Your best advice for going Vegan

Lol! I don't think I could not. I have a couple friends who think I'm crazy...but I have my mind made up and doing it. The only person who would convince me otherwise would be my doctor.

What are your reasons for changing your diet?

There are multiple resources out there for going vegan, but I am especially impressed by 'Vegan for Life' written by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina. Page 88 of that book has a wonderful vegan food guide that provides a template for a balanced @1400 calorie diet. They also have excellent websites:

www.TheVeganRd.com
www.VeganHealth.org

For great low-calorie cookbooks with nutritonal information for each recipe, take a look at these:

'Appetite for Reduction' by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
'Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food' by Alicia Simpson

There are two ways to go about going vegan: jump in with both feet or take your time and transition bit by bit. The way you choose is up to you, and depends a lot on how your personality adjusts to change.

Ethically motivated vegans tend to go beyond diet in their lifestyle practices, but I see this more as a 'voting with your dollars' sort of thing. Another poster told you to throw out all your clothing which is animal-derived. I see no use in doing that. Why not honor the animals' sacrifice, and properly use the items completely? Not everyone will agree on this issue, but I say it's best to focus on your spending decisions now and in the future, rather than worrying about what you did yesterday.

Finally, the word 'vegan' implies a life view about the relationship between humans and animals. If you are motivated to eat plant-based for health, you might want to call what you are doing 'plant-based eating' and avoid the whole 'vegan' label. I personally don't care what reason people go plant-based because it helps the animals no matter what.

Congratulations on your decision. Friend me if you wish. My food diary is open to friends.

I started by going vegetarian, which found to be very easy to do. I did as much research on veganism as possible online and at the library while trying a new vegan food or 2 every week to find what I liked. 4 months later I became vegan and already had a good handle on the best "cheese" and mock meats. I learned to cook with beans, lentils etc by borrowing cookbooks from the library, and ended up purchasing my faves.

my fave website is vegweb for meal ideas. I just use the search feature.

I've been vegan for almost a year now and could not imagine eating any other way. I also take a vegan multivitamin and vitamin B50.

STAY AWAY FROM VEGAN CHEESE THAT MAY BE LABELED "RICE CHEESE"
it's so disgusting!

did you know Oreos are Vegan? <--I'd stay away from those, too. Ignoring the health reasons- what is that "cream" filling made of?!

**I was a vegan for about 7 months. I had to stop because the fresh fruits and veggies were too expensive!

As others mentioned: IRON.

I'm veggie & I take a multi-vitamin a day, and then also a 200mg Ferrous Sulphate iron tablet every other day. I was at once point taking 600mg a day. If I go too many days without extra iron, I feel weak and get an odd feeling in my legs like they just have no energy at all.

I've been veggie since I was 4 (own choice and first veggie in family), and a year or so ago tried going vegan. I personally found it too hard and it wasn't for me. I basically just don't eat flesh.

My best advice is to tune out anybody who isn't being supportive! Ive been vegan for about 7 years, and it gets easier. Don't worry about the vegan police either...just transition slowly and have as much compassion for yourself as you do for animals. I take a b12 supplement, but other than that my advice is to eat your veggies!!!! They have iron, protein, calcium, and everything else a body needs.

You have some great advice already! I second looking into anything by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau...she even has a 30-day vegan challenge that you can sign up for right now on her website, I'm already vegan but I'm doing it anyway, and so far there is just a TON of information - audio clips, videos, recipes, meal plans, etc. She is just awesome.

She has a cookbook called Color Me Vegan and I LOVE the concept...it's divided into chapters by the colorful vegetables or fruits that dominate the dish, it's a very whole foods based cookbook. I also recommend any cookbook by Dreena Burton, she is really committed to creating healthy recipes.

I found that when I went vegetarian, and then later went vegan, I loved reading anything on the subject I could get my hands on. There are so many resources out there, just head to your library and study up! Embrace and enjoy the change, it's a wonderful way to live.

I'm no vegan but this is how I would do: Explore and research your food options well. A vegan lifestyle is not hard as you can substitute most nutrients from animal sources with plant ones. Read the food labels carefully for any animal products. Watch your iron and B12 intake closely as without proper choices you may face a deficiency in long term.

Thank you! Yes, I have been researching plant strong food lists and recipes . I will definitely look into a good B12 supplement. thanks!

Nutritional yeast if something lots of veges use for b12 if you don't want to take a vitamin. You can use it for anything really to give it a cheesy/nutty flavor

I thought I would give it a look see and tumbled into boundless information about corn-fed antibiotic ridden cows, overly processed everything and the notion that we could cure illness with food.

If you do some research into paleo, it has a huge emphasis on grass fed, pastured animals.


Being vegan is more than just what you eat. You're going to have to check everything you buy. You know that pair of shoes in the store you loooove and need, they're probably glued with an animal based glue. Or those gummy vitamins that are so awesome...more tha likely its animal gelatin. The purses, the belts, the cashmere/angora/wool clothing, nope..off limits. I dated a vegan for a long time and besides the fact he gave off a weird, I dunno..almost composty smell from his pores, he was far from being lean and healthy. I think you should do a little more research about paleo if thats the only other option you're considering vs.vegan

I thought I would give it a look see and tumbled into boundless information about corn-fed antibiotic ridden cows, overly processed everything and the notion that we could cure illness with food.

If you do some research into paleo, it has a huge emphasis on grass fed, pastured animals.


Being vegan is more than just what you eat. You're going to have to check everything you buy. You know that pair of shoes in the store you loooove and need, they're probably glued with an animal based glue. Or those gummy vitamins that are so awesome...more tha likely its animal gelatin. The purses, the belts, the cashmere/angora/wool clothing, nope..off limits. I dated a vegan for a long time and besides the fact he gave off a weird, I dunno..almost composty smell from his pores, he was far from being lean and healthy. I think you should do a little more research about paleo if thats the only other option you're considering vs.vegan

I don't smell. :P

I don't smell. :P

Or you don't think you do :P hehe
Its really hard to even explain, he showered a ton, but it was like an overly earthy smell..like walking in a rainforest. Same with his vegan friends. Maybe I have an overly sensitive nose

some people just stink maybe. I knew this one guy that always smelled like wet dog...and he didn't own a dog. But I certainly don't smell unless I break wind.

No, it wasn't a bad smell at all...just different. People who eat huge amounts of greasy fast food smell different too...but the bad kind of different.

Ok look, don't be intimidated by all of these people on here saying that just b/c you adopt a vegan diet that you have to be vegan in every aspect of your life. Not true. How you live your life is your decision, and doesn't have to be based on some kind of standard. The vegan community really doesn't care too much anymore if your shoes aren't 100% vegan, or if your face wash is tested on animals, they are just happy that you are doing something to help the animals. Every medication you take has been tested on animals, but does that mean that all vegans don't take medicine?? No way! So yeah, when someone would ask me if I was vegan, I would just tell them that I "mostly" was. Labels really don't matter.

This. Every little helps, and whilst I prefer to be as vegan as possible, I fail lots of times. As far as smelling goes, I don't think I smell and I haven't been told I smell earthy. Though I do use more organic products, so maybe I smell less chemically!