Vegans!!

I eat 90% vegan-the only dairy being egg whites & Greek yogurt. It's not really a diet, but more a lifestyle change. Although I will eat cage free eggs & yogurt, I won't wear or use leather products, or anything like that. And believe me, you can gain weight just as easily being vegan. Oreos are vegan.

I have recently ( Since October 1st) become a vegetarian, although I prefer no title no my diet. I still eat cheese and eggs no more then 3 times a week, and mostly as a convenience item. Other then those items in my diet I try and look for dairy free, vegan and meatless products when I do buy processed foods. My main staple has been whatever I can come home with from the local produce/farmers markets. I mix veggies together in all sorts of combos. If its piled up on my counter I am forced to eat it with every meal, what if it went bad? An acorn squash with a side of cucumber/ bell pepper/ red onion/ fresh corn on the cob/ green onion salad tossed with EVOO salt and pepper is very filling. I try and eat more protein and carbs during the day when I need them, brown rice and black beans mostly. I juice a lot of carrot, beet, kale etc to get in extra vitamins. MFP has been very helpful for me in making the transition. I am concerned about gaining weight and find the fat, carb, sugar, protein trackers super helpful when it comes to completing my diary and analyzing the outcome. I hope to become a vegan eventually but think that in moderation cheese and eggs are okay for me, cause really I don't care about the animals. I am kidding. I care a little, I care more about my health and that they are not going to help that.The only thing that I would suggest is eating which ever way you decide to 7 days a week. Don't confuse your body, or more importantly, your mind by eating meat once a week. A great documentary to watch is Forks over Knives, its on Netflixs. This is really eye opening when it comes to the health risks and concerns animal based diets cause. Good for you and good luck!

I just started eating a plant based diet as well for health reasons after seeing the documentary Forks over Knives. I highly recommend that. I've been using the book that goes with the movie, a book called the Engine 2 Diet discussed in the movie, and the blog/cookbook the Happy Herbivore as my references. It's been a week so far and I can't imagine going back to an omnivore diet. friend me if you want

Am I correct Vegans? If I'm not, please accept my apologies.

Most people that call themselves vegan do go all out. But there's no law against eating a vegan diet only.

I am vegetarian 25 years and vegan off and on throughout. I have been whole food vegan for 4 months now and I dont plan on ever going back.

You can have stomach issues early on, but they go away after a short time. I think it has to do with fiber (if you are eating whole).

I did gain on a vegan diet a year ago, but I was eating crap like potato chips and mac and chreese.
Watch your soy intake and really have fun with recipes. I love fatfreevegan.com.

good luck! you are going to feel amazing!

I was vegetarian for several months ... and my husband is vegetarian/usually vegan for about 2 yrs now. So I make a lot of veg dinners for us.
People eat things for different reasons.... my husband has cheese sometimes if it's still on a veg pizza, for instance, but if he goes to Chipotle - he specifically orders veg ingredients and no cheese. He really doesn't eat eggs -- but might order it at a restaurant that serves great egg white veggie tacos. (me too!)
Anyway, point being ... there are all types of levels of vegans. Some don't eat honey because they say it over produces bees. Well, my husband LOVES honey and doesn't see it harming bees in anyway. If a mosquito is coming near him, yes he will swat it and kill it. LOL. anyway, just wanted to make that point that there are no harsh rules one way or that way... just being that you don't eat animal products.
As far as harmful effects to the body at first - no we didn't experience anything like that -- in fact, our digestion improved tremendously with a fiber rich diet of veggies, fruits, legumes and whole grains. You might experience upset tummy on your "cheat day" when you start back eating lots of meats/animal products. Your body will start to get used to digesting things quickly with all the veg/fruits/legumes/whole grains. When it takes in meat products, those are slower to digest/harder to digest and so that will probably cause you some tummy problems on those cheat days. If you have cheat days, I suggest you cheat lightly with eggs/cheese and/or little serving sizes of lean protein meats.

Be careful not to fill your plate with too much pastas or potatoes. Many people go veg and instead have lots of potatoes and pastas instead the healthy legumes/whole grains (quinoa, brown rice), whole foods (fresh vegetables and fruits). When I went vegetarian, I did this and gained weight. So hence why I'm not anymore although I have many meals that are veg just not every day, all meals. I discovered lean meat proteins worked for me, but small serving sizes of it.

Anyway, don't know if you know about it already, but check out The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn....
http://www.amazon.com/Engine-Diet-Firefighters-Save-Your-Life-Cholesterol/dp/0446506699/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319938588&sr=1-1
Very informative book for eating a plant-based diet w/easy recipes.. not complicated. He got all the firefighters he works with to try this diet and they all had great success - weight loss and lowered cholesterol and blood pressure.

A word of caution re: almond milk. It is not a good source of protein, so I wouldn't consider it a replacement for dairy milk.

But it is a good source as an alternative to soy juice, as I don't recognize processed soy liquid being passed off as "milk."

But you recognize processed almond liquid as milk? It's pretty much the exact same process.