Vegan Diet?

I went in steps. I cut out red meat and pork first. Then 6 months later cut out chicken. Dairy was next...which was about a thousand times more difficult than anything else. Last was eggs and seafood.

I love meat and cheese. Its completely delicious. Im not one of those vegans who says how that stuff is gross. The treatment of the animals is gross...but the food is delicious.

The things I have learned being vegan for 6 years is that vegetables can taste amazing. Growing up I had never really had them prepared the right way...or used fresh amazing ones either. I got steamed to hell broccoli, canned salty peas, mushy canned asparagas, gelatinous gross canned beets. Now I live all of those things because I buy fresh and organic and in season. Asparagas is sweet and crunchy and awesome quickly sauteed with some garlic...who would have known.

It took me awhile to take to tofu. At first it was gross and mushy and weird. I had to learn how to cook with it, and also the secret is once again buying a local brand. Im lucky that here in San Diego theres a local tofu making show that makes the best most firm tofu I have ever had. You dont have to drain the water out of it or cook the water out, its firm and amazing.

And the vegan cheeses. I dont love them and rarely buy them. I make my own cheese like spreads made form nuts and make a cheesy sauce made from nutritional yeast. But youll have to trust me when I say that your tastes will change as your diet changes. I used to force myself to drink soy or rice milk. Now I love it and drink it so fast that I went out and bought a soymilk maker.

Liking to cook helps a lot too. Theres an amazing amount of cookbooks and websites out there, and all kinds of fun stuff to start experimenting with. LIke Tempeh, Seitan, Soycurls, Nutritional yeast..ect ect

I have to disagree that incremental changes are the only way to make a change. I did it overnight, and I know many others who have, as well. It's really about personalities, reasons, etc. Some people can do it overnight, others need change to be incremental. As many have suggested, however, you can gradually reduce the animal products you consume while increasing veggie intake. Just think how much more variety you can have in your meals if you start adding in veggies you have never tried before! And I saw at least one post about changing taste buds - this is huge. If you gradually reduce your animal intake and are adding whole foods, not processed, it is very likely you will find your taste buds changing and may find yourself tasting and enjoying food in a way you never have before (especially if you reduce sodium and sugar). That could change your mind about some of those veggies you don't think you like.

Honestly Jess, my best advice (which is just my opinion, not professional advice), is to bring up the changes you'd like to make with your doctor. That way your doctor can monitor you in the beginning while you get the hang of the new lifestyle.

I disagree. Doctors are not trained in nutrition. If a person has access to a dietitian, that would be a good option when making a drastic diet change if you have not done your own (thorough) research. Just make sure it's a veg*n friendly dietitian who supports all healthy diet choices, regardless of veg*n or omni.

I changed my diet shortly coming to MFP. No meat, no diary, no fish. I lost weight, lost my medication and I feel great. However, it is a constant struggle not to eat things like sugar and bread and fat.

Most of my meals are starches, brown rice, corn, peas, potatoes and my blood sugar is fine. I do exercise everyday but not as much as I used to. I did a lot of research about my lifestyle change and I recommend you do the same. I recommend a youtube search on dr. john mcdougall and jeff novick.

By the way, I am Asian and I say nay to tofu, cause it's about 50% fat--look up the nutritional facts on the foods you eat, before you eat them.

I loved eating meat, dairy (I am not lactose intolerant) and of course, fish. If you really love meat, know what you are eating and sign up for email alerts from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service web site, where you are alerted to food recalls due to diseases like e.coli, listeria, undeclared allergans: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls/

Oh look, a company in New York is recalling broiled chicken liver products; oh look its a class 1 recall (can cause death); oh its salmonella; and its an unknown amount of chicken. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_090_2011_Release/index.asp

Oh look, a texas company is recalling beef jerky because it has salmonella; and it's a class 1 recall (can cause death); 126 pounds of it. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_089_2011_Release/index.asp

I think eating meat is great, just umm be careful what you eat!

When I first became vegan, I also used to eat lots of greasy, empty calories, like french-fries, fried mushrooms, etc., but in time you discover that whole foods are the best. Oil is not a food at all. Sugar is a poison. Instead, you begin to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and organic whole grains. Avoid processed foods (i.e. don't eat anything with ingredients you can't pronounce). It's really not that hard, but you have to give your taste buds time to adjust, to allow yourself to appreciate how good natural whole foods taste in their unadulterated state.
William aka Tokyovegan

There is no point in eating any diet that makes you unhappy.

I am a strict vegetarian, because to me, I am happier knowing animals do't die as a result of my desire to eat them. If you don't have a moral reason for what you eat, then it is pointless to restrict yourself to a diet you would be unhappy sticking to.

There are enough people out there with allergies and intolerances, they have no choice but to have their diet restricted, I assure you, it isn't to be taken lightly.

I went in steps. I cut out red meat and pork first. Then 6 months later cut out chicken. Dairy was next...which was about a thousand times more difficult than anything else. Last was eggs and seafood.

I love meat and cheese. Its completely delicious. Im not one of those vegans who says how that stuff is gross. The treatment of the animals is gross...but the food is delicious.

The things I have learned being vegan for 6 years is that vegetables can taste amazing. Growing up I had never really had them prepared the right way...or used fresh amazing ones either. I got steamed to hell broccoli, canned salty peas, mushy canned asparagas, gelatinous gross canned beets. Now I live all of those things because I buy fresh and organic and in season. Asparagas is sweet and crunchy and awesome quickly sauteed with some garlic...who would have known.

It took me awhile to take to tofu. At first it was gross and mushy and weird. I had to learn how to cook with it, and also the secret is once again buying a local brand. Im lucky that here in San Diego theres a local tofu making show that makes the best most firm tofu I have ever had. You dont have to drain the water out of it or cook the water out, its firm and amazing.

And the vegan cheeses. I dont love them and rarely buy them. I make my own cheese like spreads made form nuts and make a cheesy sauce made from nutritional yeast. But youll have to trust me when I say that your tastes will change as your diet changes. I used to force myself to drink soy or rice milk. Now I love it and drink it so fast that I went out and bought a soymilk maker.

Liking to cook helps a lot too. Theres an amazing amount of cookbooks and websites out there, and all kinds of fun stuff to start experimenting with. LIke Tempeh, Seitan, Soycurls, Nutritional yeast..ect ect

Thank you so much for saying this! It makes me so sad to hear people on MFP say they dislike all vegetables. WTF! Sheer numbers alone make hating them all very improbable.