vegan diet?

I switched to a vegetarian diet and love it! My advice is to do a lot of reading, find recipes, and slowly switch over. A good documentary to watch is "Forks Over Knives" followed by the video "Forks Over Knives Presents: Engine 2 Diet"... also, the "Engine 2 Diet" is a good book :-)

I wouldn't dream of going back on a meat/dairy based diet.. I feel so much better!!!

I used to follow vegan diet for few months at begining of my weight loss adventure. Its sure beneficial to health, it made me feel better mentaly about annimal rights and not suporting murderous industry etc etc. What broke it for me was yoghurt >.> I LOVE MY DIARY PRODUCTS, soya and almond replacements are erally expensive in my current country, so I gave up.

If you are not lusting over milk and yoghurts or cheeses or other stuff like that , vegan is good for you for sure

i would first recommend trying a vegetarian, plant-based diet and cut out meat. i think going straight into a vegan lifestyle can be jarring and a bit stressful. most people believe 'vegetarian' means 'not eating meat or animal flesh' and vegan means 'not eating any animal flesh or by products'. many vegans will tell you that veganism is a lifestyle, not a diet - it includes ensuring your toiletries do not include animal by products, your clothing does not include leather or wool, etc.

i have heard of people having trouble adjusting to not eating meat, but that's usually because they do not obtain adequate nutrients from their vegetarian diet. swapping out morningstar farms veg burgers for meat at meals is not really a healthy option (although i love their tomato basil patties). you sound a lot like my husband and i - we're researching vegetarianism because of both health and eco-concerns. we have cut out cow's milk but are still eating cheese and yogurt. in the past week, we have only eaten meat once - fish. i'm uncertain whether i want to cut put meat entirely, but i want to be as animal friendly and humane as possible. we've decided to limit our meat intake to one or two meals a week (although one is more likely) and it will be either chicken or fish produced locally. once the weather breaks and the farms in new york open for the season (usually march), we're going to take field trips to a couple of farms and see if we can find local, organically and humanely produced eggs and cheeses. we may continue to eat chicken if we find a farm that supplies it that we are happy with, but we're both leaning towards no meat at all.

i think asking questions and researching are your best options. remember that everyone has a different path, and not everyone is as open-minded as other people. i've already had family members making comments about my not eating meat (not positive comments). but i feel great, physically and emotionally, not eating meat. i also recommend checking with your doctor about his concerns. i've had the same doctor for many years and when i told him about it, he was excited that i was excited about eating healthier and losing weight. he shared his concerns about me eating a vegetarian diet, and now i know what to do for my body. because we're all different. what i need to do to stay healthy may be different than what you need to do. good luck

Hey there!
I recently went Vegan (about two weeks ago). For me I did it mostly as a challenge and I was pretty disgusted with the meat industry after watching "vegucated". (Yup, I jumped on that bandwagon). Personally i LOVE it. I feel better after I eat, I don't feel bloated and tired after eating. OVerall it's much more difficult to be vegan but as of right now I'm going to continue because I just feel so great. It's not for everyone, depending on where you live and your lifestyle. I won't ever go "full" vegan and not buy any animal products (I will not give up my Justin boots!) but as far as food I see a million reasons you should at least try it! My advice is to start slow, don't put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect and to do lots of research! Good luck!

Hey there!
I recently went Vegan (about two weeks ago). For me I did it mostly as a challenge and I was pretty disgusted with the meat industry after watching "vegucated". (Yup, I jumped on that bandwagon). Personally i LOVE it. I feel better after I eat, I don't feel bloated and tired after eating. OVerall it's much more difficult to be vegan but as of right now I'm going to continue because I just feel so great. It's not for everyone, depending on where you live and your lifestyle. I won't ever go "full" vegan and not buy any animal products (I will not give up my Justin boots!) but as far as food I see a million reasons you should at least try it! My advice is to start slow, don't put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect and to do lots of research! Good luck!

Lol I jumped on THAT bandwagon to and I'm the same way with my boots!!

Vegan diets are strange because it isnt just what you eat. It depebds on what degree you want to be ethical. (Im not vegan anymore but I was as a teenager, I dont know everything and this is just my opinion)

If you are doing it for ethical reasons then you really need to go the whole hog. (Not eat meat or dairy but then glugging down wine that has fish guts used in its brewing process may seem to some as hypocritical) like many have said veganism is a life choice. So many products these days have animal parts used in them that it may seem daughnting to someone who is new to the vegan world because there is alot to learn! I definitely believe veganism is a love and a passion and it needs to be as sourcing vegan products (not just food) can be more difficult for someone who is less educated on the vegan lifestyle.

If you are dedicated to becoming vegan IMO I would start with a wholefoods plant based diet while slowly phasing out meat and dairy products. While doing this I would research into vegan clothing, cosmetics, glues and other products that people wouldnt neccesarily assume as having animal parts in them, and slowly transition into using them. In my eyes the word vegan is banded around to often, some people who says they are vegan are just veggies who dont eat dairy. True vegans wear its as a badge of pride and it is a 100% commitment and I agree it should be.


*controversial bit* IMO I dont believe people should class themselves as vegan because they dont eat meat and dairy. A vegan is someone whos lifestyle doesnt not included animal products of anykind in anyway shape or form.

Now the apologies part. This post wasnt intended to offend, guarentee some of the facts will be wrong (please feel free to correct me) and apologies for my dreadful typos, spelling and grammar.

i really dislike labels, but i kind of agree. veganism isn't a diet (i don't use the word 'diet' as 'way to lose weight'. the word 'diet' means 'what you eat daily') but a lifestyle choice. most vegans are vegan because they don't ingest or use anything with animal products or by products - that includes meats, dairy, soups with chicken stock, refined sugar, and honey. they don't use shampoos or body lotions that have animal products like tallow, keratin, and even silk proteins. they don't wear leather or wool, and they don't use pills or vitamins with animal-based gelatin - and they don't eat jell-o or commercially produced marshmallows.

it seems that the label 'vegetarian' means 'one who does not eat any animal based product, including dairy'. lacto-ovo vegetarians eat no meat but eat milk products (lacto) and eggs (ovo). lacto vegetarians and ovo vegetarians exist as well. pescatarians only eat meat from sea creatures... flexitarians was a term coined in the 2000s to encompass people who eat mainly vegetarian, but occasionally eat meat.

like i said, i hate labels - which is why i probably will never call myself 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' or whatever. you'll find so much erroneous information on the web; everyone has a blog or whatever that shares THEIR opinion, not necessarily fact. i think it's about doing your own research and finding what's comfortable for you.

*controversial bit* IMO I dont believe people should class themselves as vegan because they dont eat meat and dairy. A vegan is someone whos lifestyle doesnt not included animal products of anykind in anyway shape or form.

I agree with the above. Being vegan is a lifestyle, not a diet.

Don't call yourself a vegan if you drink wine, eat Jello, use the non-vegan beauty products or wear animal skins. There are alternatives to everything now.

While I am not vegan I am annoyed by people who preach about how great being a vegan is while they wear their leather, drink wine, and use things like lotions that contain glycerine (labels do not tell you whether that glycerine was recieved from animal, synthetic or vegetable sources unless it is labelled as vegan). Vegan is a lifestyle, not a diet. If you don't follow the lifestyle don't classify yourself as a vegan, yet instead as a vegetarian or you follow a vegan diet but not lifestyle.

But years ago when I was vegan its was everything to me and I did it by the book. Thats like a veggie having a bacon sarnie as a one off

Don't call yourself a vegan if you drink wine, eat Jello, use the non-vegan beauty products or wear animal skins. There are alternatives to everything now.

I don't really want to get into the whole "how vegan is enough to be called vegan" discussion, but I do want to clarify one point: There are a number of vegan-friendly wines out there. Check out barnivore.com for more info.

There is also vegan jello and marshmallows

I have been on MFP for under a month and already lost 4lb :happy:

Anyway I am wondering about going vegan, partially because it may be more healthy and partially due to animal rights issues.
Does anyone have any experience of a vegan diet? Love some advice.

animal rights, sure.
more healthy, no.
you are your own person. decide what you believe in.