Going vegan... need help!

LilMissFoodie

You can absolutely maintain a healthy vegan diet but it is more difficult than a diet that includes even dairy and eggs since those foods are so incredibly high in most nutrients, where with vegan foods, each food is often high in one nutrient but you need a good combination to get them all. Make sure you get enough protein from meat alternatives e.g. tofu, dairy substitutes, nuts, lentils and legumes. Other nutrients that you are most likely to struggle with are iron, B12, zinc and fat soluble vitamins so read up on those. Good luck to you!

If I may say so, hopefully without offending you - as a dietitian, for most of the people I see with digestion issues, the issue is related to foods that would be vegan (intolerances to wheat, gluten, yeast, salicylates, amines, FODMAPs etc) so perhaps you may want to consider seeking more professional dietary advice before taking on such a stringent change if that really is your only reason.

raevynn

Be prepared to stand around in grocery store aisles reading labels ("How can you tell a vegan in the grocery store? they are the one reading the labels"). More and more store brands are getting better at letting you know about possible allergens, like dairy, wheat, etc., and Trader Joe's, in particular, clearly labels anything they have that is vegan as VEGAN. Makes me love them more.

Processed vegan entrees are great transition foods, but tend to be high in sodium. Not every "vegetarian" brand is vegan. Many easily found brands contain egg and/or dairy.

Indian food, thai food, and chinese food are fairly easy to veganize, so those are my main choices in restaurants. Some mexican restaurants are pretty good with it, too, though I find that knowing how to say it in spanish helps ("Sin cueso y sin crema"). Pick something without meat to start with, and then have them hold the cheese and sour cream.

Don't start off at first by trying to keep your proportions of protein/fat/carbs perfect. Just get used to using "real" food (i.e., fruit, veggies, whole grains, and a few soy items if they don't bother you). Beans and rice, quinoa, Tofu, tempeh....

If you find that tofu bothers your tummy, try tempeh. It is cultured, so like yogurt, it hits you differently than plain tofu. Seitan is great "heavy food", but since it is made from wheat gluten, it could be an issue with digestive issues. If you decide to stay away from wheat and soy altogether, you can eat great using beans, seeds, nuts, and quinoa. There are vegan protein powders available, too, that contain no soy, no wheat, no dairy, and no sugars.

Green smoothies are my favorite, and make a great transitional food (they are a mainstay of my diet, anyway)... take a handful of greens (source of protein and minerals), throw in the blender with a banana, and about a half cup of frozen berries or frozen pineapple or mango. fill with water to almost the top of the other stuff... blend until smooth. Makes about 2 cups of incredibleness! very, very nutritious... way easy to digest.

"Going Vegan" is an excellent book on the reasons for veganism... no recipes, but great medical study summaries and stuff. "Happy Herbivore" is a great cookbook (and website!) with great, easy, whole food recipes that taste incredible, take little time, and real ingredients. She includes nutritional data, which makes logging easy!

If you have questions, we've got answers

raevynn

Vegan or vegetarian. Both are unhealthy for you.

...and my doctor tells me that I've got the healthiest blood test results he's seen in his career.

Have you checked the disease rates for omnivores, lately? :noway:

Since the OP has mentioned that she is doing this with her doctor onboard, I daresay that she will be monitored for any negative effects.

stylistchik

I've been mostly vegetarian since the beginning of 2010 and I gave up dairy summer 2011. I've never been big on red meat or seafood, I mostly ate chicken before, so giving it up wasn't hard and now if I taste it it seems gross. Unless you're a bodybuilder, you don't need an insane amount of protein like the western diet suggests. Obviously talk to a dietitian but 50-60g is enough for most people. Focus on eating lots of veggies instead of loading up on bread, pasta, etc. but it's probably not much different than eating vegetarian style.

The biggest difference for me was giving up dairy. My digestion is smoother, my skin is better, I no longer get migraines (the main reason i gave up dairy), my asthma and allergies are nearly non-existent and I have many confirmed allergies, including dogs. We have a husky mix dog that does not bother me AT ALL and my husband gets sneezy, itchy, and wheezy when he spends too much time with her and he's not even allergic to dogs.

Keeping a clean diet really helps your body take care of itself I think, whether you eat meat or not. Because I don't eat meat I monitor my iron, calcium and protein carefully and take B12 on workout days. If I notice my day is running a little low on a particular nutrient, I just incorporate more of it into my future meals. It takes planning but anything worth doing involves a little effort and feeling this good is worth it to me.

ConnieNY

Only follow expert and professional resources when first beginning. Veganism is rewarding, yet challenging; if done properly, you can improve your digestion disorder(s), lose weight, and be healthier than ever; however, it is also very easy to become malnourished on a vegan diet. I would recommend anyone begin with: http://www.compassionatecook.com, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Start with her book, "The 30-Day Vegan Challenge." She provides accurate nutritional advice, and creative and delicious recipes. She also shares her own personal anecdotes that will allow you to understand what "going vegan" means, why people choose to live the vegan lifestyle, and why in doing so you are bettering the environment, economy, and animal life. She has some free resources and recipes on her website as well. Good luck!

abbbigayl

I'm vegan you can add me if you need support. It's easy just not when eating out. When I started, I took a lot of time reading labels and during the transition I didn't just throw everything out that was not vegan...I just replaced things as they ran out. Stores that I shop at for specialty items: Wegans and Whole Foods. If you like dairy then I recommend Daiya for cheese., So Coconut for coffee creamer and Tofutti for sour cream or cream cheese. I cook much of the same things I did before including lasagna ...I just veganize it! Good luck

stylistchik

I'm vegan you can add me if you need support. It's easy just not when eating out. When I started, I took a lot of time reading labels and during the transition I didn't just throw everything out that was not vegan...I just replaced things as they ran out. Stores that I shop at for specialty items: Wegans and Whole Foods. If you like dairy then I recommend Daiya for cheese., So Coconut for coffee creamer and Tofutti for sour cream or cream cheese. I cook much of the same things I did before including lasagna ...I just veganize it! Good luck

OMG I make vegan lasagna with mushrooms and hummus instead of cheese, usually throw some spinach in there. SO delicious!

veganbaum

So I've decided to go vegan, but I'm going to be completely upfront and say I have absolutely NO knowledge on this subject. Can some intelligent vegans and/or intelligent individuals in general give me some tips, tricks, and foods that I might not know aren't vegan?

Vegan or vegetarian. Both are unhealthy for you.
You should read a book called "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith. She was a vegan for 20 years and it almost killed her. There are several interviews on line. Just type in her name on YouTube and you'll see several interviews.

"What we eat is destroying both our bodies and the planet, according to author Lierre Keith, a recovering twenty-year vegan. While she passionately opposes factory farming of animals, she maintains that humans require nutrient-dense animal foods for good health. A grain-based diet is the basis for degenerative diseases?we take for granted?(diabetes, cancer, heart disease) - diseases?of civilization. Annual grain production is destroying topsoil and creating deserts on a planetary scale.? Lierre urges the restoration of perennial polycultures for longterm sustainability."

Review:
"Everyone who eats should read this book. Everyone who eats vegetarian should memorize it . . . This is the single most important book I’ve ever read on diet, agriculture, and ecology." —Aric McBay, author, What We Leave Behind

"This book saved my life . . . [It] offers us a way back into our bodies, and back into the fight to save the planet." —Derrick Jensen, author, Endgame

"[Vegetarian Myth] is one of the most important books people, masses of them, can read, as we try with all our might, intelligence, skill, hope, dream , and memory, to turn the disastrous course the planet is on." —Alice Walker, prize-winning author, The Color Purple

"We may not want to face the facts, but Keith sees this as no excuse to stay in denial. If delivered as a speech, you could see that no one in the audience would be [seated] at the end. I have never seen such rousing prose." —www.ZoeHarcombe.com (August 7, 2011)

"In The Vegetarian Myth ex-vegan Lierre Keith argues that saving the planet and ending the suffering found in factory farms can not be achieved by refusing to eat animals, it can only be achieved by boycotting modern agricultural practices, which Keith calls 'the most destructive thing that people have done to the planet.'" —www.mercola.com

You should read this book before you go vegan.

You really seem to be on here only to promote your own agenda. Everything you post is against veg*nism or promoting your belief that losing weight is not about calories in/calories out. This book also has a lot of negative reviews from people who went through her research and demonstrated how she was using resources/studies in misleading ways in her book. Research on your own, don't rely on one or two books as your only sources of information.

traceracer

So I've decided to go vegan, but I'm going to be completely upfront and say I have absolutely NO knowledge on this subject. Can some intelligent vegans and/or intelligent individuals in general give me some tips, tricks, and foods that I might not know aren't vegan?

Vegan or vegetarian. Both are unhealthy for you.
You should read a book called "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith. She was a vegan for 20 years and it almost killed her. There are several interviews on line. Just type in her name on YouTube and you'll see several interviews.

"What we eat is destroying both our bodies and the planet, according to author Lierre Keith, a recovering twenty-year vegan. While she passionately opposes factory farming of animals, she maintains that humans require nutrient-dense animal foods for good health. A grain-based diet is the basis for degenerative diseases?we take for granted?(diabetes, cancer, heart disease) - diseases?of civilization. Annual grain production is destroying topsoil and creating deserts on a planetary scale.? Lierre urges the restoration of perennial polycultures for longterm sustainability."

Review:
"Everyone who eats should read this book. Everyone who eats vegetarian should memorize it . . . This is the single most important book I’ve ever read on diet, agriculture, and ecology." —Aric McBay, author, What We Leave Behind

"This book saved my life . . . [It] offers us a way back into our bodies, and back into the fight to save the planet." —Derrick Jensen, author, Endgame

"[Vegetarian Myth] is one of the most important books people, masses of them, can read, as we try with all our might, intelligence, skill, hope, dream , and memory, to turn the disastrous course the planet is on." —Alice Walker, prize-winning author, The Color Purple

"We may not want to face the facts, but Keith sees this as no excuse to stay in denial. If delivered as a speech, you could see that no one in the audience would be [seated] at the end. I have never seen such rousing prose." —www.ZoeHarcombe.com (August 7, 2011)

"In The Vegetarian Myth ex-vegan Lierre Keith argues that saving the planet and ending the suffering found in factory farms can not be achieved by refusing to eat animals, it can only be achieved by boycotting modern agricultural practices, which Keith calls 'the most destructive thing that people have done to the planet.'" —www.mercola.com

You should read this book before you go vegan.

You really seem to be on here only to promote your own agenda. Everything you post is against veg*nism or promoting your belief that losing weight is not about calories in/calories out. This book also has a lot of negative reviews from people who went through her research and demonstrated how she was using resources/studies in misleading ways in her book. Research on your own, don't rely on one or two books as your only sources of information.

Thank you!! It is so very irritating to me when people find what works for them and seems to think everyone should do it because some people actually" wrote a book" about it! Good grief!!

Tdigell1

Thanks for the 21 day kickstart. Ill check it out.

edsobo

I'd like to second the recommendation for Veganomicon and add that all of the Moskowitz/Romero books are fantastic.

When my wife and I went vegan, she was already vegetarian and I was slowly transitioning from omni to vegetarian. The first few weeks, we both found that the thing we missed the most was cheese. There are several great cheese replacements out there, but it takes a little time to learn which ones are better for which situations. (For example, Follow Your Heart works great when blended up with tofu for a stuffed pasta filling, but not as well as Daiya or Teese for pizza.) If you have a bad cheese replacement experience, don't let it discourage you. Also, check out The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. It has a lot of good recipes for making your own cheesy dishes.

Good luck!

PaleoPath4Lyfe

So I've decided to go vegan, but I'm going to be completely upfront and say I have absolutely NO knowledge on this subject. Can some intelligent vegans and/or intelligent individuals in general give me some tips, tricks, and foods that I might not know aren't vegan?

Just a question.........

Why would you embark on a lifestyle that you have no knowledge about

Krahn1984

bump

RGonVSH

You are eons ahead of me in the process if you are already a vegetarian, but I am in the process of switching to a vegan diet from being an omnivore. (I say omnivore because I already eat way more vegetables than animal protein). My reasons for choosing a vegan diet are based on improving my health as well as a personal choice to not contribute to the suffering of animals.

That said, I started my investigation on the internet. I have long been a skeptic of veganism because I know several vegans who are just meat-eaters in disguise, meaning that they eat those highly processed "meat-like" products. If you were to look at their plates, they would look just like a meat-eater's plate: a slab of meat-substitute (like tofu, tempeh or much worse), a salad or vegetable, and a potato. I have tried many of those substitutes, but I find they taste disgusting. My friends tells me that it is because I was (at the time) still eating meat and that my tastes would change once I stopped. I never saw the logic in that statement, but it has obviously not deterred me from investigating veganism.

Having grown up on a farm, I have never been a fan of processed food. I want more than that, so I have been investigating a whole food vegan diet. The first place I heard a lot about it was a website called vegan bodybuilding and fitness. The website has helped to reduce a lot of my fears about not getting enough protein. Then, I saw a PBS special by a guy named Joel Fuhrman, who has a book called Eat to Live. This book was also very helpful.

Recently, through an elimination diet (and confirmed through allergy testing), I recently discovered that I have sensitivities to both milk protein and certain grains: wheat (barley, rye, spelt and others in the wheat family). So I eliminated these foods from my diet, and so far have lost a fair amount of weight, just by cutting out these foods which were causing inflammation in my body.

I am looking forward to this next new shift in my lifestyle. I know this thread is older, but if you are still active on the MFP and want to be friends, I would love the support of other people who are vegan as I make this change.