I want to introduce myself. I am 31 and am on the first week of a strict no animal products diet. I think vegan is the word? I was O/LVeg for nearly a year several years ago, but gave it up. Now for many reasons I am trying it again. I have many questions, but for starters, here are a couple:
1. What is the best/easiest method of transition from omni to vegan? I realize this will vary by individual! I have a habit of reverting if not doing something 100% from the start, so I went cold turkey.
2. How long have you been strict vegan?
3. Links to help with the basics, ie: meal planning, peer support, dealing with cravings?
4. After reading a few posts about why people chose this diet, many were concerned for animals. I chose for 1st: health, 2nd: spiritual reasons, 3rd: animal and environmental welfare.
5.Mobile meal options? I am always on the go, and have difficulty planning ahead for meals at work.

Sorry, I was trying to limit the questions ;)

I am very happy to listen to all advice and experiences from anyone, strict or O/LVeg. I feel very welcome in this community, and am looking forward to sharing with all of you!!

Sean

1. Best way 2 be vegan- look at slaughterhouse photos, do i need 2 say more?

2. about 3 months

3.just google vegan diets

4. animals, health, the fact that i get mega diarea after eating meats

5. just order veggies from a fast food place. (but don't eat the frys)

concise! I like it! As for motivation, I watched a lecture by a Medical Doctor that was Vegan. His name eludes me, (just looked it up: Dr. Michael Klapper, M.D.) but one of the things that really got my attention was his experience of drawing blood from a patient. After letting vial settle for about 1 hour, there was literally thick, greasy sludge that stuck to the vial inside. I know that feeling, "Food Coma" my family jokingly calls it. After asking the patient what he ate prior to the blood draw: Cheeseburger and milkshake. I never would have guessed how immediate and dramatic the evidence would be!! Here is a link to a portion of the interview:

http://www.healthyfoundations.com/klapperinterview.html

Need Real Player to view.

Good night!

Sean

1. What is the best/easiest method of transition from omni to vegan? I realize this will vary by individual! I have a habit of reverting if not doing something 100% from the start, so I went cold turkey.

Go and buy lots of vegan foods - fruits, veggies, nuts, pasta, fake meats, a whole heap of things - then go 100% vegan cold turkey. As long as there's plenty of different things to eat, you should be fine.

jonesing4wind, I'm glad you posted this...you wrote everything that I was going to write, as I was a vegetarian (not vegan) and I'm starting from scratch.

Johann, are you sure that "cold turkey" is the best idea? I say this because that's what I tried the first time I tried to go veggie. Didn't work - I was starving *all the time*, and developed a weird memory disorder besides. I was so scared I went right back to eating meat - fortunately, the memory disorder went away as soon as I did so.

Now I'm taking things more gradually, and my body (and brain) are much happier. No more memory troubles.

I just wanted to say welcome.Im vegetarian not vegan. But i know a good vegan book.
Becomming Vegan By Brenda Davis.

Johann, are you sure that "cold turkey" is the best idea? I say this because that's what I tried the first time I tried to go veggie. Didn't work - I was starving *all the time*, and developed a weird memory disorder besides. I was so scared I went right back to eating meat - fortunately, the memory disorder went away as soon as I did so.

Now I'm taking things more gradually, and my body (and brain) are much happier. No more memory troubles.

Going veg overnight actually works for some people. I think for those who do it, they know what they're doing; they're comfortable in the kitchen and may be cooking partly veg*an already, and they have support from family, friends and others. And yes, there's a lot of emotion tied to going cold turkey (or cold Tofurkey :D ). Those who choose that approach have decided that they can't be anything but vegetarian or vegan from that moment on. They simply cannot go another minute as an omnivore.

But you are right; the gradual approach does have its advantages for many people. It gives them time to educate themselves and get comfortable in the kitchen cooking veg*an meals. That's how I had to do it.

Well, I made it thru my first week!! I am eating lots of salads and fruit, but still like heavier food to feel "full" like falafel and hummus and other bready foods. Will I ever be really satisfied by a strictly live diet? Should I even try? I rushed in to a pretty strict vegan diet, but will take this move pretty slow, if I even decide to try it.... Thanks to you all for the support, both diet and emotional (you know who you are!!) ;)

sean

Lina, why no fries? I heard about Mcdonalds, but everywhere else too?
Larissa, when I gave up meat I went gradual at first, figured I will finish what I have here then start switching over little by little, one night I did a search online for a certain food that contained not so good things, the next day my Mom made ribs, here I was thinkin git could really be the ribs of any animal, thats when I gave it up, righ then and there, no switching, no finishing anything, cold turkey....I felt really weird, weak for a few days, starving all the time, but I had a friend walk me through it, she said you will feel that way for a short tiem but it goes away.
After a few weeks I was fine, no longer starved and my body didnt have that weird feeling anymore. I guess it is a shock to the system.

1. What is the best/easiest method of transition from omni to vegan?

Whatever feels easiest for you will in the end be best. If you rush into it too fast, or in any other way go vegan so that it feels too tough, or impossible, then you'll be more likely to stop. If it takes a longer time to go vegan, but once you're there, you'll stay there longer, then I'd say that is what is best.

2. How long have you been strict vegan?

There's no such term as strict vegan.

4. After reading a few posts about why people chose this diet, many were concerned for animals. I chose for 1st: health, 2nd: spiritual reasons, 3rd: animal and environmental welfare.

Do you mean to say that animal welfare is part of the reason you went vegan, or are you hinting that it wasn't important to you? If the latter, than I suggest you say that you eat a vegan diet, or that you're a strict vegetarian, as an alternative to outrightly calling yourself a vegan. Veganism is not a diet, it's a lifestyle. A vegan would also eschew feathers, leather, and products tested on animals whenever possible, among other things.

If you're eating a vegan diet solely for health reasons, than I would worry about the purity of your diet less than if you're doing it for animal welfare reasons. Not all animal products are terrible dietarily. Certain amounts of eggs and seafood can be incorporated into the diets of most people with benefits to their health.

Welcome to VB and I hope you find what works best for you. :)

Well, I made it thru my first week!! I am eating lots of salads and fruit, but still like heavier food to feel "full" like falafel and hummus and other bready foods. Will I ever be really satisfied by a strictly live diet? Should I even try? I rushed in to a pretty strict vegan diet, but will take this move pretty slow, if I even decide to try it.... Thanks to you all for the support, both diet and emotional (you know who you are!!) ;)

sean
some people do go for a 100% live or raw diet, but I believe you don't have to to be healthy, it's just whatever is right for you and your body. I love :smitten: my bread and houmous and rice and quinoa and beans and ahhhhh :hungry: I shouldn't be writing this when I'm hungry!!!!!!! I still have all my salads and oh so much fruit, but I love the other food too, I think variety is the key.

peasoop, yes, variety is a GOOD thing!!

mikie, I haven't been doing this long enough or done enough reading to grasp the subtler points. Is that the main dif between vegetarian and vegan? I was under the assumption that vegetarian was OvoLacto, and vegan was no animal products at all, but only as far as diet. I see now that may be wrong! Dont get me wrong, animal welfare is important to me, but when I was omni, I had come to terms with the fact that the animals I ate suffered, and made a consious choice to keep doing it. It was not out of ignorance. Now that I have made the choice to not consume animal products(for several reasons), it almost seems a logical next step to live vegan, and not just eat vegan. Thank you for clearing this up!!

Sean

Well, there are many different terms thrown around and everyone has their own view on exactly what they each mean, but I think that most people agree that:

Vegetarian don't eat meat (and many don't use leather or any number of other animals products they might have problems with.)

Some vegetarians eat the diet solely for health reasons, and I think that a good number of the "fish eating vegetarians" fall into this category, which we all know, of course, that if one eats fish, they're not truly vegetarian.

Strict Vegetarians follow a vegan diet, or mainly vegan diet, but not necessarily a vegan lifestyle. I think that mostly vegan-diet-following health-oriented people use this term, but sometimes a person who follows the vegan lifestyle, but occasionally eats small amounts of cheese, or another product, will use this term also.

Vegans don't eat any animal products and tend to follow the motto that "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment."

Level 5 Vegans don't eat anything that casts a shadow.*


* That's a Simpson's joke incase you're unfamiliar

Entertainment? Can you go into a little bit about what that consists of...
I dont eat meat, dont wear fur and dont use products tested on animals.
The only time I use milk or eggs is when it is already an ingredient in a food, other than that I wont make eggs to eat, cant stand the taste, And I never drank milk, again cant stand the taste.
I do have a pet though, is that counted as entertainment? I ask because I have read somewhere that Peta frowns upon that, but yet dont they adopt out animals?

Entertainment? Can you go into a little bit about what that consists of...

I do have a pet though, is that counted as entertainment? I ask because I have read somewhere that Peta frowns upon that, but yet dont they adopt out animals?
What I quoted is PETA's motto (mission statement?) but I think it's a pretty fair representation of the belief of most vegans. Pets would certainly fall into the entertainment category, but I would have to say that many vegans not only like pets, but have pets themselves. So, in regard to why entertainment is included, I think it mainly comes down to circuses, cock/dog-fighting, horse and greyhound races, and for many vegans, animal parks (like Seaworld), and zoos and aquariums (though, I think most people would acknowledge that zoos and aquariums are moving away from entertainment and into preservation and information, so this is fuzzy for some vegans along with pets.)

ETA: I think that PETA's ultimate goal is to remove animals from people's households too, but it's well known that PETA has dogs and cats walking around their headquarters.

Ahhhh I see, I felt the same thing about zoos, then I realized that some of the endangered species are there and its better for them to be in that environment then out there being hunted.
I dont agree with any animal fighting or racing and I am involved in animal rescue.
As far as pets, well, if we didnt domesticate dogs and cats they would just be out there wild and then what...some states are now allowed to hunt cats because there are so many running around that would happen for both dogs and cats. And over the years they have become so domesticated that most wouldnt even know how to survive.
But of course everyone has their opinion.
I have read alot of different things about Peta, some are with them and some against.
I have never been to a circus neither and there is one other thing I hate and I mean I hate this with a passion, horse and carriage rides. I know personally in my city they have them and one night I found where they stored them while they werent working and it was really far form where they were working, those poor horses had to walk up and back and pull people all day long.

Thanks for the enlightenment!!

sean

Welcome!

I don't have a lot of advice other than what was given to you already - have plenty of vegan food around - I'm never hungry or craving non-vegan items because I can always find a substitute if I need to, and otherwise can find plenty of things I like. I don't find it difficult to be a vegan at all. I haven't done a raw food diet - I don't know that it's necessary for health, but I'm not in it for health (mine anyway).

Some organizations I like are www.cok.net (has recipes on their site) and www.veganoutreach.com (the how animals are made into food section is good). Health vegans seem to have a bit harder time maintaining their commitment, so I recommend learning as much as possible about what happens to animals in the food industry - sometimes people find the ethics reason becomes more important the more they know :)

Hi, I'm new too. My friend Eliza has turned me to veggitarism. I've never been a big meat eater, but it is hard for me being the only one in my family who doesnt eat meat. The rents and I argue and they practically make me eat it. Not cool! Well, good luck!

Health vegans seem to have a bit harder time maintaining their commitment.....Some health veg*ns have a hard time maintaining commitment, but not all.

Next month I'll be 4 years as a health veg* and still going quite strong, thanks just the same. :)



*nearly 11, if you count transition time but I tend not to. :)