Vegan?

has anyone tried going vegan or they are vegans? If so what are the benefits

Replies

  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Unless you are doing it for moral reasons, it is completely unneeded. There are overweight vegans, so just going vegan is not going to cause weightloss.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited March 2015
    I have been vegan for nine years. It is an ethical position. There are heavy vegans and slender ones.
    The benefits are not participating in actions that are morally objectionable to me.

    If you are interested in the ethical position, I would love to answer your questions. Just know that I was my lightest weight as a vegan and my heaviest weight as one. It isn't a weight loss diet.
  • fat2fitvegan
    fat2fitvegan Posts: 30 Member
    I'm vegan for ethical reasons and eat a whole foods plant-based diet for health reasons. Weight loss isn't necessarily something that happens just from going vegan, but if you are eating a whole foods plant-based diet, you would be eating a lot of veggies, fruits, and other high-nutrient, low-calorie foods, so eating that way would lead to weight loss over time, in addition to a good exercise program (and you'd be eating quite a bit of food as well).

    There are other health benefits to eating a plant-based diet besides the weight loss, including protection (or reducing your risk) against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, chronic diseases, and many other illnesses or conditions that might be preventable with a healthy plant-based diet. If you are interested in eating a plant-based diet, I'd encourage you to read up on the nutritional aspects of it and how you can make sure to optimize your nutrition (although this should be recommended for any diet, not just a vegan diet). "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis is a very comprehensive read and should be available at most libraries.
  • fat2fitvegan
    fat2fitvegan Posts: 30 Member
    I have been vegan for nine years. It is an ethical position. There are heavy vegans and slender ones.

    If you are interested in the ethical position, I would love to answer your questions. Just know that I was my lightest weight as a vegan and my heaviest weight as one. It isn't a weight loss diet.

    I agree with this. I have been a vegan who lost 40 lbs from eating vegan foods and a vegan who put back on those 40 lbs by eating more vegan foods. Veganism itself is a lifestyle against animal consumption and is not a weight loss diet. A plant-based diet excludes animal products for health reasons and could definitely be a weight loss diet.
  • mocadet95
    mocadet95 Posts: 75 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    Unless you are doing it for moral reasons, it is completely unneeded. There are overweight vegans, so just going vegan is not going to cause weightloss.

    Oh that's not why I was asking. I was just interested and have a few coworkers who are vegan and I was just curious. I know that it does not help with weight loss
  • mocadet95
    mocadet95 Posts: 75 Member
    I have been vegan for nine years. It is an ethical position. There are heavy vegans and slender ones.
    The benefits are not participating in actions that are morally objectionable to me.

    If you are interested in the ethical position, I would love to answer your questions. Just know that I was my lightest weight as a vegan and my heaviest weight as one. It isn't a weight loss diet.

    And yes I understand this is not for weight loss purposes, I am just interested and have been for awhile to learn more.
  • fat2fitvegan
    fat2fitvegan Posts: 30 Member
    Well if you are interested in the ethical side of why I went vegan, I decided that I no longer wanted to consume or use animals in my life. I watched Earthlings and it made me realize how horribly we treat these other beings on our planet and I didn't want to contribute to their suffering any more.

    Veganism is a lifestyle change, and diet is a very large part of that, but it also means that I don't wear leather or wool or silk, and I buy as many vegan or cruelty-free products as I can in my everyday life or for my house. Living in a 100% cruelty-free world isn't possible for anyone, but it is possible to do as much as we can to help the animals with the opportunities that we have.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    I'm vegan for ethical reasons and eat a whole foods plant-based diet for health reasons. Weight loss isn't necessarily something that happens just from going vegan, but if you are eating a whole foods plant-based diet, you would be eating a lot of veggies, fruits, and other high-nutrient, low-calorie foods, so eating that way would lead to weight loss over time, in addition to a good exercise program (and you'd be eating quite a bit of food as well).

    There are other health benefits to eating a plant-based diet besides the weight loss, including protection (or reducing your risk) against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, chronic diseases, and many other illnesses or conditions that might be preventable with a healthy plant-based diet. If you are interested in eating a plant-based diet, I'd encourage you to read up on the nutritional aspects of it and how you can make sure to optimize your nutrition (although this should be recommended for any diet, not just a vegan diet). "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis is a very comprehensive read and should be available at most libraries.

    ^^This^^ A good website resource for plant-based eating is Forks Over Knives.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,592 Member
    watch the documentary Earthlings and you will know why I am vegan

    its not a fad diet its something you do for life so educate yourself on it and go from there
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    mocadet95 wrote: »

    And yes I understand this is not for weight loss purposes, I am just interested and have been for awhile to learn more.

    I understand. I am vegan because I don't believe animals exist for our pleasure. We are completely capable of being healthy and happy without exploiting animals, so I choose to avoid it when possible.

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,872 Member
    I cook and eat vegetarian with some vegan Mondays and Tuesdays, you might try that to see if you like it. It's been challenging.