Going vegan... need help!

Here is the help I can offer, DON'T GO VEGAN!.
Read the book called "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith.
Watch the YouTube interview with her at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNON5iNf07o

She was a vegetarian for 20 years, It almost killed her.

Any diet will affect your health if you aren't getting the proper nutrients. There are countless vegetarians and vegans out there, ranging from dancers to triathletes. If you are eating a varied diet and meeting all your macros, there is nothing wrong with leading a compassionate lifestyle.

Also, it's pretty easy to find information specifically about this book that pokes holes in how she used her sources.

Just to note here: Vitamin B12 is a bacteria-based vitamin - animals get theirs from eating foods containing it, and that's how they themselves become "sources" of B12.

Vegans can easily reach the recommended daily dose of B12 by incorporating nutritional yeast (adds a nutty, cheesy flavor to foods - how convenient!), fortified milks or B12 supplements into their diets.

Awesome.. jotting down "nutritional yeast" on the shopping list now.. I would like a cheesier flavor to my foods, because I miss cheese (but I don't miss the way it affects me)

I changed to a vegan diet a few months ago and honestly never felt better. I don't get all the digestion problems being brought up. I have NEVER had a digestive problem while eating vegan. In fact, I used to have them but when I switched they went away. I love it. Obviously its a personal choice and it is not for everyone. People choose to eat vegan for a variety of different reasons. It doesn't make one reason better than an other. Good luck, I hope you like it like I do. add me if you want
Ignore the haters. Its so easy to judge someone when you have never tried it yourself.

I changed to a vegan diet a few months ago and honestly never felt better. I don't get all the digestion problems being brought up. I have NEVER had a digestive problem while eating vegan. In fact, I used to have them but when I switched they went away. I love it. Obviously its a personal choice and it is not for everyone. People choose to eat vegan for a variety of different reasons. It doesn't make one reason better than an other. Good luck, I hope you like it like I do. add me if you want
Ignore the haters. Its so easy to judge someone when you have never tried it yourself.

Truth!
I've had plenty of reasons for switching to vegan because of the way certain foods affect me. I have never felt better in my entire life. But I'm "sometimes a vegan" or an "ovo-pescetarian"? I really don't know what kind of life style I follow haha all these stupid labels people try to put on each other

Awesome.. jotting down "nutritional yeast" on the shopping list now.. I would like a cheesier flavor to my foods, because I miss cheese (but I don't miss the way it affects me)

Red Star brand is my favorite! I add nutritional yeast ("nooch") to tofu ricotta, tofu-based fritattas or sprinkle it on like parmesan cheese. Delicious and nutritious!

Okay, lots of advice already here.

To those who say going vegan is HARD, I would very much disagree, especially seeing as you are coming from being vegetarian. Make sure to do a little research, get proper nutrition and eat a healthy diet as normal!

As for your stomach issues, I can relate. I started having major problems going on for about a year that the doctors couldn't figure out, and then one told me to do an elimination diet. Turns out I was allergic (or err, more like intolerant) to all legumes, which was devastating as I was then a 5 1/2 year vegan not having had meat for a good 10 years. Now that veganism is more challenging for me I appreciate it a lot more and make extra efforts to stay healthy. It sucks, I miss beans and soy and peanut butter so much, but I would much rather be healthy!

Some foods I'd suggest adding to your diet are hemp/almond butters, larabars, quinoa (a grain that has complete proteins and is rather good), almond milk, and nutritional yeast. Also, a B12 vitamin supplement is very important, since it is extremely difficult to get it in a vegan diet. I would also suggest staying away from the fake meats and cheeses and ice creams for calorie reasons, though you must try the tofutti cream cheese, it is SO good!

I've been vegan for two years and must say I have not found it to be difficult at all and I went vegan from an omnivorous diet.

You have already received a ton of information here. Not much for me to add, just wanted to applaud you for doing something most people consider "drastic" for the sake of your health.

If you have an iPhone, there is an iVegan app that lists obscure ingredients that are food labels and lets you know if they are from plant or animal sources. I found that incredibly helpful in the beginning. I have always been a label reader, but an even more of one now. You never know what they are going to throw in something. McDonald's French fries, for instance. They have a beef extract added. Ick!

So I've decided to go vegan, but I'm going to be completely upfront and say I have absolutely NO knowledge on this subject. Can some intelligent vegans and/or intelligent individuals in general give me some tips, tricks, and foods that I might not know aren't vegan?

Vegan or vegetarian. Both are unhealthy for you.
You should read a book called "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith. She was a vegan for 20 years and it almost killed her. There are several interviews on line. Just type in her name on YouTube and you'll see several interviews.

"What we eat is destroying both our bodies and the planet, according to author Lierre Keith, a recovering twenty-year vegan. While she passionately opposes factory farming of animals, she maintains that humans require nutrient-dense animal foods for good health. A grain-based diet is the basis for degenerative diseases?we take for granted?(diabetes, cancer, heart disease) - diseases?of civilization. Annual grain production is destroying topsoil and creating deserts on a planetary scale.? Lierre urges the restoration of perennial polycultures for longterm sustainability."

Review:
"Everyone who eats should read this book. Everyone who eats vegetarian should memorize it . . . This is the single most important book I’ve ever read on diet, agriculture, and ecology." —Aric McBay, author, What We Leave Behind

"This book saved my life . . . [It] offers us a way back into our bodies, and back into the fight to save the planet." —Derrick Jensen, author, Endgame

"[Vegetarian Myth] is one of the most important books people, masses of them, can read, as we try with all our might, intelligence, skill, hope, dream , and memory, to turn the disastrous course the planet is on." —Alice Walker, prize-winning author, The Color Purple

"We may not want to face the facts, but Keith sees this as no excuse to stay in denial. If delivered as a speech, you could see that no one in the audience would be [seated] at the end. I have never seen such rousing prose." —www.ZoeHarcombe.com (August 7, 2011)

"In The Vegetarian Myth ex-vegan Lierre Keith argues that saving the planet and ending the suffering found in factory farms can not be achieved by refusing to eat animals, it can only be achieved by boycotting modern agricultural practices, which Keith calls 'the most destructive thing that people have done to the planet.'" —www.mercola.com

You should read this book before you go vegan.

Haven't read the entire thread but pick up a copy of the Veganomicon cookbook. I have vegan friends who swear by it.

Pick up soy milk and coconut, rice or almond milk to use as substitutes. Soy is better if the recipe doesn't need to be cooked - it can leave a funny taste.

Fleischman's unsalted margarine is vegan where I live, but be very careful with ingredients wherever you are. There are a lot of milk biproducts in things that look vegan.

Check out quinoa for protein.

And remember- Oreos are vegan. I know, probably shouldn't mention that but we all need our treats now and again.

I am vegetarian, mostly because I just plain cannot stand eating meat - both the texture and taste make me struggle not to vomit. I've had this issue ever since I was very young. I don't like eggs either. For me, it is a bonus that I don't contribute to killing of animals for food - I don't necessarily have an ethical problem with humans eating meat, I just don't like it. Bit of an animal lover and all around softie, probably some idealist thrown in there...and I feel that if I am not prepared to kill and eat an animal, I have no right to expect others to do it for me. I also do believe that a well planned vegetarian (including vegan) diet can be very good for you - but like any eating plan including with meat, you can screw it up pretty badly.

The best single resource I have found - I should point out here that I'm doing a PhD in physiology/nutrition so I want to get the best info I can on how to eat a GOOD vegetarian diet - is this:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Becoming-Vegetarian-Essential-Healthy/dp/1570671443

They now have a specifically vegan book out which grew out of an earlier version of this book - I haven't read it but if it is as good as the vegetarian one by the same authors it should be pretty good. This one also has info for vegans as well as other types of vegetarian so it is a pretty good resource even if you don't get the vegan one. The reviews from the vegetarian community seem to be pretty good for these books.

Best of luck.