Vegetarians/Vegans

I went to vegan a few months ago, with a slight difference, I eat fish and egg whites. I suffer from ms and the diet has been designed to help with the symptoms. I feel so much healthier, and I look healthier too. My skin is glowing!

I try to live as vegan a lifestyle as possible. I eat a completely vegan (no animal products whatsoever--no gelatin, dairy, eggs, fish, meat, byproducts, carmine, etc) diet, and products I have control over are vegan. (Clothing, cleaners, hygiene products, etc.) I'm a vegan because of the way animals are treated in order to produce dairy and eggs, and I'm a vegetarian because I don't see a reason for an animal to die for me to eat when there are so many other choices available to me. It's pretty easy for me to adhere to because it matters to me as much as it does. If it didn't, it would probably be a lot harder. However, foodwise, now is a great time to be a vegan. 15 years ago, there wasn't such a plentiful array of foods to choose from. Now, you can find all sorts of vegan foods, from healthy to junk to somewhere in between pretty easily. Even if you don't have a grocery nearby that sells them, if you want something badly enough, you can just order it online. Many products are labeled vegan, which helps a lot.

I have been a vegetarian/pescetarian (I'm a pescetarian when visiting family) for almost a year now. I started one) to feel better and two) because I don't think the meat industry is sustainable and I wanted to decrease my carbon footprint. It's done a good job of keeping me vegetarian.

I was briefly vegan and dropped a bunch of weight, so if that's your motive then..

I watched the documentary Forks over Knives and it convinced me to look into a plant-strong diet. I suffer from a mental disorder and several physical issues that can have some symptom relief (I'm not looking for a cure) by cutting out animal products. At age 27, I also have high triglycerides, and I'm hoping for a positive benefit in that area as well.

The animal rights aspect is an issue for me, as well. I have worked in 2 different pet stores for the last 5 1/2 years. I have owned hermit crabs and rats, and still own fish and a cat, none of which I would ever think about eating. My shifts are spent teaching people how to take care of their animals to the best of their abilities. Unfortunately, around 10% is spent trying to explain to individuals why they shouldn't cram a fish that gets huge into a tiny tank, or put a guinea pig or rat in a small cage, etc, and having way too many people argue with me or try to 'bargain' with me in adding more fish/getting a smaller cage. If I fight so hard to get these animals into an environment where they can thrive (yes, I will even go to bat for the 13 cent 'feeder fish', as they don't deserve to be in a bowl either), why would I turn around and tuck into a lovely piece of meat for dinner? It is a strange dichotomy, in my mind.

Just out of curiosity, what is your reason?

I went to vegan a few months ago, with a slight difference, I eat fish and egg whites. I suffer from ms and the diet has been designed to help with the symptoms. I feel so much healthier, and I look healthier too. My skin is glowing!

If you eat fish and egg whites you are *not* vegan, or even vegetarian. You are welcome to adopt whatever style of eating works for you and your heatlh, but please don't confuse people by telling them that you are vegan if you consume animal products (eggs) and animal flesh (fish). There is enough confusion out there about what it means to be vegetarian or vegan without people spreading misinformation.

For the OP: I am a vegetarian (no animal flesh of any kind) and my diet is 99.9% vegan. For me this is an ethical issue. I don't like the idea of turning animals into commodities, which is what happens on farms, because even loving, well intentioned farmers have to make a living. The production of animal foods is also exceptionally hard on the environment. My husband is currently trying a vegan diet to see if it will improve some long-standing health issues for him (chronic congestion, and skin problems), so far, it is going well for him, so we may be on our way to a close to vegan household (well, except for the cats).

Edited to fix a grammatical issue.

I'm "nearly vegan" for health reasons for a little more than a year. Truth is, I'm not, but it's easier to explain my eating habits to others. I'm lactose intolerant, which makes is very easy to cut out dairy. I'd really rather not eat meat or fish. I do eat sushi sometimes though, and a bite of meat here and there, which reminds me that I would rather not eat it because it tastes slimy and/or salty to me now. I don't get hung up on my "transgressions", because I'm doing this for me and not to fit into label. Most Vegans/vegetarians have been been very accepting of that.

Once you're used to eating vegan, you'll be surprised how much there is out there to eat. I will say, it is incredibly easy to be a junk food vegan. French fries and oreos...vegan. I don't live in a super small town, but once every 3-4 weeks I drive out to the "big" grocery store to get some of the hard to find stuff that I don't have locally. Hopefully you're not too too far from a store like that.

I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian - and have been for many years - nearing 20. The first advantage was weight loss and feeling healthier. Since then, I've become a lazy vegetarian - I love the comments about the oreos! For me, it's been cheese/dairy, increased carbs, and a more sedentary lifestyle as I've aged as a reason for the weight gain.

I'm not on any soap box about why I don't eat meat, but I wanted to encourage you to give it a try and see how it goes for you and your body. Be sure to watch your iron - I find that I don't always get the amount I needed daily. I think needing supplements on a veg diet is a myth - when I first started I was always warned about not getting enough protein, etc. Society has changed alot since then, and it's much easier to eat out, and find quick foods then it ever was!

I say go for it - and I wish you much continued success!

I recently went pescetarian (the only meat I eat is fish/shellfish). I actually started off wanting to go vegan - I watched this documentary called "Vegucated" and I cannot touch chicken. beef, or pork again. However, I'm allergic to nuts and coconuts, so there are quite a few protein options that I cannot use. I started to get a bit shaky and tired, so I ended up going back to fish to get the protein that I need. I still don't eat eggs, and I quit dairy products as well. I'm happy to say that I no longer suffer frequent migraines and break outs like I did when I was drinking milk!

Good luck with everything! I hope it works out for you. I must say that since I switched, I feel better than I have in years.

Couldn't you get protein from soy and other legumes, as well as from products like seitan (which is made from wheat gluten)? Also, this may or may not be the case for you, but some people with nut allergies can tolerate seeds well. Honestly, nuts are so full of fat that I don't use them as a primary source of protein.

I do drink soy milk here and there, but I find that if I drink too much, my stomach doesn't really agree with it, and I cannot stand the taste of rice milk! I've never tried seitan (I'll have to look into that one), but I find that seeds such as sesame, sunflower, etc. still give me a reaction, although not as bad as nuts. I've tried those "fake meats" like Tofurkey and Tempeh and I find them utterly disgusting....couldn't stomach them. I just find that I can't physically consume enough legumes and soy in one day to get enough protein without ending up in the bathroom the whole time.

With that being said, I don't eat fish everyday.

If you have any other ideas, please let me know...I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

my whole family and i became vegetarians one year ago. and let me tell you that before i became a vegetarian i never had energy , NEVER i could not wake up at all without coffee, i was sluggish and very depressed. but now one year later i feel amazing! i wake up with so much energy and its not that just woke up burst of energy its consistant all till the end of the day, my depression is significantly less and my mom lost 40 pounds and is off a lot of her medication. going out to eat is harder, lesser options, but most restaurants are willing to adjust to you . and they are healthier options.my brother is a vegan , but boy has it been hard, even for me just seeing him struggle, but its worth the sacrifices because we all feel healthy .

hope this helps

I'm vegetarian and have been for 9-ish years (minus a few hiccups in the beginning). I'm living proof that just because someone doesn't eat meat, doesn't mean that they are going to be skinny/thinner Currently, I'm almost 100 lbs overweight. I lost 35 lbs in the beginning of being vegetarian, but it eventually steadied out to around what I am right now, which is where my weight has been stuck at for pretty much the whole time.

I went vegan once for a few months and during that time I lost 30 lbs, but I don't contribute all that weight loss to veganism; I didn't know what I could eat as a vegan since so many of my usual foods were off-limits and I was too lazy to spend time cooking healthy foods for me to eat so, I barely ate anything at all. I probably ate under 1,000 calories a day. I also felt really stressed while I was vegan because I wanted to eat more and when my family and I went out to dinner (which, at the time, was once a week), I couldn't find anything on the menu I could have at most places so, I ate fries a lot. I regained the 30 lbs I lost fairly quickly once going back to vegetarianism.

I do just fine as a vegetarian, there's many more options for food and I don't feel stressed or deprived at all with this way of eating. I originally became vegetarian for the animal rights thing, but I researched the health benefits and now that's probably the main factor for me now. Heart disease runs rampant on both sides of my family and vegetarians are at much lower risk and that makes me feel a lot safer for my future... of course, I'll feel even better once this fat comes off and I can truly be a healthy individual.

I'm going to have to check out Forks Over Knives- seems like it might be a good one!

Forks over knives is a good one along with hungry for a change and vegucated as mentioned about, all 3 are real eye openers