A couple of months ago I went vegetarian overnight- I didn't eat very much meat before that though, so I found it relatively easy. My plan was to gradually go vegan, but it's just not working. Now, I know there are other people on here just like me who want to go vegan, but have been having a hard time... so...does anyone want to go vegan with me tomorrow (no turning back!)?

hey, good job on wanting to become vegan! Unfortunatly, I can't go vegan with you, I just dont have the will power I lover diary too mcuh, and I figure being vegetarian is enough. BuT. I totally wish you good luck.:pibo:

So, congratulations. I've also been vegetarian for a while (minus a few slip ups), and have been trying to go vegan. I finally went completely vegan a few days ago, but would love to go for it with you. Well, so far completely vegan in diet, at least, besides the trace ingredients I am still working on. It would be awesome to have someone to communicate with, as I have found it a little trying so far. Let me know how tomorrow goes for you!

I do! I'm finally done with dorm life and will have more control over what I'm eating - like you I've been trying for a while but had many disappointing slip-ups. I'm definitely ready to go cold tofurkey. :vebo:

~Hannah

Count me in!! I have been real close for a while but have just not taken the final step. Now seems good to me!!!!:hamster:

Good luck everyone! :)

So... did you guys do it? Hehe, I have to admit, I really wanted some cheese, but I'm like, no! I really don't want it! Now that I've gotten through one day, veganism for the rest of my life seems acheivable. And hey, I figure if I really want to give up dairy and eggs (and other non-vegan things) this shouldn't be as hard as I'm making it out to be. Knowing that three other people were doing it with me, even though I have no idea who you guys are, made it a lot easier!

I managed another vegan day, but not a very healthy one. Hmm maybe tomorrow.

So... did you guys do it? Hehe, I have to admit, I really wanted some cheese, but I'm like, no! I really don't want it! Now that I've gotten through one day, veganism for the rest of my life seems acheivable. And hey, I figure if I really want to give up dairy and eggs (and other non-vegan things) this shouldn't be as hard as I'm making it out to be. Knowing that three other people were doing it with me, even though I have no idea who you guys are, made it a lot easier!

I made it! I've had vegan days before though, but they're usually followed by very un-vegan days. So I don't think I'm in the clear yet - but I totally agree that having others along for the journey is so helpful! Yay for the internet. :guitar:

~Hannah

I have to admit, I really wanted some cheese, but I'm like, no!


I just wanted to add that cheese was the HARDEST for me to give up since cheese, chocolate, and peanut butter (not together!) have always been what I crave the most. But, instead of having cheese I would mash up an avocado or have peanut butter or I have even attempted some of the mock "cheese" recipes on this site and elsewhere. The avocados might have made me gain a couple of pounds (I would have one a day probably :lick: ) but I could use it anyways!

So... it's been another day, and I totally did it. And I'm not missing anything at all. When I crave dairy, it's usually because I just want something creamy or thick, so I just have some peanut butter or some vegan chocolate cookies I made (which are very good, by the way. You should make them!). What's helped me is that instead of looking back and thinking, I want cheese again! I think forward about all of the vegan items I really want to try. I still haven't found tahini (where in the world do I buy it?) or made hummus, or even eaten an avocado. And there are so many good recipes out there that I really don't feel deprived. So uh, how have you guys been holding up?

I reveganized this week, too, and I'm still going strong. Yay for being vegan! :hamster:

Congrats to all you vegans! Good going :) :vebo:

I'm going strong here at home - heading back to school today though for the week before graduation, that's where it gets hard. I'll be good though!! :whip:

Congrats to all of you for going vegan. I know that things like cheese and milk chocolate are hard to give up, but my advise is to find vegan verisons that work for you. That taste close enough to what you like, then the transition might be easier.

Woohoo! Vegan for almost five days... though I have to admit there were a couple small non-vegan ingredients in some chips I ate, and I know my mother put butter in the hot vegetables the other day without telling me (uck!)... so I guess for now I'm a strict vegetarian? Well, it doesn't matter, because I don't think I've ever went this long without *trying to eat* dairy my whole life. I really don't miss it, either, because yesterday I tried some BBQ tofu, and today I had the BEST soy smoothie ever, and I'd rather have them than cheese any day :) So, hannahbanana, slaite1, chiaraluna, and deb9017, how are you guys doing?

Doing pretty good - I definitely slipped up a bit last night....I was ::ahem:: slightly intoxicated, and the bar I was at had bowls of snack/chip mix on every table. I tried to just go for the pretzels and regular tortilla chips, but it was dark and I definitely had a few cheesy things as well. I felt pretty nauseous after, although I guess the source of that is debatable!

Other than that I've been golden.

Still doing good. I basically cut out all meat, eggs, dairy, and am going through products I already had that have trace amounts of dairy. I've also been looking for vegan alternatives to junk food. I have to say, I absolutely love Food Fight Grocery. Everything chocolate they have is awesome. Whole Foods also has these bakery choco chip cookies that are great. I only let myself buy three, though, bc I knew I would eat them all, lol. As soon as I go through all the food I have, and get into a "vegan habit" I'm going to start working on my non-food products.

Hmm... So I've been entering my food into Fitday pretty religiously, and I'm doing well on almost everything. It seems I am consistently low on zinc, calcium, B12(but I take a supplement for it), and vitamin D, though. I'm often low on selenium, too. I take a multivitamin as well as the B vitamins, but would like to get most of my nutrients from my food. Any suggestions?

I'd like to jump on the vegan bandwagon, but I forsee difficulties. I thought my wife was going to at least go as far as vegetarian, but she told me today she didn't think she could give up meat. :(

I still want to do this, and I'm not going to buy any more meat products. I hope it's not cheating, but I still plan to eat whatever we have at the house. I don't want to waste it. I'm just not going to buy any more. I'll phase veggie products in when I go to the store.

I just wonder how this is going to work out since I don't think my wife will join me. I have her support in my decision, but it'd be nicer if she'd join me. Even if it was only as far as vegetarian.

IMO, there really is no "cheating", it is all personal. Eating the rest of the products is better than throwing them away, or, you could just leave it for your wife to eat. I feel for you. I still live at home (my bf lives with me, too), and I am the only one who does not eat meat. Luckily, though, I cook, a lot! So, it is not really much of an issue. It would be so much easier, though, if every time I opened the fridge it was filled with only vegan stuff.

For you and your wife, I would recommend that you just offer to do a lot of the cooking, since you are the one changing your diet (this way you don't have to make two meals). There are plenty of delicious vegan foods that you can make, and I am sure she will enjoy. If she really wants meat :spew: (or dairy or whatever) during your meals, she can just cook some herself to add to whatever you make. This situation is pretty common, actually (at least it seems to be from what I've read on numerous forums). I think the real idea is compromise. As long as you willing to take on the task of cooking, your wife probably won't mind eating vegan at home (or at least meals you share). My bf (and whole family) love their meat, but they still eat what I make. And it seems your wife has at least been considering vegetarianism, so it could be a big step for her to not eat meat at home, it might even change her mind.

I just had a chat with her about it, and it seems she misunderstood what I wanted from her. She's ok with the idea of becoming a vegetarian, but she won't give up her dairy. That's fine with me.

As for cooking, while I think I'm a decent cook, I'm generally not motivated enough to do it. I tend to use the microwave if I need to cook at all. If I happen to discover something in this lifestyle that I really enjoy, but requires cooking, I could probably persuade myself to do it.

I thought about what I said earlier about eating what we already have, and now I'm reluctant to do so. I really want to feel like I'm progressing to a vegetarian lifestyle and I don't think I am if I continue to eat meat, even if I plan to supplement it with vegan products.

That's awesome that your wife IS going vegetarian! Even though she will be eating dairy, your life just got a lot easier (very jealous:brood: ). Luckily for you most vegan food doesn't need a lot of cooking (beyond throwing ingredients in a bowl or something). I think the raw food forum would be of interest to you, if you haven't discovered it already.

For the food you already have, I'm sure you could donate it or give it away. I felt the same way as you when I went veg*n. I wanted to just immerse myself in the food, items, etc. Once I made the decision, it just felt weird to eat meat. Oh, apparently there's a vegan cookbook for students, which has very simple recipes that, I think, can be microwaved. I know I saw it on this forum. If noone else jumps in with a title, I'll try to find it and post it later.

Hmm... So I've been entering my food into Fitday pretty religiously, and I'm doing well on almost everything. It seems I am consistently low on zinc, calcium, B12(but I take a supplement for it), and vitamin D, though. I'm often low on selenium, too. I take a multivitamin as well as the B vitamins, but would like to get most of my nutrients from my food. Any suggestions?

You can get all of your selenium from one brazil nut per day. Spending aprox 20 minutes outside in the sun 3x per week takes care of your vitamin D. Nutritional yeast is great for B12. I don't care for the flavor so I put it in things where I won't taste it. Good sources of zinc are wheat germ, adzuki beans, almonds and sunflower seeds. As for calcium, I usually don't get my RDA every day but I've read that the US RDA is a bit high unless you're pregnate or lactating. I also eat a cliff bar every day which provides a lot of these.

I also want to encourage everyone who is trying to go vegan. Remember, dairy has highly addictive qualities so it will take a few weeks for the cravings to subside. However if you don't cave to the cravings, they will go away and eventually milk and cheese will sound as horrible to you as eating meat does now. If you're having trouble fighting off a craving just think about the blood and pus you'll be consuming, that always worked for me :yes: .

You can get all of your selenium from one brazil nut per day. Spending aprox 20 minutes outside in the sun 3x per week takes care of your vitamin D. Nutritional yeast is great for B12. I don't care for the flavor so I put it in things where I won't taste it. Good sources of zinc are wheat germ, adzuki beans, almonds and sunflower seeds. As for calcium, I usually don't get my RDA every day but I've read that the US RDA is a bit high unless you're pregnate or lactating. I also eat a cliff bar every day which provides a lot of these.

I also want to encourage everyone who is trying to go vegan. Remember, dairy has highly addictive qualities so it will take a few weeks for the cravings to subside. However if you don't cave to the cravings, they will go away and eventually milk and cheese will sound as horrible to you as eating meat does now. If you're having trouble fighting off a craving just think about the blood and pus you'll be consuming, that always worked for me :yes: .

Dairy is addictive? Wow, I had no idea! This should be interesting then.

I just went to the store last night and went crazy, yet I still didn't spend as much as I thought I would. I think I'm going to have to compromise a bit on my goal, partly because I'm still learning what has dairy ingrediants, and partly because of my wife. Once we're both comfortable with this I can work on avoiding the dairy stuff. It was so tempting to just leap straight into veganism. I kept wanting to steer clear of anything with milk or cheese in it.

I'm glad to say that I tried hummus and liked it. The roasted garlic flavor, anyway. :D Haven't tried soy milk yet, but I bought original and vanilla flavor. I saw chocolate too, but our refridgerator is jammed full at the moment, so it's probably just as well I didn't get that too.