Vegan Diet?

You can eat meat, you dont have to deprive yourself of things you like, focus on portion control and moderation. Dont start eating a way you cant eat for the rest of your life. Find healthier ways to make your favorite things, make stuff from scratch and cut out a lot of the processed foods and that alone, even with eating meat which you still can, will make you feel tons better and more energetic

I just switched to a vegan diet 3 weeks ago. Not going to lie, It was very tough at first but with a lot of research online and recipes, I found changes I could make. I like soy milk better actually. And tofu isn't that bad. It just takes on the flavors of whatever you are cooking it with. I started out with the notion of taking 1 cheat day a week so I could still eat my subway sandwiches but I like the diet so much, I don't need cheat days. It has made me feel 100 % better. And I watched "Earthlings" hard to watch but furthermore told me that switching to vegan was the right choice for me,

Bump

Every little bit helps! Why not start small, like Meatless Mondays? Then maybe start having vegan dinners every day.

If you LOVE eating animal products, then a lifetime of never eating them isn't very realistic unless you REALLY want it. I say start small, and see what works for you.

I agree with VeganGal84 who said to try Meatless Mondays, first. If you enjoy meat that much, you may be setting yourself up to fail. I recently decided to become vegetarian, but it hasn't been that difficult for me because I didn't eat much meat to begin with.

I do crave it, sometimes, but I made the decision because it fits in better with my beliefs. Why not try becoming pescatarian or ovo-lacto vegetarian, first?

Are you feeling sluggish?

Hi I became vegan almost a year ago and have never felt better. I too loved meat but felt that with all that tastes lovely in this world there is no need to kill animals. Yes it was difficult at first and yes its a challenge now when I go out but on the positive side when I gave up milk my stomach just shrank. I now know that I dairy didn't agree with me and it was making me really bloated but because I ate it every day I had no idea. I say find some food and recipes that you like and start by eating them personally I have found a whole new joy in cooking as its a challenge for me to make food that tastes great with no cruelty involved. Once you start being aware and open yourself up to the compassionate life of caring about where your food comes from the rest is easy.

Hey, I'm really glad to hear that you're considering going vegan! It's fantastic for you, and for the animals/environment. I'm (unfortunately) not a vegan, but that's only due to living with my parents. I am a Vegetarian going on a year and half though!

The biggest tip I can give you is take it slow, and forgive yourself if you slip up in the first couple of months. Not going to lie, it is really hard to give up meat, especially if you love it as much as I did.

Before you dive headfirst into veganism: up your vegetable intake a lot. Go vegetarian first, and then go vegan. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to transition, and be really happy in your vegan diet.
Start with a few meat free days per week, and just keep eating less meat/animal products. After the first month meat-free I couldn't even think about eating chicken/beef again without feeling ill, and that was compared to when I used to eat chicken 4-5 days a week.
A word on meat/dairy replacements: a lot of them are quite disgusting, I've tried quite a few different ones and some I love, some I hate. It all depends on your taste preferences. So just pick a couple each week/month and try them out. You will probably be able to find something you like.

A book I would really recommend reading is called 'Skinny *****' by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. It's really informative and will probably make you want to do this even more than you do now. It gives you the low down on the ways that animals are treated in the food industry, and also what their products are doing to your body when you eat them.

Most of all, educate yourself. Find LOTS of recipes and different foods to try out. You're opening yourself up to a whole new world of food. Enjoy it!

First of all I'm pescetarian, not vegan (only meat I eat is fish), but I do have a lot of vegan days. If you think vegan eating is tasteless, you are not using the right recipes. Appetite for Reduction, Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (had to throw that in, lol), etc. have some amazing dishes. The first two use a lot of normal, whole foods.

Most of my protein comes from legumes and I do eat tofu on occasion. Pressing it is important because it allows it to take on the flavors of whatever sauce you are using.

As for sluggishness, I have several vegan friends who are very active. A couple run marathons and one is a triathlete and participates in ironmans. Again, if you are sluggish on a vegan diet (think about it - TONS of micronutrients should be coursing through you body) then you aren't eating the right things. Variety and lots of color!!

I run and have been running further and faster since becoming vegan. I have completed two half marathons and next year I plan to do my first full marathon. You need to ensure that you are eating enough as its easy to not eat enough and make sure you do get lots of those pretty colours on your plate every meal.