For all the vegans out there...

Do you ever have a cheat day? Not as in eating food that's calorie rich but do you ever have cheat days where you eat meat and dairy and everything else non vegan?
How often do you do it and what do you eat on those days?
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Replies

  • kathrynjean_
    kathrynjean_ Posts: 428 Member
    It seems like if somebody did that, they wouldn't be vegan? And I mean there's nothing wrong with that, at all, but you're not a vegan ...
  • the_nerdgasm
    the_nerdgasm Posts: 86 Member
    I eat maybe 80% vegan, and I do eat some cheese and fish. But I also call myself a pescatarian, not a vegan, even though vegan is how I eat most of the time.

    However, I'm one of the rare people who think it's ok to cheat once in awhile. The reason I'm a pescatarian and not a vegan is because those occasional meals with fish make it so much easier to resist the standard american diet the rest of the time. I chose my diet for ethical and environmental reasons, not because I don't like meat or dairy or eggs. By abstaining from the the majority of the time, I'm still doing WAY more good than harm.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited September 2015
    A true vegan wouldn't have a cheat day. To real vegans, it's a matter of principle, not just a way of eating.
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,476 Member
    keep in mind that vegans hate the thought of killing animals, they would not enjoy a cheat day at spanky's ribs.
    I'm willing to bet most vegans would kill a mosquito without a second thought.
  • zinra
    zinra Posts: 31 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    A true vegan wouldn't have a cheat day. To real vegans, it's a matter of principle, not just a way of eating.

    There are many reasons why people choose for a vegan diet, not just ethical reasons.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Nope. Vegans don't have cheat days.

    And yes, the only valid reason to become a vegan is for ethical reasons. If you live a vegan lifestyle (yes, it's a lifestyle, as it doesn't just involve food), you don't have a "meat" day.

    That isn't veganism.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    zinra wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    A true vegan wouldn't have a cheat day. To real vegans, it's a matter of principle, not just a way of eating.

    There are many reasons why people choose for a vegan diet, not just ethical reasons.

    Veganism is a lifestyle choice which extends well beyond diet -
    "Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose." The Vegan Society
    People may well follow a plant-based diet for health reasons, but that doesn't make them vegan.

    I'm willing to bet most vegans would kill a mosquito without a second thought.

    I'm willing to bet you don't know many vegans. Those I know certainly would never intentionally kill an animal, including insects.
  • MlleKelly
    MlleKelly Posts: 356 Member
    I'm a pescetarian, so mostly vegetarian but with fish/seafood a few times a week. I do it because my body doesn't process meat very well; it makes me sluggish, "blocked up", interrupts my sleep if I eat it late in the day...

    But I LOVE sausage!!! My grandmother was Polish and we grew up in Chicago, so Polish sausage, Italian beef, deep dish Chicago pizza with sausage and spinach and mushrooms, Portillo's...mmmm.....Usually once or twice a year, I'll indulge. It makes me so sick, but seriously...worth it.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    zinra wrote: »
    Do you ever have a cheat day? Not as in eating food that's calorie rich but do you ever have cheat days where you eat meat and dairy and everything else non vegan?
    How often do you do it and what do you eat on those days?
    Use a different word because vegan is very specific.
    And, no, vegans do not cheat. Otherwise they would call themselves something else.
    People who eat mostly vegetables with meat once in a while are called OMNIVORES.

  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    zinra wrote: »
    Do you ever have a cheat day? Not as in eating food that's calorie rich but do you ever have cheat days where you eat meat and dairy and everything else non vegan?
    How often do you do it and what do you eat on those days?
    I think plant-based is the appropriate term here. Ethical vegans most likely wouldn't dabble in animal products. A lot of people are adopting a plant-based diet for health reasons though, myself included. I personally avoid the vegan label coz it's too serious. I'm about 3 months in and in that time I've eaten 1 pizza and once a week I have my fave chocolate bar. For me though, I don't call it cheating because I've decided 95% plant-based is good enough for me so allowing 5% of my calories from animal products would be normal.

    I haven't eaten meat since and don't crave it either. Even the pizza only had veggie toppings. I prefer sweets so I'd rather blow my 5% allowance on chocolate than anything else. I thought I could never give up ice cream but discovered that I'm okay with the non-dairy ice creams, esp almond and cashew milk-based ones. But they're pricey so I'm thinking of buying an ice cream maker soon.
  • AbigailSuter
    AbigailSuter Posts: 1 Member
    Vegans really really don't have cheat days. It goes against every principle we hold. How can you eat an animal product when you are absolutely disgusted by the industry?
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    zinra wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    A true vegan wouldn't have a cheat day. To real vegans, it's a matter of principle, not just a way of eating.

    There are many reasons why people choose for a vegan diet, not just ethical reasons.
    As has been pointed out, vegans would say those people are eating a plant-based diet. Veganism is a lifestyle.

    Vegans are devoted to the animals in a way non-vegans just aren't. They stick to their guns. They don't have cheat days.

    I am an omnivore, but have a LOT of admiration and respect for the vegans and support their efforts, mostly because I think I should be a vegan, but I'm not. I did it for a while in high school, but didn't have the internal fortitude to keep it up. The very least I can do is support the people who do what I believe to be the right thing. (I realize that makes me a huge hypocrite.)
  • zinra
    zinra Posts: 31 Member
    zinra wrote: »
    Do you ever have a cheat day? Not as in eating food that's calorie rich but do you ever have cheat days where you eat meat and dairy and everything else non vegan?
    How often do you do it and what do you eat on those days?
    I think plant-based is the appropriate term here. Ethical vegans most likely wouldn't dabble in animal products. A lot of people are adopting a plant-based diet for health reasons though, myself included. I personally avoid the vegan label coz it's too serious. I'm about 3 months in and in that time I've eaten 1 pizza and once a week I have my fave chocolate bar. For me though, I don't call it cheating because I've decided 95% plant-based is good enough for me so allowing 5% of my calories from animal products would be normal.

    I haven't eaten meat since and don't crave it either. Even the pizza only had veggie toppings. I prefer sweets so I'd rather blow my 5% allowance on chocolate than anything else. I thought I could never give up ice cream but discovered that I'm okay with the non-dairy ice creams, esp almond and cashew milk-based ones. But they're pricey so I'm thinking of buying an ice cream maker soon.

    Thanks for your response. Maybe I should have used another term then but this is exactly what I meant!
    I have to say though, there are a lot of non-dairy, vegan chocolate bars out there and they are delicious! I used to have a habit of going to my local organic convenience store and buy a chocolate bar each time I pass it but I'm on this app now so I have to watch myself
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You can't be a part-time vegan, in much of the same way as you can't be almost pregnant.

    I really detest those useless labels, flexitarian, carnivorous, plant-based. Most people eat more plants than animals. Noone eats only meat. Some eat more plants, some eat more meat. We can eat everything that is edible and feel fine. We are ominvores. That is what omnivore means.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    I eat plant-based 80% of the time with some fish and non-fat dairy. Purely for health reasons (serum cholesterol was high even after losing masses of weight, and I didn't want to go the drug route). I promised myself I'd eat cheese and meat once a month each so that I wouldn't feel like I was giving them up completely, but I'm finding that I've gotten so used to not having them that I forget. I just don't miss them.

    Now, the funny thing is that now I eat this way, I am finding my commitment isn't purely based on health reasons. I do care a great deal about the environment, and I'm not into animals in a big way, but I don't feel comfortable with the thoughts of animals being hurt to provide me with food.

    Honestly, I believe you should go with whatever you feel satisfies your values and you feel comfortable with, and I don't care about the labels so much. If I'm ordering in restaurants or for catering, I ask for vegan meals simply because it's easier than saying no meat, no cheese, no full-fat dairy etc..
  • TrickyDisco
    TrickyDisco Posts: 2,869 Member
    No cheat days as I wouldn't want to eat meat or dairy products ever again but plenty of cheat days eating too many calories!
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    You can't be a part-time vegan, in much of the same way as you can't be almost pregnant.

    I really detest those useless labels, flexitarian, carnivorous, plant-based. Most people eat more plants than animals. Noone eats only meat. Some eat more plants, some eat more meat. We can eat everything that is edible and feel fine. We are ominvores. That is what omnivore means.
    So carnivore is a useless label but omnivore is not?

    Also, most people(that I know) don't eat more plants than animals. Typical diets involve eggs, butter, bacon, milk, yogurt for breakfast, and meat, fish, chicken for lunch and dinner. If you consider the percentage of calories, it's more of a meat-based diet. And when I was low-carb (which lots of people are), I'd avoid rice, potatoes, grains etc. In a typical meal of a small to medium skinless chicken breast (350 cals) and cauliflower (110 cals/pound), that's 3 times the calories of the veg if I were to eat an entire pound of cauliflower. That's huge. I usually ate half a lb at most in one meal so the ratio would be 6 to 1 in calories ie. meat-based, even though the veg occupied more space.

    And just because we're capable of eating everything edible, doesn't mean it's optimal for us. Some of us have lowered cholesterol by eating less animal products. Some doctors like C. Esselstyn use a plant-based diet to reverse heart disease in his patients. Dr. Neal Barnard uses it to reverse diabetes in his patients. The head of American College of Cardiology, Dr. Kim Williams used a vegan diet to lower his cholesterol and recommends it and plant-based diets to his patients as well.

    Do what works for you and use whatever label you see fit.