Became a vegetarian today, help!
Replies
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I have been a vegetarian for almost 25 years now. A few words of wisdom:
- Don't fall into the carb trap. Many vegetarians fill the void with extra pasta/bread/rice rather than more veggies and protein
- Just because it is vegan or organic does not make it good for you. I gained about 15 pounds because of a frequent consumption of seitan burritos with globs of neutro cheese followed by homemade organic vegan cashew cream pudding (boyfriend worked at a local vegan restaurant).
- Don't be elitist. Life is not a contest. Level 5 super vegans who passive aggressively put people down for not making the exact same life choices as them are just not cool and give the rest of the the veg community a bad rap.
- It gets easier the longer you do it. The choices become more obvious. There are plenty of options to eat out and enjoy life as a veg.
I freakin' love the bolded on that. Hi5! :drinker:0 -
Congratulations! I was veg for 10 years; I'm a little more relaxed now and eat fish, but still no red meat ever (or ever again). Vegetarians live an average of 7 years longer than meat eaters, and meat consumption is absolutely 100% linked to cancer and heart disease. Processed or preserved meats (deli meat, bacon, hot dogs) are full of nitrates which are a direct carinogen- they're probably the WORST thing you could ever eat.
[I'm in med school, which certainly doesn't make me an authority on any subject but that's where I've gotten my education on these topics- plus research.]
I'm extremely against factory farming- 70% of the antibiotics in the world are given to livestock and meat eaters consume them every day! Factory farming is the reason that drug-resistant bacteria are developing and killing thousands of people. Try to only purchase hormone and antibiotic free dairy, if you're still eating dairy. Know you're making a great decision for yourself and for the world
Vegans definitely need to pay attention to their nutrition and maybe take a B12 or other vitamins, but if you're still eating eggs and dairy you probably don't need to stress about it. I never even have to try to hit my MFP protein goal. Being veg definitely doesn't mean you automatically eat more carbs! I eat vegetables at EVERY meal; I only eat about 2 servings of "carbs" a day. This is true even when I'm not dieting! I eat a lot of lentils, egg whites, and quinoa, as well as some tempeh and tofu sometimes (but they aren't necessary if you don't like them). I try to minimize processed food so I try not to consume too much of the processed soy products like Morningstar and Boca, but they are really tasty and helpful for a quick meal. I try to focus on whole foods though! Try making a big batch of quinoa salad full of veggies for the week- makes great lunches! good luck 0 -
regardless of my poor grammar, your general idea of how veganism will help you prevent heart disease baffles me. How about you go look at some legit health statistics where there is extremely low heart disease and a high intake of animal products.
agreed. people who practice this for animal welfare, thats great. thats your belief.
When you say this "I just truly believe vegetarians are healthier than meat eaters", what do you expect?I'm surprised so many people are defensive on this issue.
My sister is vegan, has been for nearly 20 years. She's healthy, but she's also a vegan chef so she's cooking all the time and aware of her macros. We live on opposite sides of the US now but for a few years we lived in the same city and I was vegetarian, but not healthy. I eat whatever I want now and am healthy.
My opinion/obersvation is most vegan's conviction comes from animal welfare. I "became" vegetarian during a time my work responsibilities took my "inside" commercial chicken, turkey, and hog farms and processing plants. I try not to think about that anymore. Chicken wings and Carolina BBQ won't kill you.
And if I do I because my belief is they live simple lives, then it bothers people? Lol, why does it matter what my belief is? People on here who dot even know me personably are commenting like they're offended by my opinion. I think it may be a personal issue.
that does not mean it is healthy.
you're opinion is simply an uneducated opinion. You think that not eating meat is healthy? lol
You're incredibly rude aren't you, she has a belief that has absolutely no impact on you and your life...what's wrong with you?
For future reference it's "your" not "you're"...that's a bit embarrassing when you are calling someone else "uneducated" isn't it.
I also find it humorous how you think you have 0 chance of heart disease0 -
If you understand how the vegan food triangle works then there's no worrying about getting proper nutrition. A well stocked salad w/ some fruit & low fat cottage cheese on the side for example has plenty of vitamins & minerals. Eating vegan is pretty easy, you just have to be a bit creative in the kitchen to really enjoy it... There's plenty of vegan recipes online, allrecipes.com is a great place to look for ideas.
There is plenty of evidence that a diet high in red meats is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease & high blood pressure, which I happen to have neither...
I consider myself to be 99% vegetarian, I say 99% because I do have the occasional piece of chicken breast with my meals....
I'm 44 yrs old & my total cholesterol is 148, enough said.
To the OP, go ahead and eat vegan if you want. You will enjoy clearer skin, more energy thruout the day, sharper memory & quicker weight loss.... Dont worry about what the haters say... Your the one who's gonna get skinny, not them.0 -
Read "Eat to Live' and "Forks over Knives"
Watch Earthlings a documentary on You tube.
These will help strengthen your convictions.
Remember there will always be those who will oppose. Just do your own thing.
Sorry,but no. They are simply propaganda. I prefer peer-reviewed scientific nonsense.
yeah, eat to live author Dr Fuhrman, MD know a lot less about nutrition than you do I am sure.
The China study has been peer reviewed, so have many other studies.
OP, if you go to the web site of the pcrm.org (Physicians' Committee for responsible Medicine) it has some good info , its sister site Nutritionmd.org has also good recipes, Dr Neil Barnard has authored several interesting books about vegan nutrition and its health impact, there are other interesting reads like "the engine 2 diet" (Rick Esselstyn, he has also a website: www.engine2diet.com", (some of its content is free) and his new book ' my beef with meat"; www.vegweb.com has quite a few vegetarian/vegan recipes; there are two good documentaries on Netflix "hungry for change" ,and "foodmatters" (not necessarilly all advocating all vegan diets but still interesting) .
Our USDA food recommodations are highly political I believe, as well as what foods get subsidized and what are not. This is one of the reasons why cheap processed foods are so abundant and easily available. ( highly processed breakfast cereals and other unhealthy junk.)
This is also one of the reasons that many believe that a vegan diet is not healthy. (if the government gives you this food pyramid they must be right). I agree with many who say a vegan diet can be very unhealthy , you can stuff yourself with junk all day by eating processed things like chips and fake meats, but I believe that if you plan and really make sure you eat legumes whole grains and fruits and vegetables you will be healthy and fine, just like non vegetarians will be.
I am not a 100 % percent vegan yet. I still eat a little bit of chicken here and there maybe once or twice a month , maybe some fish once or twice. But I hope to transition completely one day, I am not a great cook and have not figured out how to spice things correctly, so there is still a lot to learn. But after having sat through a year of medical school (I am not a physician just to clarify) and as a biochemist ,I know that for me personally the choice will be a vegan diet. However, I do believe that a non-vegan diet can be healthy too.
Good luck on your journey.0 -
Many studies funded by big business are well 'peer reviewed', but if you take the time to read them for yourself, can be found to be used for rather questionable conclusions.
http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/
Here's a comment from a random person on that:
>>Actually, many of Campbell’s references don’t actually support what he cites them for. For example, in Chapter 1, Campbell states “Heart disease can be prevented and even reversed by a healthy diet” and lists two references. Both those references are for studies that use diet *in conjunction* with other lifestyle changes (quitting smoking, stress management, exercise) or drugs (cholesterol lowering medications), making it unclear whether diet alone or the other changes improved heart health. And both studies were merely preliminary. Other examples of misleading citations abound in the book. Footnotes make things look authoritative, but even they require further investigation to validate.<<
Quoted because from reading through research papers and the like, one big thing I've found is that if you keep yourself healthy through exercise, diet actually seems to matter significantly less.
A lot of people might follow the conclusions of research that, for instance, might show that people benefit greatly from replacing a meat dish with a salad.
However, when you read the details, you find they were sedentary mothers in the 30-50 year old range.
If you are a 25 year old active man, it's quite reasonable to expect your body to work differently.
Finally - I've no doubt that there's a higher proportion of healthier plant eaters - just because these are people that have made an active choice about their diet.
This means they've thought about it at least a little bit. So reasonable, more likely to be people that have also taken the next step and made sure they are eating generally healthily too.0 -
I agree to some extent, yes our bodies do work different, and both diets can be healthy. I do believe that the China study is quite valid as well as many of the studies such as the ones that PCRM and many others conducted. Of course these studies were smaller, these people didn't have the money big pharma and big food industries have behind them. And yes, you do have to change your life style , you can't just sit on the couch and change to a plant based diet hoping that you will get healthy. So yes, the exercise might have helped too ( I didn't know about cholesterol lowering drugs). Statistics can be bent and manipulated either way. But fundamentally, I do believe that science in general can be very biased when it comes to nutrition. And it is abused especisally in our society when the public is supposed to be educated , I do not believe in a minute that the USDA has our best interest in mind when they publish their dietary guidelines. They have too many people on their board that have close ties to the food and agricultural industry. Just look at the junk that they feed to our children in school , USDA mandated. That should tell you a lot.0
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I was a vegetarian for about a year before I got pregnant and decided it wasn't in my best interest anymore. I went from meat eater to vegetarian overnight and did pretty well so here are a few of my tips.
Define what you will or will not eat. I did not eat meat but I still ate fish and seafood. That was my lifesaver. Also I could never have gone completely vegan. I ate a ton of eggs, cottage cheese, and cheese. I ate a lot of protein. Be careful not to eat too many processed veggie foods. It is so easy to buy a bunch of frozen soy patties and veggie burgers but that is just as bad as frozen chicken patties. I ate a lot of salads and beans.
I did lose weight but not because I stopped eating meat, because I ate better and made healthier decisions. Since I had all the crap out of my system I rarely even had cravings for things I shouldn't have been eating.
Good luck, don't make it about losing weight, but being healthier, like you said.
If you are doing this for health reasons, the above post makes much more sense. You don't have to cut out all animal products, just choose healthier ones. A diet high in red meat, has been shown to not be so good for most people, so trade off that burger for some baked fish. You get high protein with a much healthier fat source. Omega 3s are so good for you.
Be sure you eat lots of leafy green veggies to get enough iron to compensate for the loss from red meat.
Like others have said, a vegan diet is not necessarily healthier. You must make good choices and watch your macros and micros carefully. I would suggest easing into more slowly as well, otherwise it may be too overwhelming and you find yourself breaking into a McDonalds at 2am looking for cheeseburgers!0 -
Tin foil conspiracy very funny.... It would be nice to be able to voice your opinion on these forums without being made fun of.0
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I didn't read everything because of the flood of negativity. Anyway, I have two things I would like to add:
I second everything ChrisMundie said.
And I just advise you to use common sense. Look up some easy, affordable recipes that you will actually want to make and plan out your meals in advance to make sure you are getting what you need. It is very easy to have an unhealthy vegetarian diet, and I found that meal planning is what works best for me in avoiding that. Good luck!0 -
Tin foil conspiracy very funny.... It would be nice to be able to voice your opinion on these forums without being made fun of.
I couldn't agree more. Nearly every time I post here, I regret it. The community, as a whole, is not as pleasant as I wish it was.0 -
Tin foil conspiracy very funny.... It would be nice to be able to voice your opinion on these forums without being made fun of.
I couldn't agree more. Nearly every time I post here, I regret it. The community, as a whole, is not as pleasant as I wish it was.
I'd more say that's life in general. 0 -
It seems to me that you are not clear at all what you want. Being a vegetarian is not the same as being vegan. Usually people are one or the other. Having been a vegetarian for 18 years, I would suggest to you to make small changes over time and go from there. Doing it all cold turkey on one day works for some, but for most not, especially if you have not really figured out what you want and why. Not liking yucky raw chicken skin is not such a good reason, because eating a vegetarian diet takes a whole different approach to nutrition. It's not just about not eating meat and leaving it at that.....:o).0
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I like this. For me I went cold turkey. For some it's easy some it's hard. Everyone will have an opinion and view but five years from now will it matter? Do what's right for you and do it in a healthy frame of mind. After a year and some months though I was having some issues and had to incorporate certain fish products. Other than that lots of protein. Occasional soy. Lots of nut and seed milks.whole grains, fruits. And vendors are very kind in sending you coupons to try their products if you email them and it was fun. Still is watching my meat eating teen come in from checking the mail holding coupons to try this and that for free or on the low. It also gives you the opportunity to read what your eating and learn how to cook different dishes. A few of my favorites: Yves The Good Dogs Hot Dogs. Horizon .... Morning Star.. Bocca (but watch out some are genetically modified soy). Gardein.( I have a freezer full). Sophies kitchen (the imitation shrimp and calamari) woot woot. Toffutti... so much more. Just experiment. Take it day by day whatever your choice! Be blessed and much success on your journey. 0
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I just have to say this. Vegetarians/vegans are not inherently healthier than omnivores. You can be vegan and eat oreos, pop tarts, chips, breads, cakes, biscuits, etc. You still have to make healthy choices. Meat/animal by-products don't immediately make a person unhealthy. I've met plenty of obese vegetarians and fit and healthy meat eaters. It's all about the food choices you make, not just the diet you choose to follow.0
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Joy_Joy, I am on these forums to give support to people who are trying to lose weight and to find support and help when I need some for my journey and not to get retarded comments when I post a comment.
That's nice, but realize that this is a public forum :flowerforyou:
Now maybe back to the topic?0 -
Don't let negative comments change your mind! I began a transition to a raw vegan diet 10 days ago, and tomorrow will begin my new lifestyle of 100% raw vegan. I did it for health reasons, not moral. I love meat, oreos and all the other junk associated with the standard American diet! Everyone has an opinion, so we all just have to do what we feel is right for ourselves and our health. The transition for me has been easy. I started by phasing out coffee the week before and then one meal at a time. In just a few days time of eating two meals a day raw vegan, I was feeling much better! My joints don't ache like they did, I lost 6.4lbs this week during my transition and I have more energy. Eating a plant based diet isn't for everyone, but for some it's a matter of quality of life! I chose to have a better quality of life and am thankful that I found this, only wish I had found it sooner! Good luck! I hope it works out for you!0
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I wish you the best of luck in your choice. I'm hoping that you realize that it's your choice because of squeamishness, not because it's truly 'healthier'.
I suppose this topic is one of those that really reinforce the understanding that there are groups on the forums for help in semi-controversial ideas like this or Atkins, Paleo, raw foods, etc. When you post in the 'public' part of the forum you have to be prepared to take the blows that may come of it, especially if you make unsubstantiated comments.
Again, best of luck to you. It's not a choice I'd advocate, but you have a right to eat how you want.0 -
I am not sure I agree that they are healthier. I have done a vegetarian or vegan diet for the better part of the past decade and think that some health problems that I have now may be attributed to that. I definitely think you can do it healthy, but it's not as simple as just cutting out food groups.0
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"I lived on carbs, and although I'm sure you will say you won't do that, it is very hard NOT to live a very high carb lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with carbs, in my opinion, but for me, the high carb and sugar content, and very low fat, made me low energy and constantly hungry. I also became anemic and lost a lot of hair. The last few years of being a vegetarian, I ate very healthy - lots of beans, complex carbs, healthy fats, and occasional soy protein. I wasn't overweight at the time, but I was definitely not healthy, and I definitely didn't feel well."
I agree with the above.
It's also very easy to make bold statements like the OP when you have eliminated meat for a day or a couple of weeks. You don't see the effects of any nutritional deficits for years. I do question whether years of extreme eating are to blame for some of the autoimmune issues I have now. I wish I had just done a balanced diet all these years.
I am against factory farming and only purchase quality, humanely raised meat, etc.0 -
There is plenty of evidence that a diet high in red meats is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease & high blood pressure, which I happen to have neither...
Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal..one year ago I had extremely high cholesterol, triglycerides, pre-diabetes, high BP, etc...I no longer do...I still eat *kitten* loads of meat, I simply lost weight, get overall proper nutrition and exercise.0 -
I actually sorta respect vegans/vegetarians more who do it out of their moral convictions rather than the generic "to be healthy" reasoning. I mean hell, if you want to go against nature and fundamentally change your life, might as well have a strong reason for it
Hey man, I hear old age is heavily correlated with a higher chance of heart disease and high blood pressure. Also I don't seem to have diabetes, sickle cells, cancer, brittle bones and a plethora of other diseases, but I'm not quite yet at the point where I attribute my miraculous condition 100% to my food choicesThere is plenty of evidence that a diet high in red meats is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease & high blood pressure, which I happen to have neither...0 -
I start by saying that this thread was a little TL; DR, for me, but I had to jump in and reply to your initial post.
I went accidentally vegan about six months ago (long story, basically forgot to eat meat and dairy for an extended period of time, and decided I liked the way I felt). Just a few things that I've noticed during this time:
-Although I always ate healthier than the average bear, veganism has not magically made me any healthier than I was to begin with. You can still eat dark chocolate, oreos, and, if you know where to look, jam donuts. Whether or not you eat meat has nothing to do with the level of consciousness (or willpower!) you have when it comes to food.
- As a vegan, I am totally freaking in LOVE with food. You can learn to cook delicious meals, but to be honest, veganism for me and (due to a flare up of allergies) cutting out the majority of bread products and processed food gives your taste buds a chance to really develop a sensitivity to the inherent yumminess of fresh produce. Lettuce tastes amazing. Strawberries are almost too sweet. It's like eating those foods for the first time all over again.
- You have to be very, very aware of what you eat. Protein can be a problem, but if you educate yourself and eat smart, you shouldn't need supplements (I usually have a protein shake on workout days though). What we have found difficult is Iron (particularly as a woman, needing a lot more of it once a month). Always keep liquid iron in the house. As I've mentioned earlier, if you eat right you shouldn't need it.
- Veganism is neither cheaper or more expensive then living an omnivorous life.
-Ultimately, this diet isn't really just about eating healthily. The only reason that I stopped (and didn't really miss) meat and dairy is because of the very strong beliefs I have around animal treatment, sustainability and ethical farming.0 -
If you understand how the vegan food triangle works then there's no worrying about getting proper nutrition. A well stocked salad w/ some fruit & low fat cottage cheese on the side for example has plenty of vitamins & minerals. Eating vegan is pretty easy, you just have to be a bit creative in the kitchen to really enjoy it... There's plenty of vegan recipes online, allrecipes.com is a great place to look for ideas.
There is plenty of evidence that a diet high in red meats is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease & high blood pressure, which I happen to have neither...
I consider myself to be 99% vegetarian, I say 99% because I do have the occasional piece of chicken breast with my meals....
I'm 44 yrs old & my total cholesterol is 148, enough said.
To the OP, go ahead and eat vegan if you want. You will enjoy clearer skin, more energy thruout the day, sharper memory & quicker weight loss.... Dont worry about what the haters say... Your the one who's gonna get skinny, not them.
what evidence?0 -
I got a bit lost on which side this was directed at and the like, so I'll respond to the point on it's own;Tin foil conspiracy very funny.... It would be nice to be able to voice your opinion on these forums without being made fun of.
If I express opinions that are based on guesswork, myth or bad research, I'd expect to be laughed at with people pointing out WHY they are wrong.
Presuming I'm confident my opinions are based on well researched Science, then I'll respond explaining why I believe what I do.
If people offer advice based on 'opinion' which is not backed by good evidence, I do expect and indeed hope it would be criticised.0 -
Tin foil conspiracy very funny.... It would be nice to be able to voice your opinion on these forums without being made fun of.
I couldn't agree more. Nearly every time I post here, I regret it. The community, as a whole, is not as pleasant as I wish it was.
There's a group called "Happy Herbivorves" you might enjoy it more than here.0 -
Read "Eat to Live' and "Forks over Knives"
Watch Earthlings a documentary on You tube.
These will help strengthen your convictions.
Remember there will always be those who will oppose. Just do your own thing.
Sorry,but no. They are simply propaganda. I prefer peer-reviewed scientific nonsense.
yeah, eat to live author Dr Fuhrman, MD know a lot less about nutrition than you do I am sure.
The China study has been peer reviewed, so have many other studies.
OP, if you go to the web site of the pcrm.org (Physicians' Committee for responsible Medicine) it has some good info , its sister site Nutritionmd.org has also good recipes, Dr Neil Barnard has authored several interesting books about vegan nutrition and its health impact, there are other interesting reads like "the engine 2 diet" (Rick Esselstyn, he has also a website: www.engine2diet.com", (some of its content is free) and his new book ' my beef with meat"; www.vegweb.com has quite a few vegetarian/vegan recipes; there are two good documentaries on Netflix "hungry for change" ,and "foodmatters" (not necessarilly all advocating all vegan diets but still interesting) .
Our USDA food recommodations are highly political I believe, as well as what foods get subsidized and what are not. This is one of the reasons why cheap processed foods are so abundant and easily available. ( highly processed breakfast cereals and other unhealthy junk.)
This is also one of the reasons that many believe that a vegan diet is not healthy. (if the government gives you this food pyramid they must be right). I agree with many who say a vegan diet can be very unhealthy , you can stuff yourself with junk all day by eating processed things like chips and fake meats, but I believe that if you plan and really make sure you eat legumes whole grains and fruits and vegetables you will be healthy and fine, just like non vegetarians will be.
I am not a 100 % percent vegan yet. I still eat a little bit of chicken here and there maybe once or twice a month , maybe some fish once or twice. But I hope to transition completely one day, I am not a great cook and have not figured out how to spice things correctly, so there is still a lot to learn. But after having sat through a year of medical school (I am not a physician just to clarify) and as a biochemist ,I know that for me personally the choice will be a vegan diet. However, I do believe that a non-vegan diet can be healthy too.
Good luck on your journey.
From Dr. Fuhrman's website-
"Research has confirmed this. Multiple studies have shown that vegetarians live longer than non-vegetarians do3. The research shows those who avoid meat and dairy have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity, which are the leading causes of death in America4.
But when we take a close look at the data, it appears that those who weren’t as strict with their diets as the vegetarians had longevity statistics that were equally impressive -- as long as they consumed high volumes of a variety of unrefined plant foods.
So the question is: can the total protection offered by increasing the nutritious foods - the high phytochemical/antioxidant (protective plant foods)-- to make ones diet produce-predominant be achieved, even if the diet is not totally vegetarian and includes some animal products? I think the answer is yes. In other words, you can achieve the benefits of a vegetarian diet, without being a vegetarian or a vegan, and the science available seems to support this."
http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article5.aspx
Dr. Fuhrman actually recommends a 90/10 plan, where 90% of your diet is focused on a whole foods, plant diet and then the other 10% includes meat and dairy. That's what I'm doing for maintenance now and it's going really well 0 -
The site linked to seemed to take some rather dubious leaps of faith.
It didn't mention the affect of exercise and other lifestyle choices.
From what I've seen, the belief of saturated fat being bad is more akin to those who are stuck with a flat world theory. Similarly for salt.
Here's the first result from google on sat-fat.
http://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-cholesterol-and-saturated-fat-are-not-the-enemy0 -
Do it step by step. Be a pesctarian (eating fish and vegetables) first, then, vegetarian, and later, vegan.:flowerforyou:0
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