Veganism?

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TheSheepFollower
TheSheepFollower Posts: 64 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was thinking about becoming a vegan? What are your opinions? My first motivator was animal rights, but then I heard it was good for health and weight loss. What do you think? And tips would be appreciated.
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Replies

  • mwm158
    mwm158 Posts: 30 Member
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    Animals are delicious.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Why?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    mwm158 wrote: »
    Animals are delicious.
    +This
  • LowCarbHeart
    LowCarbHeart Posts: 69 Member
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    My friend at work is an aspiring vegan and she highly recommends the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. We make for an odd pair because I follow the Atkins lifestyle and was reading The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith at the same time she was reading Eat to Live, lol. Both great books and both authors advocate for less sugar and processed foods.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
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    TheSheepFollower wrote: »
    I was thinking about becoming a vegan? What are your opinions? My first motivator was animal rights, but then I heard it was good for health and weight loss. What do you think? And tips would be appreciated.

    Why do you want to become a vegan? If its because of the treatment of animals in the food industry- go for it. If its for weight loss- I'd skip it. Being vegan doesn't equal weight loss. There are plenty of people who are vegans and vegetarians who are overweight.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    I gained weight when I transitioned. If your motivation is purely for health, or you buy into the bunk that PETA spews about effortless weight loss as a vegan, I would skip it. You can be a healthy omnivore, and will have a much easier time hitting all your macros.

    If you are coming at it from an ethical standpoint, go for it. You can join us in the Happy Herbivore or Team Vegan groups. :p

    And, fair warning, there is no good vegan sub for bacon. :'(
    ;)
  • teagirlmedium
    teagirlmedium Posts: 679 Member
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    Some people gain weight when they switch to becoming a vegan. So you still have to look at what you eat, it is not going to be a just throw everything in the cart that is not meat and I will lose weight kind of thing. I will say that most of the people I have read or heard complaining about gaining weight when they make the vegan change tend to blame it on pasta. Another thing I hear is that they are always hungry. So I would say look up vegan meals that help you stay full, but are low in calories if you want to do this for weight.
  • lilbea89
    lilbea89 Posts: 62 Member
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    I transitioned into veganism a little while ago. I would say it is still very easy to gain weight if you aren't paying attention. "Junk Food Vegans" very much exist just like "Junk Food Vegetarians". I've lost a few pounds since I started cause I try to make more plant based meals. But if you constantly eat PB sandwiches and pasta it'd be easy to blow up.
  • jcurrie17
    jcurrie17 Posts: 36 Member
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    A good movie to watch is Vegucated. 3 people try veganism for 6 weeks. It's a great movie and shows the animal ethics and the possible health benefits.
  • earthboundmisfit
    earthboundmisfit Posts: 192 Member
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    I'm a vegan and I like it very much. Meat is hard for me to digest and I didn't care for it much anyway.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Why?
    mwm158 wrote: »
    Animals are delicious.
    This. I need protein, I like protein, I like meat. Sorry for animals and all that, but you know.. food chain and all. Feeling bad about animals I eat isn't on my list of life priorities, despite what a classmate in 8th grade thought when showing me her PETA pamphlet.

    Unless there are religious and actual moral reasons for your choice, and not just "hm I'm thinking about it because idk, maybe animal rights or something?" then just eat the meat. Your post sure doesn't sound like your convictions are all that strong.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    LowCarbHeart wrote: »
    My friend at work is an aspiring vegan and she highly recommends the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. We make for an odd pair because I follow the Atkins lifestyle and was reading The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith at the same time she was reading Eat to Live, lol. Both great books and both authors advocate for less sugar and processed foods.

    How can you be an aspiring vegan? Aren't you like.. either one or not one?
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    ana3067 wrote: »
    LowCarbHeart wrote: »
    My friend at work is an aspiring vegan and she highly recommends the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. We make for an odd pair because I follow the Atkins lifestyle and was reading The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith at the same time she was reading Eat to Live, lol. Both great books and both authors advocate for less sugar and processed foods.

    How can you be an aspiring vegan? Aren't you like.. either one or not one?

    Maybe she's in the middle of her transition? I dunno, I jumped in both feet. 'Standard American Diet' one day, vegan the next.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    I gained weight when I transitioned. If your motivation is purely for health, or you buy into the bunk that PETA spews about effortless weight loss as a vegan, I would skip it. You can be a healthy omnivore, and will have a much easier time hitting all your macros.

    If you are coming at it from an ethical standpoint, go for it. You can join us in the Happy Herbivore or Team Vegan groups. :p

    And, fair warning, there is no good vegan sub for bacon. :'(
    ;)

    Can I just say that I really appreciate your posts? Every vegan/vegetarian I have known IRL or on social media has been very evangelical, and I really appreciate that you're not.

    As to the OP, if you're motivated by your love of animals, go for it. But if you're not passionate about it, you're not going to last. (I certainly didn't as a lacto-ovo vegetarian.)
  • Vex3521
    Vex3521 Posts: 385 Member
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    If you are truly going vegan that is supposed to be a lifestyle and not just what you eat. It impacts every product you eat, use for personal items and especially what you wear. Consider that and knowing all the terminology for hidden animal product names so you aren't eating animal and not knowing it.

    I have a 'vegan' friend who wears animals so I honestly struggle with calling her vegan. She will freak out if cheese is being served but wears leather. Never will wrap my head around that one....something didn't die for the milk for the cheese but sure did for those boots. We're the same height and she weighs twice as much as I do and to be honest I have given up trying to find things she will eat that help lose weight. Cutting back on pasta for me was tough but for her it's a staple in most meals so on goes the cycle of a few days diet crying about starving and right back to where we were.

    It's about balance. Besides if you do this just for loss what happens when you eat normally again? Giving up something for a short period like chocolate or ice cream or something unhealthy I understand but cutting out so many foods is harder to understand if it's not out of the whole change in lifestyle.

  • biletska
    biletska Posts: 6
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    When I had decided to eat vegan, for various reasons I lost about 27 pounds (have gained about 8 back over the past 14 months). If you wish to eat vegan, it will help to do some reading about how to eat cleanly. Balancing protein and carb sources is helpful but takes some thinking and planning. It also helps to have a wide plant-food palate (interested in beans of all sorts, quinoa, tempeh, seitan, nuts, etc) and to have good grocery shopping nearby for fresh greens, cruciferous vegetables, etc. When I travel I usually bring protein powders (non-whey), a shaker, and small rice milk containers, along with Vega protein bars and packets of natural cashew and peanut butter. Finally, label reading is a must. Animal by-products go by numerous names and can hide in places you wouldn't otherwise expect.

    I don't think moral convictions are required for our eating habits, in my opinion.... A willingness to learn how to best eat for your body's needs (maybe vegan, maybe something else), and a willingness to treat yourself kindly seems most important.
  • SoulOfRusalka
    SoulOfRusalka Posts: 1,201 Member
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    I'd advise you to try it at least. I'm vegan foremost for ethical reasons, but for health and environmental reasons as well. There's a lot of good information on the internet for people who are just starting out :)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    LowCarbHeart wrote: »
    My friend at work is an aspiring vegan and she highly recommends the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. We make for an odd pair because I follow the Atkins lifestyle and was reading The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith at the same time she was reading Eat to Live, lol. Both great books and both authors advocate for less sugar and processed foods.

    How can you be an aspiring vegan? Aren't you like.. either one or not one?

    Maybe she's in the middle of her transition? I dunno, I jumped in both feet. 'Standard American Diet' one day, vegan the next.

    I'm just imagining like, someone who has inspirational vegan posters all over her room and fantasizes about a vegan diet lol.
  • LowCarbHeart
    LowCarbHeart Posts: 69 Member
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    Lol, yes to the vegan posters! She wants to eat vegan for all the proclaimed health benefits but has difficulty giving up meat. She'll do good for a couple of weeks and then cave and have a burger.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    All the vegans I know are raging alcoholics.

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