Anyone tried going vegan?

Sproutingupstrong
Sproutingupstrong Posts: 2 Member
edited December 18 in Food and Nutrition
I was just curious if anybody out there is vegan or has tried eating a vegan diet? What do you like about it or dislike about it?

I just posted an entry on my blog about trying to go vegan with a couple recipes I ended up liking. I like the idea of being vegan (health wise), but not sure I could sustain it very long.

Thoughts?
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Replies

  • _rosegray
    _rosegray Posts: 26 Member
    i have! i tried it for lent and after a brief chocolate break i'm back on it now :) i really love it, mainly because i can really feel a difference in my body. to be honest, a main thing is that i've struggled with binging and things before so cutting out the foods which used to trigger a binge (most were non-vegan) has had a big impact on me. it can be a bit challenging to fit in enough protein, but if you keep an eye on it it's great :)
  • nomena
    nomena Posts: 165
    I was vegan (complete vegan lifestyle, not just diet) for 2 years, but had to go back to vegetarian due to my severe OCD. I really loved being vegan and felt great on it - plus my blood tests always came back super great, so my doctor was well pleased too.

    Germany isn't too vegan friendly, so eating out was sometimes hard. But it forced me to really learning how to cook, which I absolutely loved doing. I tried so many things that I'd never have tried before. It requires a careful eye for food and nutrition, but I think everyone on here already has that :laugh:
  • 10KEyes
    10KEyes Posts: 250 Member
    I always thought people went vegan for an activist cause, not for nutrition.

    In dietary terms humans need essential fatty acids (fat) and essential amino acids (protein/meat), so I wouldn't ever consider it unless they could demonstrate a healthy vegan lifestyle that doesn't require them to take supplements such as B12 (sourced primarily from meat) to thrive.

    Just my opinion.
  • nomena
    nomena Posts: 165
    I always thought people went vegan for a moral cause, not for nutrition.

    In dietary terms humans need essential fatty acids (fat) and essential amino acids (protein/meat), so I wouldn't ever consider it unless they could demonstrate a healthy vegan lifestyle that doesn't require them to take supplements such as B12 (sourced primarily from meat) to thrive.

    Just my opinion.

    I went vegan for moral reasons and was actually the most healthy I had ever been. My doctor checked my blood levels twice a year to make sure that I wasn't missing anything. The results were always spot on, no deficits or anything. And I never took supplements. Maybe some fortified soy milk or such, but other than that, nope.
  • poquosonrn
    poquosonrn Posts: 10 Member
    As my profile said, I am a recent vegan. I love veggies and healthy food so it wasn't too hard, but I'm not saying it's a piece of cake. Harder to eat at restaurants with my husband. We recently discovered Mongolian Grill which has a buttet style with not only meats for him to pick from, but veggies and tofu along with various sauces and spices they grill up for you. Was already drinking almond milk and eating veggie burgers before going vegan. They are lower calorie and healthier versions for anyone looking to lose weight.. The soy,almond and coconut milk ice creams are great. Vegan cheeses will never be gooey like real cheese, but they are a nice substitue. Amy's frozen meals make nice vegan/vegetarian convenience meals. Tofu took some getting used to because of the texture, but I've come to like it in stir fry veggies. I eat lots of almond butter on sprouted 7 grain bread(Ezekiel). I also take multivitamin and b12 supplements. Nutritional yeast sprinkled on salads and soups helps replace b12 also. Calcium fortified cereals and orange juice help with calcium and cream of wheat has lots of iron. I just try to make sure I get enough of everything I need on a daily basis so I don't get run down. My cholesterol was 120 this month. My triglycerides are great. Fasting blood sugar in 80's and blood pressure is great. I think if everyone ate more vegetarian/vegan meals even if they didn't give up meat, there would be less heart disease and diabetes,etc. I have switched from weight loss mind set to one of a healthy lifestyle. I went vegan cold turkey. Some do it gradually. Do what's right for you. They have 30 day vegan challenges online. Give it a try. Nothing to lose. I'm looking forward to some of the vegan recipes on here to try. Good luck
  • Bean5
    Bean5 Posts: 84 Member
    I'm not strictly vegan ongoing, but it's something I like to try for--it's all health reasons for me, not religious or because of activism.
    I have liked it, I tried to stay away from too many soy meat substitutes and just eat whole foods.
    I was surprised how easy it was when eating at home. With a vegetarian diet at home I realized that I'd been leaning on cheese and dairy and felt like culling those out helped get rid of some of the saturated fats in my diet. It wasn't hard, using green onions or cilantro or salsa in place of a sprinkling of cheese on my food, etc.
    I found it more difficult to follow when traveling; you'll realize that most "vegetarian" foods when you eat out lean on cheese quite a bit.
    The other thing is that it's nice to focus on whole foods and vegetables and eating solid carbs while everyone else seems so concerned with limiting carbs.
  • Bean5
    Bean5 Posts: 84 Member
    I'd love any recipes you'd want to share...I have a crockpot barley/black bean/corn burrito recipe I found that is just the bomb.
  • poquosonrn
    poquosonrn Posts: 10 Member
    B12 isn't naturally in meat. It is in the bacteria in the grass and dirt they eat. Many cultures thrive without eating meat. In fact in many cultures that eat no or little meat, they have less instance of heart disease and cancer. They also live to be very old and healthy. You can get all the amino acids you need on a vegan diet and if taking a b12 supplement is the worst thing you have to do, the health benefits are worth it. I'd weigh my health, blood work, fitness level any day against someone eating the usual american diet. Most americans get way more proteing than is needed and not in healthy versions. Too much fast food/restaurant meals these days with huge portions.
  • Sproutingupstrong
    Sproutingupstrong Posts: 2 Member
    I thought these two recipes were delicious! From the Happy Herbivore cookbook (highly recommend!)

    http://fitness4all.tripleresource.com/blog-content.html?Intro-to-Veganism-Recipes-–-Featuring-Chickpeas

    Thanks for all your thoughts everybody! I really think I want to do this vegan thing!
  • 10KEyes
    10KEyes Posts: 250 Member
    Many cultures thrive without eating meat.

    I am curious, what cultures what that be? I know different cultures eat varying amounts of meat but I do not know of one that does not eat meat at all.
  • poquosonrn
    poquosonrn Posts: 10 Member
    Hindus and some other indian cultures. Not sure if chicken and fish are forbidden, but most practice vegetarianism because they believe in Ahinsa(a law of no injury). Other cultures eat very little meat. It takes work whether you eat meat or don't to eat healthy, but it can be done. Everyone should do their own research and do what's right for them
  • 10KEyes
    10KEyes Posts: 250 Member
    Hindus and some other indian cultures

    Hindus eat meat. For religious reasons they do not eat cows. Also there are other religious reasons for cutting out meat at certain times kind of like Lent. But the do eat meat, just not a large amount apparently.

    Not trying to pick an argument, just was curious.
  • poquosonrn
    poquosonrn Posts: 10 Member
    Either way, there are many vegan athletes who thrive. Everyone must choose for themselves. Many of our great minds have been vegetarian. To quote Brian Greene(scientist) "vegetarians typically are people who are willing to challenge the usual, accepted order of things. Moreover, they're often people willing to sacrifice their own pleasures in pursuit of what they believe is right. These same qualities are often what's needed to make great breakthroughs in the arts and sciences" to the question of why so many great geniuses have been vegetarian
  • TheNewDodge
    TheNewDodge Posts: 607 Member
    Either way, there are many vegan athletes who thrive. Everyone must choose for themselves. Many of our great minds have been vegetarian. To quote Brian Greene(scientist) "vegetarians typically are people who are willing to challenge the usual, accepted order of things. Moreover, they're often people willing to sacrifice their own pleasures in pursuit of what they believe is right. These same qualities are often what's needed to make great breakthroughs in the arts and sciences" to the question of why so many great geniuses have been vegetarian

    lol
  • brentrhodes
    brentrhodes Posts: 139
    I tried a Vegan one time, she tasted funny.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    yeah, she didn't have the stamina to keep up
  • brentrhodes
    brentrhodes Posts: 139
    But seriously, I think I could eat a Vegan diet for a while but I feel like we need lean meat proteins to sustain and grow.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    You might want to join a couple of groups here: Team Vegan and Happy Herbivores.

    Some people on the main message boards enjoy making a mockery of the subject or, even worse, start aggressively attacking your choice. If you go to the aforementioned groups, you are apt to find people who are friendly and helpful.
  • california_peach
    california_peach Posts: 1,809 Member
    Hindus and some other indian cultures

    Hindus eat meat. For religious reasons they do not eat cows. Also there are other religious reasons for cutting out meat at certain times kind of like Lent. But the do eat meat, just not a large amount apparently.

    Not trying to pick an argument, just was curious.

    Many people in India are vegetarian and by that I mean they are lacto-ovo vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians consume eggs, and milk, and it is not the same thing as being vegan. In fact I am pretty sure the term vegetarian comes from India. The diet is considered ideal by many sects of Hinduism. This is why Padma Lakshmi wanted to do that Carl's Jr. ad. She grew up as a vegetarian and would sneak out to eat at Carl's. It was her act of rebellion.
  • lelaspeaks
    lelaspeaks Posts: 163 Member
    Former vegan and recovering vegetarian here. Being a vegan was HARD for me. Many don’t do the vegan thing correctly and overload with carbs instead of getting more nutrients from fruits and veggies in the process. Here is how my experience was. The first month was extreme detoxing. Ridding my body of animal products was pretty brutal and the insane amount of fiber to my system confused my digestive system. After about a month it got much much better. Fuel was an issue at first too, but I learned how to eat properly after a while. Going out to eat and family events were somewhat difficult too because many members couldn’t understand my decision and had a hard time supporting me.

    I did that for about 6-8 months and realized that I missed dairy and eggs quite a bit, so I incorporated those things back into my diet. After about another year, I started incorporating seafood back into it too. I am two years out and I would say that 4-6 days a week I’m a practicing vegetarian, but I now allow room for error. Grass fed or hormone free animal products are not part of my weekly diet, but I still refrain from eating it too much. I know it makes my husband happier. The choice to start eating animal products again was more for fitness goals than missing the taste of meat. I never experienced that. It’s to get high protein, low carb and fat foods into my daily diet. I see this as only being a temporary stage and imagine that I will transition back into an ovo/lacto/pescitarian diet again in the near future once I meet my goals.
  • california_peach
    california_peach Posts: 1,809 Member
    I was just curious if anybody out there is vegan or has tried eating a vegan diet? What do you like about it or dislike about it?

    I just posted an entry on my blog about trying to go vegan with a couple recipes I ended up liking. I like the idea of being vegan (health wise), but not sure I could sustain it very long.

    Thoughts?

    I lived as an lacto-ovo vegetarian for years. It eventually did not work for me. My husband has been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for decades. He loves cheese to much to be a vegan. LOL. If can be done. There are several groups here for vegans. I have a cooking blog were I share my recipes. It is myveggietable.com. In the blog roll section I have some other vegetarian/vegan blogs that I like. There is nothing wrong with giving it a try. If it does not work for you, then that's okay, too.
  • moeviegrl
    moeviegrl Posts: 52
    I tried to go from a meat loving diet to a vegetarian/vegan one four or five years ago. Oh god was it hard...my cravings were so bad that I would have vivid dreams about eating foods I had cut out (like shoving my face into a huge pile of BBQ ribs and devouring them whole). My boyfriend at the time would tell me he thought I was having weird sex dreams because I would make pleasure moans and mumble oh god and yes in my sleep. It got bad. After a month of torment and using all of my will power, I had to go back to eating meat. My weight and health didn't really change in that time (I might have lost 10 lbs or so but nothing major because I wasn't tracking my calories and in hindsight, probably ate more calories because I used tons of fatty dressings.). That said, if it feels right for you, by all means, do it! Try it and see. You wont know what works for you until you try. Some of us love to lift weights, others of us find it a waste of our time and would rather bike a mile. Everyone is different and everyone finds that certain things work for them when they don't work for other people. As long as your health isn't suffering and you feel good doing it, do it!
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    Hi,
    I am doing the Eat to Live diet from Joel Fuhrman, MD. I love this approach. It kind of works you towards being vegan if you choose to go that far. I'm not sure I can sustain a completely vegan diet, but I absolutely love how I feel when I cut way back on animal products, and increase the green veggies and veggies and fruits in general. The Eat to Live book is very compelling. Without the knowledge of science and the numerous studies associated with eating this way it would be hard to do, although some feel very strongly about the torture the animals go through. I guess my style is eating for health and not necessarily just meatless. You may be interested in his website and looking at some videos on there or listening to some recordings on there, too that explain the approach if you are still exploring options. My weight is much more stable and I have much more energy eating this way. I was also developing arthritis in my hands and that pain has gone away. Meat today is not the same as it was in our grandparents day. The pesticides, the changes in farming unless you buy from a small local farm, etc., not many around here and that doesn't appeal to me, either. I'd rather work towards doing without. I don't miss it at all. My diary is open but honestly the last week has been extra busy and there will be hit or miss days and my birthday was this weekend so a dessert disaster and eating the wrong food. Although it was a good comparison to how eating each way feels. I feel so much better with a cleaner diet! Good luck to you. I think you are meeting a lot of resistance by folks who somehow feel threatened by YOU choosing to try something different. Look into www.drfuhrman.com.
  • OceansForever
    OceansForever Posts: 221 Member

    Germany isn't too vegan friendly, so eating out was sometimes hard. But it forced me to really learning how to cook, which I absolutely loved doing. I tried so many things that I'd never have tried before. It requires a careful eye for food and nutrition, but I think everyone on here already has that :laugh:

    I am from Germany and will visit family there soon and have already encountered problems just talking about it. My mom is freaking out what to cook so I'll end up doing some cooking there most likely :)
  • OceansForever
    OceansForever Posts: 221 Member
    I always thought people went vegan for an activist cause, not for nutrition.

    In dietary terms humans need essential fatty acids (fat) and essential amino acids (protein/meat), so I wouldn't ever consider it unless they could demonstrate a healthy vegan lifestyle that doesn't require them to take supplements such as B12 (sourced primarily from meat) to thrive.

    Just my opinion.

    Nope. Not true. There are plenty of people following a vegan diet (not the vegan life style), meaning they eat vegetarian and not eggs or dairy.

    I am a combination of both. Life isn't just black and white :) There are lots of shades of grey.
  • AeolianHarp
    AeolianHarp Posts: 463 Member
    If you're a vegan or vegetarian for any other reason than animal right reasons then you're doing it all wrong. I'm pretty much tired with the anti-meat propaganda that is continually perpetuated to the ignorant and they accept it as well as the nonsensical, ****ty epidemiological studies which have created the warships against saturated fat and red meat.

    To cut out anything for health reasons just shows how little you know about health. Almost everybody on MFP has zero clue what constitutes healthy. I've tiptoed around people's feelings but the ignorance is strong on here. Let's be a little more open-minded and stop crucifying food groups.

    If you want to be vegan for health reasons then save yourself the time and eat with reason. If you don't know what "eating with reason" is then time to do some thorough researching and I recommend starting off with Alan Aragon's work since he's constantly trying to dismiss the garbage out there.
  • OceansForever
    OceansForever Posts: 221 Member
    Either way, there are many vegan athletes who thrive. Everyone must choose for themselves. Many of our great minds have been vegetarian. To quote Brian Greene(scientist) "vegetarians typically are people who are willing to challenge the usual, accepted order of things. Moreover, they're often people willing to sacrifice their own pleasures in pursuit of what they believe is right. These same qualities are often what's needed to make great breakthroughs in the arts and sciences" to the question of why so many great geniuses have been vegetarian

    lol

    And this is funny why?
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    I always thought people went vegan for an activist cause, not for nutrition.

    In dietary terms humans need essential fatty acids (fat) and essential amino acids (protein/meat), so I wouldn't ever consider it unless they could demonstrate a healthy vegan lifestyle that doesn't require them to take supplements such as B12 (sourced primarily from meat) to thrive.

    Just my opinion.

    Essential fatty acids and essential amino acids are present in plant foods as well as in animals. B12 only has to be supplemented because soil has been so depleted that we as human animals cannot get what we need from it anymore by eating vegetables. Nonhuman animals, however, can still get enough B12 from eating plants. So, B12 only has to be supplemented due to our own misuse of the land (point being that a vegan diet is not inherently flawed, supplementation is only required because of what we have done to the planet).

    To the OP: why not look into following a "plant-based diet"? Obviously meaning your diet is primarily plant-based, but allows you flexibility to eat other things and may help you to stick to plants being the primary focus, rather than feeling you can't stick to an all-plant diet, then leading you to give up altogether and just go back to whatever your typical diet is. Additionally, you avoid issues with terminology (as the above poster noted, the original use of the term "vegan" was to differentiate its ethical focus). Most people who choose the term "plant-based diet" follow that manner of eating for reasons of health.
  • OceansForever
    OceansForever Posts: 221 Member
    I was just curious if anybody out there is vegan or has tried eating a vegan diet? What do you like about it or dislike about it?

    I just posted an entry on my blog about trying to go vegan with a couple recipes I ended up liking. I like the idea of being vegan (health wise), but not sure I could sustain it very long.

    Thoughts?

    Sorry for all the posts. Don't know how to do the multi quote thing :)

    I am eating vegan. To be exact, I am eating a healthy, balanced vegan diet without added oils.

    I was ovo/lacto vegetarian before and wasn't eating very healthy. I was in need of a nutritional balanced diet (as what I was doing was obviously not working for me) when Amazon suggested the book "The go healthy go vegan cookbook" by Dr. Neil Barnard. It is very similar to the Fork over Knives by Dr. Esselstyn. They both promote plant based diet without added oils.

    There are plenty of resources available, such as the 21-Day-Vegan-Kickstart (web site and on facebook). There's also a good blog: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

    Like someone else suggested, there are several vegan/vegetarian groups on MFP worth checking out.

    What I like is that I feel better than I have in a long time. I get plenty of fiber which to me is very important. I've learned that the key for me to avoid eating unhealthy is in eating a very balanced diet that consists of veggies, fruits, legumes, and grain. As long as I make sure I have one of each throughout the day, I do not have any cravings, which is a big plus for weight loss.
    I also like that it is a great excuse not to eat at company functions (pizza, cake, ice cream etc, all the unhealthy stuff).

    What I dislike is that it is difficult to eat out but with planning it is doable, though I don't usually go out much, so I am not completely inconvenienced by it.

    I have very supportive people around me, so it is easy for me in this aspect. Thankfully I have not encountered too many people who question why I do what I do. I firmly believe that choice of food is everyone's personal choice and I don't question it. Unfortunately, there are some people who love to point out how great bacon is blah, blah, blah, though I never questioned them eating it.

    The longer I've been eating vegan, the more I've learned about nutrition and it has helped me eating well.

    Message me if you have questions :)
  • sanjoparolas
    sanjoparolas Posts: 549 Member
    I've transitioned to a plant-based (no animal products) diet with no problems and I have done it for health reasons. This is the decision I came to after doing my own research and experimentation, it is right for me, and no one is going to convince me I am "doing it all wrong." Those kind of statements are good for a laugh though, and laughter is healthy!
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