Vegan Vs. Bacon

You could set yourself to live a vegan lifestyle except for your one treat morning on Sundays.

Or just think, what do you want more? And is the bacon a hindrance to your weight loss?

If you want to go 100% vegan you could tell yourself you're doing it as a trial.. give up the bacon for 1 month and focus on your health... you'll probably find that you don't even want it after that.

I've been vegetarian for a few years now and before that I always thought I could never give up my old fav foods! But now I have new ones and they are much more varied and healthy.

You don't necessarily have to be "vegan" to adopt some of the healthier eating patterns. Just tweak it and make it work in your lifestyle.

Veggie Meat? That stuff's usually worse than real meat health wise, due to the high level of processing and binders and other stuff to make it palatable...

So the veggie police don't hunt me down if I sneak in meat every once in awhile huh? Good to know. My problem is that I have a hubby and to pre-teen boys who've promised to take over the kitchen if I try to push the veggies. Little do they know I've been swapping out the ground meat for veggie meat in the spaghetti for the last month. It makes me laugh a little (on the inside) every time the compliment the dinner.

Bahaha! That's wonderful. I've been pureeing carrots and mixing it in spaghetti sauce for ages (and whatever else I can get away with), and swapped turkey for beef ages ago and hubs never even noticed. He does tell me he doesn't want to eat my "diet" food though haha

<-- eats lots of steak and bacon. Lost 40 lbs.

The key is to eat at a deficit for weight loss but whole quality foods for health. Make sure you eat stuff you like though. Otherwise, you'll be miserable. Example? I hate carrots. I refuse to buy them. I hate them. I also do not like salads much and have only had 3 salads in the last year. I do eat a lot of broccoli, beans, fruit, spinach, fresh lean meats, fresh breads, lots of fresh herbs and spices, etc. I'm very happy with my food choices, and it works for me.

My advice to you would be to go vegan if you want for ethical reasons, but don't do it to lose weight. Being vegan is an entire lifestyle, not a diet plan. Find foods that fit your calorie goals that you enjoy eating.

Also, the whole idea of "unhealthy" food is really debatable. Things are only unhealthy in the context of overall diet intake. For example, eating Big Macs every day is probably not so great for your health, but having one every month or so is generally fine. It's all about context. There are very few things that are strictly unhealthy on their own (trans fats would be one of those).

I ate bacon twice today. It was great.

Oh yeah, also wanted to mention, you don't need to become vegan to eat vegan food. I'm a full on omnivore, but I don't eat meat every day.

Veggie Meat? That stuff's usually worse than real meat health wise, due to the high level of processing and binders and other stuff to make it palatable...

Have to agree with this comment! If your main reason for going vegan is for health, I'd avoid all of that and try to eat lots of protein-rich whole foods such as beans, lentils, quinoa etc.

Otherwise it seems kind of counter-active to me since although probably lower in calories and fat, faux meats have been processed to all hell to get them to look and taste like the real deal.

yep i eat bacon usually twice a week with eggs ( no toast)

lost over 42lb in 14weeks , i eat chocolate too!! lol

So . . . you could just follow a plant-based diet. All around better for you, other animals, and the planet if you make the center of your dishes plants and anything else a side/condiment.

As some have mentioned a vegan-style diet just means not eating animal products & doesn't guarantee you are eating healthier. High Fructose Corn Syrup & Bleached Wheat Flour obviously come from plants but are banes of the average American diet. Cutting out meat isn't bad; but be careful not to replace it with fillers or you may end up worse off than before.

Anyway, as for your question:

My wife & I are in the process of adopting a plant based diet. When we plan meals we go for vegetable/wholegrain based with as much nutritional variety as we can add including many fruits. We dodge refined carbs & sugars whenever possible. But if/when we eat out or go to a friends house we'll still try to eat healthier, but not sweat the details.

I try & live by an "Everything in moderation" philosophy. For the most part you can do/eat just about anything occasionally & in small amounts without much harm. But too much of any one thing can sometimes turn bad even if seems to be a "good" thing.

Your body/health is going to reflect what you eat the majority of the time. If you have 3 meals & 3 snacks a day that's 42 decisions a week. If 1 of those you choose to eat a moderate amount of whatever you want & the other 41 you go with plants, I would bet you'll have no trouble hitting your fitness goals.

So I continue to feel like going vegan is a great way to loose weight and get healthy. I just can't get past the idea of not being able to eat warm chewy maple flavored bacon on Sunday mornings. Thoughts?

you can lose weight and be healthy and eat bacon every sunday morning. all of these things are compatible. going vegan is irrelevant for weight loss and health.

Bacon is one of god's gift to mankind... don't deprive yourself! And really... going vegan won't guarantee weight loss over any other WOE.

So I continue to feel like going vegan is a great way to loose weight and get healthy. I just can't get past the idea of not being able to eat warm chewy maple flavored bacon on Sunday mornings. Thoughts?

Going vegan is no healthier and will not help you lose weight any more than eating a balanced, healthy diet that includes animal products.

Every time I hear the idea that being vegan will = being thin, I have to point out that a vegan can still eat an entire bag of potato chips.

I support being vegetarian (I am one) or vegan, but thinking that it's a magic cure-all is silly. And if you do decide to go vegan, you need to do serious research to make sure you're getting your necessary nutrients. You will probably have to take supplements daily to replace the B vitamins, monitor your iron intake and ensure you're getting WHOLE proteins.