[catsinheat]

i've gone "vegan" for approximately three weeks now, and i'm already feeling SO MUCH BETTER.
i still miss dairy products -- soy chocolate just isn't the same.
but so far, so good.
overall, i think the benefits FAR outweigh the cons.
i've definitely slimmed down, almost without effort (since i don't exercise) and i've got a lot more energy. my skin is clearer.

and no, i don't do it for the politics. i don't approve of animal cruelty, i don't wear leather or fur, but i don't consider myself a true animal activist.

any vegans around here? what was hardest to give up? how long have you been vegan? share!

[Malice_Kaiser]

If you're doing it because of health reasons instead of morals, then I think vegetarianism is healthier...

[vegtansamtof]

I'm vegan.

And to tell you the truth, it doesn't matter for what reasons you do it for because you can be a healthier person while helping the environment and save animals' lives.

I applaud you. :]

[mintcracker]

but how to you get the iron? If you don't consume meat? Or do you eat supplements?

vegans aren't healthy.

[klx13]

Heh, this reminds me of a recent Oprah episode, where she's starting a 21 day vegan cleanse. It seems hard to maintain though. I saw some sample meal suggestions and it seems like mostly tofu/soy products and vegetables. I could live without dairy and red meat, but I still like fish (especially sushi).

For you guys who are vegan, can you give examples of what a typical meal is like? And I have same question as the person before me, do you have to take vitamins and supplements as well?

[catsinheat]

I'm vegan.

And to tell you the truth, it doesn't matter for what reasons you do it for because you can be a healthier person while helping the environment and save animals' lives.

I applaud you. :]

thanks! i agree. i actually hate it when "political" vegans get on their moral high horse and act like their choices in diet/lifestyle somehow make them superior to the masses. but there's no denying that it's healthier for you, so why not?

but how to you get the iron? If you don't consume meat? Or do you eat supplements?

vegans aren't healthy.

easy -- broccoli, spinach, dried beans, etc.

there are no essential nutrients in meat that you can't find in vegetables. i don't take supplements because i don't need to.

i used to be a skeptic myself, but i've found veganism to be a far HEALTHIER lifestyle. red meat is unspeakably bad for you and (organic) soy milk lacks the cholesterol of cow milk.

the people who grow unhealthy while maintaining a "vegan" diet aren't doing it properly. admittedly, planning out your meals properly does take a bit of time and effort, but don't ALL healthy diets? vegan or not?

Heh, this reminds me of a recent Oprah episode, where she's starting a 21 day vegan cleanse. It seems hard to maintain though. I saw some sample meal suggestions and it seems like mostly tofu/soy products and vegetables. I could live without dairy and red meat, but I still like fish (especially sushi).

For you guys who are vegan, can you give examples of what a typical meal is like? And I have same question as the person before me, do you have to take vitamins and supplements as well?

honestly, i didn't suffer nearly as much as i thought i would because there are some pretty convincing soy meat replacements out there. morning star products are awesome (although some of them do contain egg) and tofurkey's not bad either. feeling deprived hasn't been too much of a problem for me because my (also vegan) friend is an amazing baker and can whip up the most incredible vegan cupcakes in the world. really, technology has finally caught up with the lifestyle, so you don't actually "miss out" on too much because there's probably a decent, healthier, vegan-friendly replacement on the market (mustard, butter, mayonnaise ["veganaise"], etc.). and while i'm not a fan of regular soy milk, vanilla soy milk is quite good with cereal.

no supplements for me because, again, there's nothing beneficial in meat or milk that you can't find in vegetables.

i'll admit though, i do miss sushi. i went pescetarian (which is basically vegetarianism with an exception to fish) before finally making the step to veganism. even so, it's a good choice on its own.

[KuYA II]

i'm thinking of sticking to vegan as well. I became a vegan for one week after being a pescetarian for 5 months and I felt so much better. My skin got lighter and my mom would tell me my face glows a lot. I felt so much better about myself and my mind was clear o___o;;.

But then, during my vacation at las vegas, my parents keep pressuring me to eat fish and not do vegan anymore because of it. I also missed sushi too so to make my parents happy i ate a fish. Little did I know it tasted awful, it was plain and it didn't feel the same. I tried later on the next day and ordered fish taco and it taste good, but wasn't the same taste that i enjoyed before.

I also started to realize after eating fish i broke out faster than a speed of light the next day.

Now I started to go back being a vegan and when i did, I felt so much better. For instance, when i came home from my vacation and i stared eating salads, my taste buds were finally back to normal and i started to continue becoming a vegan. Then when my family and I went to california pizza kitchen and i ordered a miso salad (no meat of course), it tasted so much better and my parents keep pestering me again to eat some salmon but i decline. I want to focus being a vegan and going through it 100%.

Seriously though, being a vegan even though it was just for one week changed my life. Eating that fish for one day didn't taste and felt right making my taste buds feel funny.

Besides, there are vegetarian and vegan bodybuilders and they are huge as well. So looking at them inspire me to continue working out and getting big as well. Also, you don't have to worry so much about fat since soy products don't even contain a lot of saturated fat.

[nymph]

there are no essential nutrients in meat that you can't find in vegetables. i don't take supplements because i don't need to.

i used to be a skeptic myself, but i've found veganism to be a far HEALTHIER lifestyle. red meat is unspeakably bad for you and (organic) soy milk lacks the cholesterol of cow milk.

the people who grow unhealthy while maintaining a "vegan" diet aren't doing it properly. admittedly, planning out your meals properly does take a bit of time and effort, but don't ALL healthy diets? vegan or not?

How do you know you're doing it properly?

You can't find vitamin B12 in vegetables

[catsinheat]

Seriously though, being a vegan even though it was just for one week changed my life. Eating that fish for one day didn't taste and felt right making my taste buds feel funny.

congrats! yeah. considering i was practically a carnivore before making the change, i missed meat constantly for a week or so. now i see my friends chowing down on steak or ribs and it doesn't bother me in the slightest bit. i haven't been vegan for too long but i already know it's worth sticking to, probably for the rest of my life.

How do you know you're doing it properly?

You can't find vitamin B12 in vegetables

i've done my research, talked with nutritionists and have several long-time vegan friends to help me along the way, so i think i'm on the right track. there's more to veganism than just "oh, no meat or milk". the switch a wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing either. i made the transition slowly, from pescetarianism to vegetarianism to veganism over the course of four months.

that's true, but there are plenty of vitamin b12 fortified foods on the vegan market (red star yeast, cereals, soy milk, etc.), and you don't need as quite much b12 as other vitamins. :]

[nymph]

You didn't feel healthy enough as a vegetarian?
Just curious

[hiphop]

catsinhead can you recommend books or anything that you researched through before hand when you became a vegan??

You seem so knowledgeable in veganism even though you started for a few weeks.

[maharu.]

My friend became a vegan but I was saying to her I can't haha. I don't like vegetables.
Maybe someone can tell me a enjoyable way to eat vegetables? I want to learn how to eat more vegetables more than eating meat.

[Acedia]

I commend you. Unfortunately though, I don't think veganism works for everyone. S: I tried to follow the vegan lifestyle for a month 'cause my skin was just atrocious but I gained so much weight in the process. I binged on fruits and I still felt hungry afterwards 'cause they didn't fill me up. : | And you might ask, "How can someone gain weight from fruits?!" Let's just say that I spent two hundred bucks every week on fruits alone, not kidding. : \

[bEllAfRESh]

puhahaha! you funny
i loved that thiing you commented about
on vegens on their high horse etc.
puhahaha! seriously though if you were
the type to go, "well im helping animal life
everywhere by being a veg. etc. etc." i woulda
started war against you x] jkjk
anyhow. sooo,, you cant drink milk?
so you cant eat milk chocolate?
doode, thats hardcore, i can live without my
steak for maybe a week but i gotta have some
meat, i love my meat. anyhow im a pretty balanced person
i eat enough veg. to balance how much meat i eat x]
but seriously i could not live without my chocolate

[bloopy_babo]

I am not a vegan but my friend is and veganism is healthy but don't forget you need to have a lot of proteins because my friend the vegan has a hard time with protein because and her hair tends to fall out. Just as long as you make sure you replace all the missing nutrients and vitamins and eat healthily, you will be fine.

[vc1188]

Veganism is only okay (health-wise) if you can find replacements of nutrients found in meat/eggs/dairy/etc. If not, you will be super unhealthy

[rufflezz]

I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan.
My parents tell me to eat fish, so I just do as they ask.
But then I haven't touch meat in a month, and boy did I feel good.

[KuYA II]

^
yeah my parents would pesture me that i should eat fish. Then when my dad saw my acne he was shocked and i told him that it started to sprout out (acne)once i ate the fish. But it does feel good not having it in your system. I applaud you for not eating it for a month i want to do that too =)

Veganism is only okay (health-wise) if you can find replacements of nutrients found in meat/eggs/dairy/etc. If not, you will be super unhealthy

actually based on soy, nuts & seeds, fruits, vegetables, and grains (whole wheat grain, quinoa, millet etc.) contains enough proteins, vitamins, healthy fats that you need. The only thing that we are missing would be vitamin b12 which you can get from vegan supplement or vegetarian multivitamin (the ones that are anti-guletin *i think thats how you spell it*) and vitamin D (which you can get from exposuring yourself from the sun for 10-15 mins or get a vegetarian multivitamin).

[krit]

I've been a vegan, since I was little...

the hardest thing to give up? Ben and jerrys/Häagen-Dazs & cheeze-its. But it wasn't really that hard. there are plenty of other snacks out there and your preferences change

[JellyBean4Micky]

I started being a Vegetarian at 7, and for a whole year,

Which is a huge committment for a child, but I wasn't fully a veggies person. You see I didn't know eggs were animals. [Yes; I know shoot me] My mom was very sneaky, not very supportive of my lifestyle. Had to find out the hard way. [Different story!]

I myself love eggs and milk, I moved on to (Organic)silk and 2%, but I still consume a lot of it. Yogurt too!

I never could give it all up, but meat? I never have cravings for it like I do when it comes to carrots and corn.. and fruits.

But for that whole year I didn't touch meat, and I tried tofu for the first time. I don't know what trigger it. I was a weird kid.