I know a vegan diet doesn't help you lose weight, BUT...
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That's not true. Many 3rd world countries don't eat meat primarily and there are lots of starving people.It's not just the animals that suffer. The meat industry in general is a dirty business. Hire desperate poor illegals, they get injured, they don't take care of their injuries, just an example. It's really sad
Not to mention that raising animals for meat uses up more resources than farming vegetables, and that if we were all vegan, there'd be a lot less hunger in the world.
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You could just cut out dairy rather than go vegan I've been veggie for 20 years but I am still not ready to go vegan it's a big step.0
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Hi, i've recently gone vegan and its nice to join the Happy Herbivore group. I was vegetarian for quite a long time before that or should i say pescatarian.
Anyway I haven't found it difficult in terms of enjoying my food but I do worry a little about some of the nutrients - calcium and iron. You can get these easily if you eat foods fortified iwth calcium - the best milk i've found is sanitarium so good lite soy. I like it lite whereas when i drink milk i drink it full cream. The lite soy is good becuase its good lots of added nutrients you need and which can be hard to get in a vegan diet. I also drink fortified rice milk.
You must make sure you get vitamin B12 from fortified food or in a supplement becuase it doesn't come from any other source.
Also DHA i take a supplement for that but its in chia and walnuts or linseeds. I'm starting to forget.
When you go vegan, i think (i found) it valuable to learn about all the functions that different vitamins and minerals do for your body. This will motivate you to make sure you are getting enough and that you know where to get them from. There are plenty of websites with this info.
To get enough protein, aim for about 20grams per meal.
Tofu, legumes of all sorts are what i rely on mostly but its also in bread and pasta. If you fall a bit short it doesn't matter but just try to get it up to 20 grams.
The best way to maxmise your nutrition and lose weight whilst on a vegan diet is to strictly limit junk food and most processed foods. And it will make it easier to eat more vegetables.
I am still eating eggs because i buy them from a neighbour who has some chickens. You might look into this too becuase if the chickens are well cared for there is no need to avoid the eggs, unless you object to people using animals at all which is a very strict vegan type of ideal.
The vegan society website is useful.0 -
If you are on Facebook look up Vegan Eats n Treats. It's a great bunch of people who just post what they are having for their meals, no drama or politics (it's heavily monitored) - you could get some ideas from them. It's droolworthy
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That's not true. Many 3rd world countries don't eat meat primarily and there are lots of starving people.
Yes but imagine if all the land in the world currently used to raise animals for human consumption, plus the land used to grow crops for farm animals to consume, was instead used to grow crops purely for human consumption. It uses more resources to farm animals than it does to farm crops, and the yield is less.
Here's some light reading for anyone interested:
Reversing the Spread of Hunger
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That's not true. Many 3rd world countries don't eat meat primarily and there are lots of starving people.
Yes but imagine if all the land in the world currently used to raise animals for human consumption, plus the land used to grow crops for farm animals to consume, was instead used to grow crops purely for human consumption. It uses more resources to farm animals than it does to farm crops, and the yield is less.
Here's some light reading for anyone interested:
Reversing the Spread of Hunger
Farming insects would feed even more people and use even less resources
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It's not just the animals that suffer. The meat industry in general is a dirty business. Hire desperate poor illegals, they get injured, they don't take care of their injuries, just an example. It's really sad
Not to mention that raising animals for meat uses up more resources than farming vegetables, and that if we were all vegan, there'd be a lot less hunger in the world.
Absolutely, there's also more pollution caused by meat production than what the cars we drive cause. In fact, a lot of people don't know that cutting meat out of their lives does more for the environment than buying a hybrid car lol. I'll personally never eat meat again, I've been vegetarian for a year now. Sure I'm sort of new to it but it just feels right to me to not eat anything that has a face lol.
My family teases me and calls me a hippie and stuff like that but they just don't understand there's a lot more to it than just the animals, which is a HUGE part of it in itself. It's a multi faceted moral promise to myself to not take part in any of the meat nonsense anymore.
On an unrelated note-after making this change in my life, I was honestly horrified by how much food crap on the market has animal ingredients in it... Lard in a can of refried beans for example lol...wth it's not even necessary in my opinion!! And that's not even getting into animal derived rennet and even collagens, gelatin, much much more ... Etc etc0 -
I am vegan and don't worry too much about my protein intake and never struggle to meet the recommended intake. Dairy free yoghurts, mock meats etc all contain protein, many of them more than there cruel alternatives. For meat alternatives that are non-proccessed, tofu and tempeh are great, and seitan which is soy free.
Lots and lots of BEANS. I love beans and eat them with most meals.
Pretty much everything contains protein and it isn't as big a worry as many non-vegans make out. In fact too much protein (which is the case for your typical omni) is more of a problem, especially animal based protein which isn't good for the body.
Of course you can not lose weight on a vegan diet, but if you follow a healthy vegan diet it is much easier than as an omni. Being a strict vegan you remove a lot of temptation because of their being less convenience foods, and dairy and meat free recipes of 'normal' food is almost always lower in calories (e.g. butter squash macaroni 'cheese' vs dairy macaroni cheese, lentils in bolognese and lasagna instead of beef mince etc etc), and well, because dairy is basically just pure concentrated fat.
Plus it's not as difficult as you would think. I am a student on a tiny budget and manage to eat a hella lot better than most of my other student friends.
Also 100% agree with all of those above advocating the environmental reasons for going vegan. It feels so fulfilling to be doing something for the greater good. And I'm not going to lie, ethically, it is absolutely horrific and so as soon as I found out the truth there was no other option but going vegan for me!
Good luck and if you have any more questions feel free to ask 0 -
It's not just the animals that suffer. The meat industry in general is a dirty business. Hire desperate poor illegals, they get injured, they don't take care of their injuries, just an example. It's really sad
The farming industry in general is terrible.
I live in Amish country that happens to do everything the extremely old-fashioned way and typically don't mistreat their animals, so i take full advantage of farmer's markets anytime i can. I can and freeze stuff, get eggs from people who raise chickens as pets, get milk, cheese, and butter from a co-op where i know exactly how the animals are treated...
I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, but i try to be a conscientious loca-vore. Far from perfect, though...and where i live makes it extremely easy to be this way.0 -
Strawblackcat wrote: »There's a lot of vegan websites on the web. You can finds tons of then from google, but ohsheglows.con is a good one. Comming from someone who eat lacto-ovo most of the time, her recipies are really good.
If you're having trouble getting enough protein, there's lots of options. Beyond the typical suggestion of tofu, there's also tempeh, which tends to be higher in protein and has a nuttier flavor with better texture. If you can eat gluten, seitan is a great option. I forgot the name brand, but there I know that there is a company that sells a greek-style hemp yogurt that is high in protein. We sell it in the store that I work at, and it's popular among vegans and vegetarians. Hemp seeds in general, and products made with hemp seed are high in protein. There are also a lot of really good vegan protein powders on the market nowadays if you are open to that sort of thing. Garden of Life recently came out with their Organic Plant Protein line that tastes really good and has 17 grams of plant protein in a 100 calorie scoop. Their website has a printable $3 off coupon for it, if you're interested, and the vitamin shoppe is running a sale on it now.
On a side note though, if you're mostly giving up meat/eggs/dairy for ethical reasons pertaining to the mistreatment of animals on CAFO's, why not buy local, humanely raised meat/egg/dairy products? The little bit of meat I eat, as well as the milk and eggs that I eat are all local and humanely raised. I agree with you in the ethics issue in conventional farming, if humanely raised products were not avaliable to me, I would be a vegan for all intents and purposes as well, but I don't have a problem with eating meat and dairy if I know that the animals weren't mistreated and were able to live happy lives in an envrioment that is natural to them. Just curious.
This....and monoculture crops do tons of damage to the environment as well. I have done tons of research and realized that typically, vegan dietary requirements are harmful to the environment as well, unless the vegan is specifically a loca-vore as well. That's how i ended up with my general rules of food.0 -
Thanks for all of the information! I'm definitely open to the possibility of getting eggs, etc from a local/humane source. I live in a big city though, so I'm not exactly sure where to look. Not like having neighbours with chickens. I have a lot of research ahead of me! 0
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I do feel totally lucky and blessed there is a farmers market like 2 miles from where I live, Friday-Sunday, and the food is amazing! They even have pies and doughnuts that they do not add lard to, though I don't eat as much of those things anymore anyways... Teehee!0
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