have some rough times ahead depending on whether or not I get into the Peace Corps). I would love to live the rest of my life vegan, so I can only just try my best!
Oh, I am also a very poor college student now so it's hard trying new things as I never want to spend the money!!!0 -
Hi I'm Crissie and I've been vegan for 5 years. I was an unhealthy vegetarian before that. Since becoming vegan, I've learned and embraced more of the animal activism drivers for veganism, so not only is my diet vegan, but my lifestyle as well (no leather, no products with honey or lanolin, etc), and I love it.
I am the only vegan in my family - my husband and children are not - but they are very supportive and respectful of my choices.
This past year, I've been recovering from an injury and I didn't pay attention much to my diet (too many processed foods and alcohol). It's high time to clean it up, and that's one of the biggest drivers for me using MFP and being active on the community pages.0 -
Hey everyone! I've been a vegan for 2 years but I have had an awful diet for most of it. I'm looking to eat cleaner and lose about 30 pounds. Please feel free to add me if you want more vegan friends!0
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Hi everyone! My name is Jennie and I have been slowly transitioning into being meat free for the past year and a half. I have always felt guilty eating meat and never digested red meat and felt a little better when I gave it up a year ago. I recently watched Food Inc after avoiding it for a couple weeks because I was afraid to see the truth behind the production and mass murder of our food. 16 days ago I watched it and the next day I swore off meat forever.
My roommate/best friend has been vegetarian for 4 years and decided to make the transition into Veganism. I am very close to being Vegan and I know I will be there any day now. I am trying my best to avoid dairy products completely but sometimes things sneak past me.
I am looking for more friends and support so please feel free to add this transitioning Vegan (:
I am 29, live in southern NJ, and greatly saddened by the lack of vegan friendly places around here. We travel 40 minutes to the nearest Whole Foods and only have one Vegan cafe in the area. Hope to meet more people, maybe even some locals!0 -
Hello!
Today is my two-week vegaversary! I went vegan "suddenly" after watching Vegucated, but looking back, it had been coming for a while. I'd eaten vegetarian for the 2 weeks prior to becoming vegan, and pescatarian for the two weeks prior to that.
Good luck to everyone! :flowerforyou:
Sam0 -
HI! I am a vegan since Feb. 2011, new to MFP, and excited to gain clarity about my daily food intake. I am a strict vegan, eat no sugar or refined junk, and tons of produce. Yet, I still have some weight to lose--i have a feeling it's my portions (esp. with those healthy oils--love me some oil!). so here i go 0
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Hey, I am toying with the idea of becoming a vegan. I have slowly been giving up dairy over the last 2 years due to intolerances and IBS and found myself eating more vegan food as it's easy to avoid the dairy, although I am still eating eggs. Whilst doing this I have found inspiring recipes and haven't missed meat or dairy...in fact I have started to willingly avoid it. Now I am experimenting with veganism, over the last 3 months I have been trying it out. I like it. I am not sure how my bf's family will take it but I am almost ready to tell them!
So I am here to see how other people achieve their goals, share recipes and be inspired and motivated to continue on this plant based journey.0 -
Hi All! I'm so excited to find this group! I am Very new To Becoming Vegan. Today is my first day trying it and hope I can make it stick and work out. I really want this to be my lifestyle and am looking for support and ideas. I love the stories I have heard about the energy that people have from becoming Vegan how there skin looks how there body feels. I want that :-) I am going grocery shopping today and I know its going to be an interesting shopping trip. Any ideas would be great. Also how do you all get your protein each day? And do you find almond milk or soy milk better?0
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Hello, my name is Tara and I have been vegan since June 17th. I am very proud of myself.I didn't even realize it has been 1 month today! I am happy. I have lost 6 pounds and gotten off one medication. I am very proud of myself.0
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Hello Team Vegan, I am Jennifer. I made the choice to go vegan in January after reading Thrive by Brendan Brazier. Was vegetarian for 1 year before. I am a runner and originally did it to get the most out of my training. But have kept it up because I feel amazing and believe it's the best diet to stay healthy throughout my life. I am only 22 and want to stay as youthful as possible. Since transitioning, I have watched Forks Over Knives and read The China Study. I also love that a plant-based diet is much more sustainable and beneficial for the environment. I dream of living on a self-sustainable farm and truly embodying the lifestyle in the future. I want to introduce veganism to people in order to change their lives for the better.0
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Hi Team Vegan. I'm Heather, and I started the vegan journey about a year and a half ago. After both my mother and grandmother were diagnosed with breast cancer within 6 mos of each other, I knew that I had to do something. I researched/read tons of books and diets claiming to "cure" and "prevent" cancer. I don't know how well I really buy into their theories, but Eat to Live has been the backbone of my choices. I do eat oils, sparingly, and some vegan processed foods (who doesn't love a good Jo-Jo?). I will also touch upon organic free range eggs and fish when I go out to restaurants (not often). I consider myself a 90-10 vegan.
I love to cook and to "veganize" all sorts of recipes. Veganomicon has become my "Betty Crocker". Even my husband and 3 daughters have begun eating more vegan (altho not completely). I like to show non-vegans that a vegan diet can include "real" delicious food, not just tofu and vegetables.
My biggest struggles with weight are just my food intake. I would eat vegan pizza (with homemade whole wheat crust) all day, with my banana ice "cream". I've lost 10-15 lbs since my journey began a year and a half ago, but still have about 10 lbs to lose before my BMI is considered normal. Hopefully the accountability I have here at MFP will help.0 -
Hi, my name is Liz and I just joined MFP a month ago. Wanted to do it to get in shape and lose 15 lbs. But, also have read "The China Study" and convinced that a whole-foods, plant based diet is a key in preventing and reversing disease. My husband has stage 4 colon cancer (he's only 32! quite a shock). He is a huge red meat eater, but he is willing to change his diet to keep the cancer at bay. Would appreciate your support. This is all very new to me, and hopefully we can adopt this healthy way of life for GOOD! 0
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Hi. I'm not a vegan but have vegetarian and vegan tendencies. I joined this group to understand the decisions other people made to become vegan or vegetarian and to gain practical advise on being vegan or maybe just vegetarian.0
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Hi, started my new vegan lifestyle July 15, 2012 @2pm but hey, who's keeping track! LOL! I want to make it perfectly clear that I didn't do this to lose weight but to live a long healthy life. So many people around me have been either diagnosed w/cancer and/or have died from cancer. After watching Forks over Knives and just really thinking about it for over 2 years, I finally took the plunge. What's weird is that I didn't think about it, I just did it. I was sitting on the computer trying to look up healthy recipes and just decided today is the day I become a vegan. Isn't that weird? Anywho, here I am and thank God my sister is a vegan and has been for 4 years now so I can go to her w/alot of my questions. Just like all new vegans, I'm still trying to figure out how do I get my protein in and what I can and cannot eat. It's almost been a week and I'm doing okay. My biggest hurdle is the elimination of dairy vs. the meat. Cream in my coffee, cheese w/my wine, butter on my toast and baked potato are the things I will miss the most. It's a daily struggle and I know that I'm going to need encouragement, friends that can relate to my struggles and recipes...tons of recipes. There's a lot more that I can type but I want bore you so for now I'd like to say that I'm happy to be a part of your community and I look forward to making new friends! 0
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Hi, I've been trying to transition to eating vegan since June. I was a vegetarian for around 5 years, but then I slowly started eating meat again mostly out of accommodating other people or for lack of better option. I still ate mostly vegetarian and whenever I made a dish for a party I would always make it vegetarian. But when I was invited to dinner and there were no meat free options I would end up eating things, or picking pepperoni off pizzas, or eating beforehand ect. Then eventually I just gave up and ate meat out of convenience, although I've never cared for it and it always made me upset to think about what I was eating. During this time I missed how great I used to feel and how much energy I used to have. I decided this time I wanted to eat completely vegan because I found it so hard to draw the line with what was acceptable as a vegetarian. (A lot of people seem to be able to so I'm not saying it's impossible, it was just difficult for me) Also, most of the time towards the end of being a vegetarian I kept feeling like I was only lying to myself since eating cheese or butter was still contributing to the problem. Since I've started transitioning to vegan, I've made a lot more meals at home so I've been able to control what goes into them and I've been feeling wonderful. My last stumbling block has been dining out. I am curious how everyone else is able to do it, how do you find pastas, crusts, baked goods without eggs, or cooked vegetable dishes that do not possibly contain butter? Do you just request that they leave it out? I enjoy going to a place with a salad bar and I have a few places where there is one dish I can eat but that gets really mundane for my husband who is a meat eater. I suppose it will get easier with time, but I would love any advice a long time vegan could offer me.0
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Hi all! I'm Bea. I'm learning to become vegan and I would love to make some connections/friends who can help and support on this journey of mine. The one thing I'm having trouble with is vegan food seems to be as filled with junk as processed foods and I'm trying to be a clean vegan eater. I'm not fully converted to veganism yet, but would like to be as I learn more about it and how to cook it.
I'm looking for insight and more information for this change. I'm willing to learn and try new things. I look forward to hear from you and please feel free to add me!0
