Dawn here. On and off veg lacto ovo, then dropped the lacto, This all started when I was in my late 20's. Back and forth on (yikes) hamburgers. Raised two kids veggie and they have remained that way as adults. I am now 61. Over the summer explored Raw Vegan which was a lot of fun!

But then with fall and then winter, I returned to 50% ??? Cooked. I cld totally go raw vegan in a warm climate though!

I just joined yesterday. Had a great, healthy food day. There are still things I need to drop. but generally I feel I am right with the earth and her spirit, Gaia!

Oh, spend all my time with Vegan horses too.

Tomorrow I am going to the gym if I have to drag myself by my curly hair, kicking and screaming. I love it once I am there. Perhaps a Soy Latte will be my reward?

Luv,
dawn

Hi,I have been totally vegan for a few years and yes you have to be careful of the hidden things.
Anything with gelatine in it is not vegan as it is made up of horse and bovine hooves.Look for agar agar instead.Good luck.I didn't transition when I went vegan.Just straight to it and feel the best I have ever felt.I do eat a variety of good whole food.If anyone wants to friend me feel free.

Hello All,
I am a brand new Vegan, a baby vegan as it were, and I have made this decision based on my current state of poor health, and the fact that I can no longer ignore the benefits of a vegan diet, but also the downfalls of not choosing to change the way I eat and treat my body and the environment.
I am 40 years old, morbidly obese, and my life "was" (as of a week ago) pretty much over. I was gaining weight, chronically overeating, and eating nothing with any nutritional value. I have IBD, sleep apnea, SOB, knee problems, abdominal hernias, a permanent ileostomy, depression, anxiety, PTSD, carpal tunnel in both wrists, and am practically immobile. I haven't left my apartment in 2 months because It is too difficult to get in and out of my car and my belly hits the steering wheel. This is not living, this is waiting to die.
I have tried every diet I know of, had consultation for gastric surgery, and am seeing a Bariatric specialist MD who believes I have ADHD. Because of my bowel disease and the twists and turns of the herniation I have, I CANNOT eat most raw fruits and vegetables. It is hard to be on any diet when you can't eat the "free foods".
I have slowly been considering my relationship to meat, dairy, eggs, and animal products. I saw the documentaries including Super-Size Me, Food Inc., Hungry for Change, and Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead. Then I caught something on the evening news that disturbed me greatly, it was a hidden video of a pig farm where they were handling these small helpless piglets, and without stating what most of you already know, I was sickened. I also always thought that Kosher meat was somehow better, after watching Vegucated, then PETA's "If all slaughterhouses had glass walls", and finally Earthlings. There was simply no way I could ever put any of that crap into my body ever again.
I realize the reason I was eating so much, such mass quantities of garbage food was because my body is craving nutrients that it is not getting. Not only that, all my food was processed and washed down with copious amounts of diet soda and artificially sweetened mix drinks. I was not drinking any water.
Now, I don't smoke, drink, or drug, but I have been addicted to crap (and I now know that it is not entirely my fault). I am lucky in that I have normal blood pressure and no diabetes in my family history, but I am approaching early signs for Type-2 Diabetes. I am not living, and it is time for all that to change. I want the second half of my life to be better than the first. I deserve this.
I am reading tons, and I have been juicing and tracking my intake, cleared out all the crap and filled the cupboards with the most nutrient dense and cleansing foods I can.
I may have to puree or cook some veggies to eat them, but there is so much I can eat it is unbelievable. I am almost a week in and I feel fantastic, I have lost a lot of the swelling in my legs, I am sleeping better, I love the food, love the fresh juice (who knew beets and lemons made for awesome). I feel somehow 'brighter', less hungry, I am eating correct portions, I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner.
This is my choice, no one told me to go VEGAN, but I don't think I could even look at meat, dairy, or eggs again, I am just not interested. To top it all off, I am a nurse, yep, I take care of others and help them find health for a living. I know better, I knew better, and now I will do better.
I'd love to have anyone interested add me as a pal, if you have any of the same hurdles to overcome, if you are a nurse too, if you are a new vegan, if you identify at all with my story.
With a compassionate soul,
Ketsy

Hi everyone,

I've been vegetarian for about 9 years, and have been using milk substitutes like soya and almond milk for about 4 years and do not eat eggs if I can help it. I really enjoy cheese though, but have decided that enough is enough and that I want to go fully vegan now. I watched earthlings a little while back and seeing how being a vegetarian doesn't stop cruelty and slaughter has made me really want to give up animal products entirely.
I still have some non-vegan items in my cupboard and fridge which I'm going to use up as I think to waste them would be even worse than eating them, and my boyfriend doesn't eat cheese so he wont be eating them either.

So from now on I am not going to buy any animal products. I need support though as I can be quite lazy so I need to make sure I keep a balanced diet and don't end up eating the same things all of the time.

Thinking about becoming vegan!! Getting a lot of information/recipes. Or at least majority of the time. The hubby is a meat eater!!! I want to live a healthier lifestyle...

Hi! I'm so excited to see a vegan section here!
I'm not new to MFP, but I've never ventured much into the community section. I started my account a few years ago, but only used it intermittently. I've been vegetarian for two years, and went vegan for New Year's this year.

I was doing really well as a vegetarian, lost some weight, felt great, then was diagnosed with breast cancer last spring. I'm done with treatment now, but struggling with my weight and fitness again, along with depression that's making it difficult to motivate myself.

Dealing with serious illness reaffirmed and strengthened my belief that no one should have to die or suffer for me to have a meal.

Hello! I'm Bridget and am in the process of easing into veganism. 2 years ago for Lent I went vegan but fell away from it after Easter. Lately I have been reading more and focusing more on my diet and have decided to open the vegan door again. Since December-ish I have been phasing out one meat at a time. I found it's much easier to ease into it rather than just jumping into the deep end, at least for me. The next thing to cross off my list is eggs. I have been doing my "phasing out" in 2 week chunks. After 2/2/13 I plan on spending two weeks still consuming dairy, then make the leap.

My generic answer when people ask why is that I am just doing it for moral and health reasons. Honestly, for me, losing weight while eating vegan is much, much easier. More than that though, I have just been feeling pangs of guilt eating animal products since I've seen Food, Inc. and read things like The Kind Diet, Veganist, The Food Revolution, etc. I have Forks Over Knives in my Netflix instant queue and I'm sure that will be another eye-opener.

I'm really happy to see this group out here. In the main forums it seems like any time someone brings up being vegan they're bombarded with criticism. It's discouraging.

I am also looking to add some new friends to MFP. Vegans with open diaries who log often would be great so I can get an idea of what yummy things are out there that I haven't gotten into yet. I'm good about logging on weekdays, not so great on weekends. So please do feel free to add me or send a message. Thanks!

Hi! My name is Stefany & I have been vegan for almost 2 years. I probably would have become vegan in my teens, but I made different choices & put my blinders on to the way animals are treated in the farming industry. A couple of years ago, I went out of town over the weekend & while I was gone my husband discovered all of the factory farming videos on the Internet. When I returned, we watched some & discussed it, and decided to go vegan for life.

I wouldn't say that I am the healthiest vegan. I love a good veggie burger & my favorite restaurant is Doomie's in LA (they even catered our wedding last year), but I do like healthy meals as well. I go about half & half.

Today starts a two week juice fast... we'll see where it takes me.

Hi everyone!

Been away from My fitness pal for a looong time. Since then decided to omit animals from my diet.. I delayed coming back here as I could NOT be bothered with the misconceptions "oh where will you get your protein from?" etc. But so glad to see theres some Vegan groups here, hopefully this will keep me motivated

Feel free to add me but be forewarned I probably wont log in every day. Apparently people delete friends who dont do this. Thats cool but youve been warned x

Veggie from birth thanks to my parents - however, my family were very open about me trying all kinds of foods, including meat. I remember eating a chicken nugget at a kids party, and wolfing down chorizo at a barbeque.. But when I hit 10 - I decided that even the occasional bit of meat was not for me.
Turned vegan at 19, after moving out and being unable to afford good quality dairy products. Then, I got more involved in animal rights, learned more about alternative protein sources, and became very happy (and healthy!) in my vegan identity.

However, I lapsed a few months ago while living with other people who would regularly use dairy products in communal meals. I am a strong believer in WASTE BEING WORST.. However, I actually reacted quite badly to the dairy, so moved on out and have become strictly vegan AGAIN for 2 months.

Feel more motivated and more energised than ever!