Plant Based Diet?

potatovegan · January 2018

I've been plant based for 4 years and love it. I just started counting calories in an effort to get that last 20 pounds off. I must be a little off, because I'm finding counting calories kind of fun. lol. Feel free to add me as a friend if you like!

pzarnosky · January 2018

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Worth reading on How Not to Die: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-not-to-die-review#section1

Definitely on my to do list to come back and read this, thanks!

For me, it's that good ole saying.... the proof is in the plant based pudding

I took two years to transition to full "vegan" or plant based. I watched FOK forever ago and of course jumped on the bandwagon. Then I fell off and got back on repeatedly. That let me test it for myself, for my health and what my body responded to the best. I've done simple CICO, Keto, and plant based and I can honestly say I have truly felt the best on a whole food plant based diet. It isn't always easy but it's worth it. For a lot of my life I struggled with digestive issues and the fact that ALL of my issues are completely absent makes it worth it. Add in the fact that I have been seeing gains in my running performance and there's really no question for me. Also another added bonus is that while I still log my calories sometimes, I don't really need to. The way I cook whole food plant based makes it to where I'm never hungry and have maintained my weight loss with no problem. I think it's more of an affirmation because I was thinking "I can't be this full and not be way over my calories."

For me it's been a really positive change. The ethical implications also play a huge factor. I never really acknowledged what exactly might be going on in animal agriculture. Coming to terms with that. Watching the processes, made me sick to my stomach and pretty much wrapped up any consideration that I might eat any of it again.

lemurcat12 · January 2018

MarcA1218 wrote: »

moosmum1972 wrote: »

MarcA1218 wrote: »

moosmum1972 wrote: »

MarcA1218 wrote: »

So, I am thinking of going on a more plant based diet. If you know about this please add the pros and cons below. Also, if you want to join me on this journey also add your weight and goals too we can try it out together!

You still need to.calorie count.

Oh yes I will continue using this app and watch my calorie intake as well.

You need to do more research than watching fear mongers on Netflix

A TV show isn’t my driving force. Although that show and Rotten were interesting shows, I friends on both a vegetarian & vegan diet and I am thinking of doing this because of my weight and my health. I have been reading up on it and and speaking with people who have also made the change. I was looking for feedback on the pros and cons of a plant based diet not the video. Just want to make sure I make the right decision.

I've been switching to eating more plant based (100% plant based most days, but I am making exceptions at the moment). I think my prior diet was just as good healthwise, but I'd just rather not eat animal products, I think, although I haven't totally made up my mind. If health were my only consideration, I think I'd keep in fish and maybe some liver and perhaps occasional eggs. Also, I think the differences WITHIN vegan/vegetarian and omnivore diets are more significant, from a health perspective, than merely one vs. another.

For weight in particular, I don't find that cutting out meat helps, as I find including even a little tends to be very satisfying to me on low cals. 100% plant based as defined by some of the people pushing it (no oil, limit nuts and avocados, limit or avoid tofu/tempeh/seitan, so on) would be very hard to overeat on, IME, although with different preferences it would be easier -- some can overeat on starches, for example -- but I would find such a strict diet difficult to sustain. I don't think I would find a vegan diet with a reasonable amount of fat and attention paid to cooking difficult to sustain, but so far I've not bothered to try for more than 6 weeks at a time.

For health, I think other things are more significant -- eating a nutrient dense diet with lots of vegetables and some fruit, nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, etc. -- whether or not you are totally animal product free, although I think not overdoing the portion of your diet that comes from animals can be a good thing no matter what.

I'd say if you are interested, try it, but if you are inexperienced maybe start slowly and do vegetarian first or one meal at a time or something like that. Think in advance about what you will eat, where you will get protein, what you might supplement.

I would also strongly recommend tracking on Cronometer or a similar site for a while (easier than here if you eat mostly whole foods and allows for better track of the specific types of protein consumed and micros and omega 3). I easily hit all the Cron levels when eating omnivore and there are some weird things I find more challenging without animal products -- I think it's at least good to be aware so you can consider how you might modify the diet to fix any such issues.

If you want to focus on adding vegetables and fruit, there's a 10+ serving a day here in the challenge area, which is fun and can always use new people jumping in.

nowine4me · January 2018

Check out the Forks Over Knives website and Facebook group. Pros are pretty obvious. Cons - it’s a huge PITA to eat out. If you like cooking and don’t have an intense social life, go for it.

nvmomketo · January 2018

I think a whole foods, plant based diet can be healthy. Oreo is a vegan cookie, which goes to show that eating foods from plants does not automatically mean healthy.

My diet is animal based, and it improved my health. Likewise, if it was just bacon and processed lunch meats, I doubt it would not be as healthful.

lemurcat12 · January 2018

pzarnosky wrote: »

For me, it's that good ole saying.... the proof is in the plant based pudding
I took two years to transition to full "vegan" or plant based. I watched FOK forever ago and of course jumped on the bandwagon. Then I fell off and got back on repeatedly. That let me test it for myself, for my health and what my body responded to the best. I've done simple CICO, Keto, and plant based and I can honestly say I have truly felt the best on a whole food plant based diet. It isn't always easy but it's worth it. For a lot of my life I struggled with digestive issues and the fact that ALL of my issues are completely absent makes it worth it. Add in the fact that I have been seeing gains in my running performance and there's really no question for me. Also another added bonus is that while I still log my calories sometimes, I don't really need to. The way I cook whole food plant based makes it to where I'm never hungry and have maintained my weight loss with no problem. I think it's more of an affirmation because I was thinking "I can't be this full and not be way over my calories."

For me it's been a really positive change. The ethical implications also play a huge factor. I never really acknowledged what exactly might be going on in animal agriculture. Coming to terms with that. Watching the processes, made me sick to my stomach and pretty much wrapped up any consideration that I might eat any of it again.

This all seems very reasonable to me. I'm not that different, actually, although maybe in a different part of the process. I just dislike claims that it's necessary for health or that everyone will feel better (because all diets claim this, and it's not true). I personally feel good eating mostly WFPB so can totally see others finding that (or 100%) a way of eating on which they feel good, or better, of course. But I've watched enough of those movies and read enough about nutrition that I get frustrated when I hear things (on all sides, really) that are not true or exaggerated or taken out of context. I'd really love a real discussion between people with different views on these nutrition things who are also willing to listen and acknowledge the points on the other side, as the vast, vast majority of it seems to be preaching to the converted (or assuming you are talking to people without knowledge, who don't know the obvious responses, which is one of my issues with What the Health).

fuzzylop72 · January 2018

nvmomketo wrote: »

I think a whole foods, plant based diet can be healthy. Oreo is a vegan cookie

Whether you consider oreos vegan or not is somewhat subjective. Many vegans don't consider them vegan, due to the filtering of the sugar through bone char. However, a lot of the knockoffs (newman O's to name one example) are fully vegan because they use organic sugar (in the US, organic sugar is never filtered through bone char).

That said, I think the general statement that a vegan label on food is not a descriptor of health is an accurate one.

AnnPT77 · January 2018

cramseynyc wrote: »

I just recently made the change to plant based eating myself (I was vegetarian and made the switch to vegan). I do it for ethical reasons but the health benefits are great too. So far, I feel great and have lost weight. I talked to my doctor about it and he said we can get all the nutrients we need from plants except B12 (which comes from dairy) so I take a supplement. Good luck to you! Feel free to connect with me on here.

I agree that most essential nutrients that we know of are available from plants, B12 a key exception.

But this can be misleading: There are other nutrients that definitely available from plant sources, but that will require more thought and planning to get in adequate amounts, for someone eating only plants. Iron and calcium come to mind: We can get enough, but need to pay attention.

Omnivores eating in a well-rounded way tend to get enough of those nutrients without much explicit attention.

In general, having to pay a bit more attention to nutrition is a con of being 100% plant based, or even of being vegetarian. Not a huge thing, but a thing.

AnnPT77 · January 2018

I agree with @lemurcat12's list of pros & cons, and her other suggestions.

I'd add this to the list of cons:

Eating 100% plant-based will be socially and logistically slightly less convenient.

On the social front, you'll need strategies for things like being invited to your omnivore new boss's house for dinner, going to your omnivore in-laws for holiday dinners, navigating potluck meals with social groups, negotiating restaurant choices with diverse groups of friends or professional colleagues, etc.

When going to professional gatherings/conferences that include meals, you'll need to inquire about, reserve and actually manage to get something you can eat. If your employer pays for travel meals only when not included in the event, you will supplement deficiencies on your own dime.

Travel eating may be more difficult in general, especially international travel in very meat-centric cultures. You'll want to educate yourself in advance how to ask about food in the local language, and how to turn down, in a culturally sensitive way, special food proffered as a gesture of friendship.

You may even find that your choice of potential life partners is somewhat constrained by an unusual way of eating.

Don't get me wrong: None of this is insurmountable, or even necessarily terribly difficult. But it's some things you'll need to deal with that are mildly annoying - life friction - long term.

Finally, I'd encourage critical thinking about whether it's important to eat fully plant based for optimum health. There are a few vegetarian cultures in the world, and probably some fully plant-based ones. But the overwhelming percentage of all people who have ever lived, for literally millennia, have been omnivores. Our physical features (such as our teeth) suggest an omnivorous diet.

What are the odds that evolution designed us to achieve optimum health by eating in a way that only a small percentage of humans have historically eaten?

Please understand, I'm not a shill for the meat industry. I've been vegetarian (ovo lacto) since mid-1974, approaching 44 years. The above list of inconveniences are lived experience. (BTW, I was married to a meat-eating hunter for 20+ years until I was widowed, so the relationship point above is true, but not non-negotiable.)

If someone chooses vegetarianism, 100% plant-based eating, or a full vegan life for strong ethical or moral reasons, I think that's entirely reasonable. I encourage them to proceed

If someone proposes that lifestyle for health or weight loss, I'd encourage them to consider a high in plants, reduced meat, omnivorous way of eating. Purely from a health standpoint, I think the latter is easier and probably very slightly healthier. It isn't as trendy or special-seeming, though.

Just my opinion.

MarcA1218 · January 2018

This is good and I like the discussions. I am going to continue to research and review the pros and cons that the MFP community brings to this discussion along with outside research and comparisons. This is something I was looking into doing for the last 6 months. At first I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to cut down/ out animal based foods to be honest. After all at first it was more for the possibility of weight loss. Then after some time it was also about my general health and wellness, and as I learn more along with the above, it is also becoming more of an ethical/ moral stance for animal cruelty and the effects this has on others. (Based in what I am learning.) I don’t want to look at this as a diet fad- more of a lifestyle change that is needed.

HawkMikado · January 2018

MarcA1218 wrote: »

So, I am thinking of going on a more plant based diet. If you know about this please add the pros and cons below. Also, if you want to join me on this journey also add your weight and goals too we can try it out together!

I'm a Ovo Vegetarian, mostly plant based with exception of eggs. Working on loosing 65 lbs. Currently at 215 working on getting to 150.

I've found I have much more energy when I don't eat meats, fish, or lactose dairy. I've even tried being gluten free, but notice that it's hard to be gluten free and vege.

For protines eat a lot of beans, nuts, quinoa, and have meat alternatives, BUT Watch out for the amount of Soy in the products, as a man you want to limit the amount of Soy you consume.

Recommend meat alternatives are Beyond Meat and Gardein, Field Roast, Lightlife makes the best bacon alternative, Not Morning Star as it's mostly soy based.

Kodiak Protine cakes (buy them at Costco) have 20g of Protine (plus make them with a Protine milk to get even more Protine)

Silk Protine Nut Milk contains 10g of Protine, and Rippl pea protine milk has 8 to 10 g

Also drink kombucha to help with digestion.

If you have a whole foods near you, they have an entire section dedicated to plant based diets, some other grocery stores also do.

Reach out if you want to connect here and ask questions. My dad is also on a plant based diets and can help if you have questions.

Tricia7188 · January 2018

You could just try it for a while. Everyone hypes up a whole food plant based diet so much. Just give it a go! I enjoy the Starch Solution way of eating but there are lots of YouTube vids with tips.

fatvegan88 · January 2018

B12 is not made by animals. It’s made by the bacteria inside animals which humans cannot produce. That’s why it’s in dairy.

Plant based sources of B12 include tempeh, kimchi and other fermented foods. B12 is super important so getting enough is key but lots of omnivores have deficencies because of a lack of the enzymes in the body to break down B12. You might notice this if you have a hard time digesting certain foods.

All vitamins are plant based in a way even omega 3s and 6s are actually produced by algae and that’s why they are found in high levels in fish.

I just get a shot in the arm every month for B12 because I am missing the enzymes to break it down. Even when I ate meat I had a defiency.

Nicespice9 · January 2018

I'm also going to try a plant based diet. I was pescetarian for 11 years before I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I tried the low carb thing and added back chicken and turkey to my diet. My a1c went from 7.9 to 6.6, but now I have high cholesterol- a problem I never had before. Its disheartening. I have high hopes for the plant based diet improving my health. I'm 225, the heaviest I ever weighed. For 5'3" that puts my bmi at like 40. Anyway, best of luck to those transitioning/beginning.

littlebabekitty · January 2018

I have been trying vegan for a year now. I have already lost 35lbs. I reccomend the website nutritionfacts.org with dr. Gregor for science backed data on plant based diets. Awesome

MarcA1218 · January 2018

That’s awesome! Thanks everyone- so far after a few days I am more confident in my choice.

ltomanek · January 2018

Hi there! I'm not vegan, but for the past 7 months a plant-based focused diet has ruled my life. The desire to eat food closer to it's original state (meaning less processed) was not an overnight decision.

Like many, I have struggled my whole life with my weight. I started putting myself on diets when I was 12. I work in the healthfield now, so as I grew up, learning more and more about our bodies, how we respond to different inputs, I tried a wide variety of diet plans.
Some we're so successful; short term dramatic results. However great I felt, they were not sustainable, and I gained the weight back.

About 3-4 years ago, I had done a boot camp 3 x a week, and the trainer told me about the fruit/veggie cycles he would go on between 1-3x a year. Basically like a juice fast for 30 days. This got me into the world of eating whole food plants more often. I dabbled for the following year, only using the idea of eating only fruits and veggies for a cleanse.

August 2016 is when it clicked. I had just had my birthday and was feeling awful about where I was physically. So I decided to start calorie counting. It had worked well for me in the past to lose and then maintain. And thus started my current launch into overall body health.

By February 2017, I had lost 10-12 pounds, but had hit a plateau. July 2017 is when I decided to kick it into the next gear, 90% plant-based. I don't eat meat, but some dairy if it's already in my meal and there's nothing else. But I always try to limit it as it never makes me feel as well afterwards.

I'm down 20 pounds from my initial weight, and I did it passively: hardly even focusing on loosing the weight, but rather eating well. I eat more calories now and feel amazing. Longer eye lashes, Healthy skin and nails that grow like crazy, better recovery times after my workout, and no stomach aches or sluggishness.

I would always recommend people to focus on eating more fruits, veg, grain, etc. Good luck!

MozzerellaPearl · January 2018

Good for you for checking our the +/- of Plant Based before jumping in. I'm vegan and love it, but wasn't sure before I switched my diet.

If you're uncertain, maybe consider doing a day or two a week Plant Based just to see how you get on with it, to get a couple of recipes under your belt and to work out if you're going to really miss anything? It's what I did. In my head I made it a bit like the 5:2 diet, but instead of restricting, I did 5 week-days vegan, then had the weekend 'off'. I did that for around 2 months before making the switch to veganism for good.
My husband's currently doing the same, just to see what he makes of it.

Pros
1. I have so much more energy. I have 2 little boys (aged 2 and 4) who have me up at least twice a night and running around in the day and I work full time in a hospital. I don’t get ‘too tired’ or wish the kids would sit down half as much as I did before, and don’t feel as fatigued after a series of 14-hour shifts. The broken nights don’t seem to bother me as much and I’m less ‘foggy’ the next day.

2. My skin’s better; less oily and fewer break-outs. My hair is softer and glossier. My breath is better in the mornings and I don’t get a ‘gritty’ feeling on my teeth. And my nails appear to break less often.

3. I haven't had a cough/cold/virus/bug since making the switch to veganism (nearly 1 year ago), but all of my household who eat a 'normal' non-vegan diet have had multiple sniffles and bugs. And, as previously said, I work in a hospital. With all the sick people.

4. I've lost roughly 2lbs a month of the past 12months, without having to restrict calories or up my exercise.
If anything I've upped the calories I eat - I used to have around 1800 a day, now have around
2500 on a normal day. And I wasn't 'big' either; BMI was 25 so pretty reasonable. (But this is totally not the case of all people on Vegan/PB diets, as most people I know seem to have gained!)

5. No food-coma type feeling after a big meal.

6. I now have the perfect excuse to not share Oreos.

Cons
1. The amount of people who assume I'm going to try to 'convert them' or tell them what a horrible person they are because they do eat animal products; the assumption that I’m going to preach superiority or try to guilt trip them... Which I don't.
If people what to know about why I’m vegan or what I eat, great. If not, that’s fine too. I don’t talk about it unless it’s brought up by the other person.

2. The amount of education it took for me to know what I needed to up in my diet to cover the nutritional stuff I would have otherwise been getting from meat/dairy etc. That was a headache because I'm not really into nutrition.

3. Lack of choices in shops and restaurants. The UK's a bit behind in most places >_<

4. I’ve notice my tolerance for alcohol has dropped off massively. I used to have 2/3 glasses of wine with dinner on the weekend with my family. Now I have 1 small glass and I know I’ve had a drink. Might be coincidence, might not...

CM_73 · January 2018

MozzerellaPearl wrote: »

Good for you for checking our the +/- of Plant Based before jumping in. I'm vegan and love it, but wasn't sure before I switched my diet.

If you're uncertain, maybe consider doing a day or two a week Plant Based just to see how you get on with it, to get a couple of recipes under your belt and to work out if you're going to really miss anything? It's what I did. In my head I made it a bit like the 5:2 diet, but instead of restricting, I did 5 week-days vegan, then had the weekend 'off'. I did that for around 2 months before making the switch to veganism for good.
My husband's currently doing the same, just to see what he makes of it.

Pros
1. I have so much more energy. I have 2 little boys (aged 2 and 4) who have me up at least twice a night and running around in the day and I work full time in a hospital. I don’t get ‘too tired’ or wish the kids would sit down half as much as I did before, and don’t feel as fatigued after a series of 14-hour shifts. The broken nights don’t seem to bother me as much and I’m less ‘foggy’ the next day.

2. My skin’s better; less oily and fewer break-outs. My hair is softer and glossier. My breath is better in the mornings and I don’t get a ‘gritty’ feeling on my teeth. And my nails appear to break less often.

3. I haven't had a cough/cold/virus/bug since making the switch to veganism (nearly 1 year ago), but all of my household who eat a 'normal' non-vegan diet have had multiple sniffles and bugs. And, as previously said, I work in a hospital. With all the sick people.

4. I've lost roughly 2lbs a month of the past 12months, without having to restrict calories or up my exercise.
If anything I've upped the calories I eat - I used to have around 1800 a day, now have around
2500 on a normal day. And I wasn't 'big' either; BMI was 25 so pretty reasonable. (But this is totally not the case of all people on Vegan/PB diets, as most people I know seem to have gained!)

5. No food-coma type feeling after a big meal.

6. I now have the perfect excuse to not share Oreos.

Cons
1. The amount of people who assume I'm going to try to 'convert them' or tell them what a horrible person they are because they do eat animal products; the assumption that I’m going to preach superiority or try to guilt trip them... Which I don't.
If people what to know about why I’m vegan or what I eat, great. If not, that’s fine too. I don’t talk about it unless it’s brought up by the other person.

2. The amount of education it took for me to know what I needed to up in my diet to cover the nutritional stuff I would have otherwise been getting from meat/dairy etc. That was a headache because I'm not really into nutrition.

3. Lack of choices in shops and restaurants. The UK's a bit behind in most places >_<

4. I’ve notice my tolerance for alcohol has dropped off massively. I used to have 2/3 glasses of wine with dinner on the weekend with my family. Now I have 1 small glass and I know I’ve had a drink. Might be coincidence, might not...

Pretty much agree with all of that!
The other thing I found was that all those little aches and pains I seemed to be getting faded away as well. I certainly lost weight on it, but that was because it was such a massive change for me that it forced me to think carefully about every meal.

Still, I'm not on it now, purely because it was just too much hassle. Eating out became too prohibitive, and avoiding dairy milk all of the time became a real chore (Yes, I'm lazy!)

Now, I just eat very little meat, but I do eat dairy. I do wonder if the real benefits come from switching completely though as a mostly plant based diet doesn't seem to have the same positive effect on me as switching completely. I guess we're all different though, and people will respond in different ways.

aylerz · January 2018

I eat primarily plant based because I'm not a fan of most meat. Just don't like the way it tastes. I do still eat chicken and fish on occasion. I eat lamb once or twice a year as well because my husband is Persian and it's tough to have a meal with his family that doesn't include lamb

The biggest pro for me is that I always feel full, and cooking is creative and colorful, which is fun. The biggest con is that the carb count can get really high, really quickly, so counting calories is essential, and looking at your macros becomes important to make sure you're getting enough protein. Plant-based protein is pretty easy, though. Tons of options.

I try and stay away from dairy, which can get a little complicated on plant-based (lots of recipes call for cheese - so much cheese), but sticking to vegan recipes that don't call for hard to get or expensive ingredients tends to work for me! Plus, I've found that even if you're trying to stay away from dairy for a non-medical reason, a sprinkle of cheese on a soup or entree every now and then doesn't wreak havoc.

Plant Based Diet?

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