Reactions to veganism

The only time I care about a person's veganism is when they get all uppity/holier-than-thou/pompous about how they're so much more awesome than anyone else because they live on plants.

This isn't a response to the OP. Just need to get it off of my chest. Wifey and I just did five days of eating vegan to kick-start the ol' weight loss mobile. I hated it. So much. Like so much I can't even describe it. I wouldn't wish veganism on my worst enemy. If it works for you and you like it, then I'm happy for you. I couldn't get enough protein to save my life and that included eating *kitten* meatless products and quite a bit of vegan protein powder, which, by the way, tastes like *kitten* and makes whey protein powder taste like effing gold. There are some vegan recipes that I like, such as certain soups or PF Chang's style lettuce wraps (sub mushrooms and tofu for the chicken), but being that limited in terms of dairy (which is in so many things) and meat (meaning I couldn't just eat some goddamn chicken or fish for protein) made me want to slay everything I saw, including babies, the elderly, homeless and people committing random acts of kindness. I will never, ever in a million years eat vegan for more than one meal ever in my life or any others.

Anyhow.....when my step son became a non meat eater, then no dairy, eventually to a vegan, the only time it bothered me was when he would try to school me about my diet. Telling me I should try it and said I would "feel so much better". Truth of the matter is, I feel freaking great after a good steak and a salad! Add some bacon in there somewhere and I feel excellent. I would never try to fit what I need in with a vegan diet. Watching him try was maddening. Poor guy lost weight he surely didn't need to lose as well.

I once had an interesting conversation with a vegan about how they really ought to be able to eat eggs, so long as the eggs came from happy hens because the production of eggs is completely natural for the hen (and would occur regardless of human intervention) and unless they are fertilised and the hen is broody, they are a waste product being that they are basically a chicken period.

The point being that an egg is really on par with say, feces, which is used as fertiliser to grown the veggies which vegans happily eat.

JustinAnimal wrote: »

I hope my negative post didn't kill this. I am truly impressed that vegans can and do eat the way they do. I just found out, the hard way, that it wasn't for me. My wife is a vegetarian (well... also eggs and fish) and I eat that way plenty of the time, so any hardcore red meat-eaters are welcome to take away my man card.

Your post is exactly why I've never understood people wanting to go vegan for weight loss. I think in a lot of ways it makes weight loss much harder! I really think the only long term successful vegans are the ones who do it for all encompasing reasons, i.e. ethically, morally and bodily.

My most annoying was when I was talking to a coworker of mine while happily munching on fruit. He offered me pizza, and I said no thank you, and my bf started teasing me about missing milk. The coworker was so surprised to hear I was vegan, because I hadn't mentioned it on my own before. He asked me why, and I told him I didn't approve of factory farming practices, but didn't actually have anything against people eating meat that was ethically produced or if someone hunted for their own meat. He gave me the weirdest look and actually said, "Oh, so you aren't really vegetarian, are you?" And I told him that I was, it simply meant I didn't eat meat. He continued to assure me that I wasn't a "real vegetarian" because if I was, I would bash him over the head with my believes and be 10000% against meat eating in any shape, form or fashion. It was so bizarre to me that I just smiled and shook my head.

mamapeach910 wrote: »

Only evangelistic vegans propose to spread veganism to a global level. The argument that it's not sustainable on that level is a straw man. Only evangelistic vegans "package" veganism.

There are evangelistic types for every special diet out there. I recently saw a Paleo website supporting a world-wide paleo-eating agenda.

That's ridiculously extreme too.

There are lots of "packaged" ways of eating now that are almost fetishized: clean eating, paleo, whole 30... and some of their followers are "sooooperspeshul" too.

I can't see why anyone would have any issue with someone making a personal choice to eat in any way for their own personal reasons. Presuming that they share the same issues that the zealots do? That's your problem, not the person eating that way over there minding their own business.

FTR? Not a vegan.

You ma'am, are absolutely my favorite person on this website. Every post that you make is strong with the sensible, and it's very much appreciated!

flyingtanuki wrote: »

Things I learned when I tried Vegan:

1. My Doctors and Trainers all tried to dissuade me.
2. There aren't really vegan aisles in supermarkets, vegan packaging, nor vegan supply shops.
3. There aren't really vegan choices in most restaurants nor restaurants that cater to vegan clientele.
4. Getting sufficient protein from vegan sources was possible but difficult.
5. Animal products are used in a wide variety of things.

Just to clarify, the whole fresh produce section is a vegan isle, as is pasta and rice.

I get people asking me what I eat and I usually say "most international foods, instead of just the standard Australian stuff" and if they are interested, I give them a few favourite recipes or tell them my favourite restaurants.

I am constantly amazed at how many people only shop at the major supermarkets - there are a whole host of others... the oriental supermarket, farmer's market, home gardening, european stores... No wonder people think there's nothing else - they're not looking in the right place!

Since I'm always active (running/going to the gym), no one has a problem with it as I seem healthy and bright, and I always make an effort to bring a plate of food to gatherings and let them know in advance how to tweak their dishes for me with as little effort as possible

I generally don't tell people unless I have to, otherwise it would be a bit snobbish and I'd probably deserve the hateful remarks people seem to fear. :P

LoupGarouTFTs wrote: »

JustinAnimal wrote: »

This isn't a response to the OP. Just need to get it off of my chest. Wifey and I just did five days of eating vegan to kick-start the ol' weight loss mobile. I hated it. So much. Like so much I can't even describe it. I wouldn't wish veganism on my worst enemy. If it works for you and you like it, then I'm happy for you. I couldn't get enough protein to save my life and that included eating *kitten* meatless products and quite a bit of vegan protein powder, which, by the way, tastes like *kitten* and makes whey protein powder taste like effing gold. There are some vegan recipes that I like, such as certain soups or PF Chang's style lettuce wraps (sub mushrooms and tofu for the chicken), but being that limited in terms of dairy (which is in so many things) and meat (meaning I couldn't just eat some goddamn chicken or fish for protein) made me want to slay everything I saw, including babies, the elderly, homeless and people committing random acts of kindness. I will never, ever in a million years eat vegan for more than one meal ever in my life or any others.

Amen. Before I was diagnosed with diabetes and was expected to partake in the fast for Great Lent, I had close to two months being as close to vegan as I ever could possibly manage to get. I spent most of my day feeling hungry and angry at the world. I was constantly dizzy, tired, and weak, usually in concert with terrible headaches. I couldn't tolerate soy, physically, so there was a major source of protein gone. In my opinion, veganism is more about the desire to control one's food and one's life and less about an actual way of eating.

Whoa!! I've been vegan for 4 or 5 years now, but it took several years to transition into it before that. I would never have been able to jump in "cold turkey" (what a timely pun!).

I'll add I know people who have gone vegan for lent or to make up for holiday feasting or bad food choices and it never ends well. They rebound bad and go back to worse foods than before because they were depriving themselves.

I don't think you should change unless you actually want to. A vegan diet isn't going to magically make you "clean" or "slim" or somehow solve all your problems (you can find testimonials on the internet for just about anything you want to be convinced about, but the decision is still your responsibility). Excess calories will still make you gain weight, and excess salt will still lead to hypertension.

It's more about balancing your life in line with your personal beliefs, aspirations and goals, and trying to be your best self, whatever that means to you.