Anyone tried going vegan?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

There are plenty of plant sources of both essential fatty acids and amino acids. With a modest amount of effort, one can eat a very healthy, well rounded, vegan diet. The only thing you can't get from a vegan diet is B12, and there is evidence that even some meat eaters should take b12 supplements.

Just thought I'd throw my hat (story) into the ring (thread).

I've been eating a "vegan" diet since 11/01/11. I put "vegan" in quotations because my diet is very nearly vegan. The only food I eat that a "Vegan" would not is honey.

Anyway, since that time I have had a few achievements that I'd like to share. I stopped snoring completely the first week of my "mucous free diet". I previously sounded like an oncoming train in my "sleep". My total serum cholesterol now rests at 140, a full 35 points lower than when I started. My blood pressure has returned to 110/70 without any medications (I was previously on a powerful beta-blocker), and last but not least, I've lost 99lbs.

I did not post this story to make anybody mad about vegans or vegetarians, or to directly contradict previous posters, but it is all true. I am definitely an advocate of this lifestyle and I think anybody looking to live a meat-less or at least less-meat lifestyle can do so safely and healthy.

Good luck to you OP! I hope you are able to achieve your goals, whichever way you choose to get there.

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

Speaking of vegan athletes and thriving, Brendan Brazier is a professional triathelete who is vegan . His book, the Thrive Diet, talks about his journey as an athlete and his endeavours to find the optimal diet to fuel your body. He supports a whole foods, plant based diet, which I have been following, for the most part, for the last two months.

http://www.thrivediet.com/

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.

LMGTFY

Jainism, Hinduism (despite that you said some eat meat, vegetarianism is the ideal), Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity (historically), Islamic faiths, Baha'i faith, Rastafarianism, hare krishna. All of these religious groups endorse vegetarianism as the ideal. Obviously, much like other aspects of religion, people often choose differently than the ideal. And, of the vegetarians there are varying amounts of any/all animal products consumed, of course. some have dairy, some don't.

Some of the other pretty prevalent reasons people choose not to eat meat are health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns. There has actually been a lot of awareness brought to the positive effects of a plant based diet on health in the last few years, so a quick google search of "plant strong diet" will give you a rundown. Of course, changing the animal product/vegetable ratio to include more vegetables is beneficial to anyone, even if they still eat a bit of meat.

LMGTFY

I did as well before I said what I did.

Not all Hindus avoid eating meat. A great majority of Hindus eat it. In ancient India even the Brahmins ate certain types of sacrificial meat. Hindu law books do not prohibit the eating of meat in general, but only certain types of meat.

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_food.asp