Eating vegan

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Replies

  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited October 2016
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »
    Kathyseiberling wrote: »
    Been eating vegan for one month. Finding it hard to get enough protein and I don't feel satisfied--any suggestions?

    There is only one reason to be a vegan - you philosophically do not believe in using animals for food. That's the one and only reason.

    No. It's called food allergies. IDGAF about using animals for food. I have to largely eat vegan due to lactose intolerance and egg allergies. And I grew up with meat and hate the texture and taste of it.
  • Kathyseiberling
    Kathyseiberling Posts: 7 Member
    My husband and I did a lot of reading, watching documentaries, and planning before choosing to go to a vegan diet. We would like to improve our "numbers", lose some weight, and see if this change in diet would help my husband's painful joints instead of taking so much ibuprofen.(After one month, he is taking less!) After reading the research done in the China Study, we thought there was enough evidence to go to a plant food based diet for health reasons. We both love to cook and I think I'm struggling with the meal planning. I just feel like we are eating several side dishes instead of a meal that goes together. We are so used to planning around a usual protein so it is a challenge. And it takes longer to cook with all the whole grains and beans. Thanks for the suggestions for recipes and ingredients--using different spices and food combinations will help the food be more satisfying. I think I will just need to do better at weekly planning--then I will be able to try more of the main dish type meals that many of you have suggested. I know vegan is not for everyone but we really want to improve our health at the cellular level so we will see. We are keeping track of the nutritional values of what we are eating--hopefully finding the right balance will become easier as we go along.
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
    Cutting out animal products won't help you lose weight, won't improve your health at "a cellular level" (whatever the heck that means, lol... step away from the documentaries), and likely won't help with your husband's joint pain, unless it it being caused by some food allergy, and even then only if that food happens to be eliminated on your vegan diet. If you want to improve your numbers and improve your health, eat at a calorie deficit, focus on getting adequate nutrition, and get some exercise. As for the joint pain, if it is in fact caused by diet, an elimination diet can help identify the culprit, but the culprit is just as likely to be all those whole grains as it is to be steak (maybe more likely, depending on who you ask). If he wants to try an elimination diet, he really should ask for guidance from a doctor or registered dietician. I wish you both luck.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited October 2016
    gonetothedogs19 wrote: »

    Yes, and you are the happy 2%.

    But tell an overweight person that he/she should give up meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy and honey (yes honey) for weight loss, and 98% will run the other way. Why? Because it is a major deprivation.

    And healthy vegan recipes require lots of ingredients and are time consuming to prepare. Can't just throw a piece of chicken or fish on the grill.

    Of course there are extraordinarily healthy vegans. But I am talking about depriving yourself of food that you really enjoy eating, and then limiting you diet to whole grains, lentils, beans, rice, fruit and vegetables. It just doesn't work for the 98%.

    I would never tell an overweight person they had to give up animal products for weight loss so I am not sure what you are arguing against. OP hasn't said s/he adopted veganism for weight loss, it's a diversion that has been introduced into the thread by others.

    I eat healthy vegan meals daily and there are dozens of recipes that don't require many ingredients and can be prepared quickly. Just because you can't throw a piece of fish or chicken on the grill doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of time preparing food. Have you been vegan? If not, you may want to consider that someone who has been vegan for ten years may know something about the lifestyle that you don't. If you're interested, I can recommend some cookbooks that have simple to prepare meals that don't require a lot of ingredients.

    I'm not saying that veganism would be easy for everyone, but it isn't deprivation. Again, deprivation means that people aren't getting something that is necessary. And veganism isn't the the joyless slog that you seem to think that it is. I eat cake and fried foods, I drink beer, I get plenty of fat.

    I'm not sure where you are getting your statistics, so I'm not sure how to address the "happy 2%."
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    While I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, some of my go-to quick meals for myself (I often cook myself a quick dinner that's different than what the family is eating if they're eating meat) are vegan. These are simple things made from pantry staples, if you count the freezer as part of the pantry.

    No long lists of ingredients, because I'm already cooking a lot of stuff for other people!

    1. Roasted chickpeas and cauliflower
    2. Beyond Meat and Green Giant Riced Cauliflower Medley with soy sauce
    3. Canned black beans heated with canned tomatoes and some chili powder in corn tortillas
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    Kathyseiberling wrote: »
    My husband and I did a lot of reading, watching documentaries, and planning before choosing to go to a vegan diet. We would like to improve our "numbers", lose some weight, and see if this change in diet would help my husband's painful joints instead of taking so much ibuprofen.(After one month, he is taking less!) After reading the research done in the China Study, we thought there was enough evidence to go to a plant food based diet for health reasons. We both love to cook and I think I'm struggling with the meal planning. I just feel like we are eating several side dishes instead of a meal that goes together. We are so used to planning around a usual protein so it is a challenge. And it takes longer to cook with all the whole grains and beans. Thanks for the suggestions for recipes and ingredients--using different spices and food combinations will help the food be more satisfying. I think I will just need to do better at weekly planning--then I will be able to try more of the main dish type meals that many of you have suggested. I know vegan is not for everyone but we really want to improve our health at the cellular level so we will see. We are keeping track of the nutritional values of what we are eating--hopefully finding the right balance will become easier as we go along.

    Hooray for you! Trying to improve your health is a positive change!

    My cholesterol has already dropped 30+ points and I am due to have it checked again this week. I did not change my diet, I simply ate fewer calories and lost over 30 lbs. I personally do not advocate any diet that eliminates any food unless you don't like that food, for medical reasons (allergy, Celiac disease, diabetes), or for ethical reasons (vegetarian, vegan). I personally would find a vegan diet unsatisfying and certainly not sustainable (and I have many friends that are either vegetarian or vegan).

    Unfortunately, the China Study research was flawed. Also, as far as I know, improving your health at the "cellular level" is not really a thing, although I suppose any improvement in health is at the cellular level.

    Regarding the joint pain - has his family doctor or rheumatologist ever suggested glucosamine/chondroitin supplements? Our vet suggested them for our older dog and I started my husband on them. :D
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Kathyseiberling wrote: »
    My husband and I did a lot of reading, watching documentaries, and planning before choosing to go to a vegan diet. We would like to improve our "numbers", lose some weight, and see if this change in diet would help my husband's painful joints instead of taking so much ibuprofen.(After one month, he is taking less!) After reading the research done in the China Study, we thought there was enough evidence to go to a plant food based diet for health reasons. We both love to cook and I think I'm struggling with the meal planning. I just feel like we are eating several side dishes instead of a meal that goes together. We are so used to planning around a usual protein so it is a challenge. And it takes longer to cook with all the whole grains and beans. Thanks for the suggestions for recipes and ingredients--using different spices and food combinations will help the food be more satisfying. I think I will just need to do better at weekly planning--then I will be able to try more of the main dish type meals that many of you have suggested. I know vegan is not for everyone but we really want to improve our health at the cellular level so we will see. We are keeping track of the nutritional values of what we are eating--hopefully finding the right balance will become easier as we go along.

    If you don't already have one, I'd suggest a Pinterest account...My wife and I have been eating more vegetarian for awhile (not 100%) and Pinterest was a great resource in that we also struggled initially with "main courses" on meatless days. I started an account and just typed in "Vegetarian Main Course Recipes" or something to that effect in the search and a whole crap load of awesome stuff popped up.
  • roamingtiger
    roamingtiger Posts: 747 Member
    Beans, pumpkin seeds, protein supplement ( I like Vega)
  • Kellyfitness128
    Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
    I was vegan for 8 months. I've never in my life loved meat as much as I have since ending veganism. To this day I love it. I never used to until I started craving it on a vegan diet.

    I fully support the vegan lifestyle, but I rarely felt satisfied on it. I thought I'd lose weight and be in optimal health when on the lifestyle. Rather, I was hungry very often, I craved cheese throughout most of it and toward the end I started craving meat, which I didn't eat that often before becoming vegan and never craved in my life. According to the numbers, I was getting plenty of protein through tofu, beans, quinoa, other grains, tempeh, soy, nuts, etc, but the quality of proteins in these sources aren't as high as that of eggs and meat. Animal proteins contain all the essential amino acids.... vegan sources don't (except quinoa). Therefore, as vegan, make sure you're eating a variety of protein sources (whole wheat toast with peanut butter, quinoa, rice with beans, etc) in order to get all the amino acids you need (note that they can be eaten separately throughout the day- you don't need to combine them at the same meal). For me though, I still was unsatisfied and I think it was because I ate so my carbs as a vegan. Nothing against carbs, but they aren't nearly as satiating as protein/fat. Something I didn't do, that I suggest for you, is adding in lots of healthy sources of fats like coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, nuts, nut butters, etc. These will help keep you full longer. And this might be an obvious one, but don't go for processed vegan foods. Stick to plants and you'll get all that fiber that will help keep you full. Hope that helps and good luck. Remember why you went vegan and use that to motivate you if you need!
  • mjffey
    mjffey Posts: 72 Member
    .... [/quote]..and it's important to remember the most important animal to protect YOU....[/quote]

    Mmmm. My horses, cats, dogs and chickens are more important than me. Even better. ALL other animals are better than the homo sapiens.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    CoffeeNCardio wrote: »
    I think the only reason it's important to know the reason behind the vegan diet is so we can actively be more sensitive with our advice. It's not wrong to ask, how you deal with the answer is what counts here. If she was going vegan for imaginary health benefits, that'd be the time to say "hey nothing wrong with milk". If she chose veganism out of a sincere desire to not harm animals, then knowing that would be important so we could help her do that. It's just clarification for the sake of giving better advice.

    Yes, often we see threads by people who think they need to eat vegan/clean/low carb/gluten free in order to lose weight so it is indeed important to know the reason behind a WOE in order to be most helpful.
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