Anyone going vegan?!

[Moechalatte]

:hi:
Hey all! I've only been a member of VB for a couple of weeks now, so I don't know how everything works yet.... but I remember seeing an old forum when I first joined about a bunch of people trying to go vegan together... and I'd really like to do that, if anyone would be interested??

I'm still in school, work three jobs, and between the boyfriend and kitties I don't have much time nor money to go all-out vegan this second... but I'd like to start transitioning to vegan little by little, as much as I can, right now. I went vegan over-night a few years ago, and now that I know how difficult it was for me then (I was obsessed with cheese), I'm a little discouraged this time around. I keep making up excuses about why I can't do it today, or all the problems it'll cause that I remember so well from before... but I'm finally really sick of feeding myself excuses - I'd really like to go for it, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it alone...

I don't have any support from friends or family here (except my on-his-way to vegetarian boyfriend who still eats chicken... no good), so it'd be really nice if a couple people here at VB would want to join in and try to do this together, as kind of a support system? It would really mean a lot to me, and I know it would help so so much. VB has already helped me become a much stronger vegetarian, so I figure if anyone can help me get reach vegan, it's you guys... :)

*sigh* So I guess I'm begging... :o Any takers?

[Bonoluvr]

I would love to try, but I am such a cheese addict I dont know if i can do it. I just cant wrap my brain around pizza without cheese,but i feel like i really want to, just dont know if i would be successful.

[Keelin]

I'm a fairly recent vegan convert who'd be more than interested in a support group-type deal, hehe. I might be able to answer some questions, as well, since I've been vegan for a couple of months now (time flies!).

[troub]

I'm convinced that cheese is addictive.

When I went vegan I had major withdrawl, the smell of pizza was unbearable. There were a few times I wanted to cheat *just a little* since I had just went less then a week before, but I am glad I didn't. You just have to get over that withdrawl hump and your good to go!

After a few weeks the withdrawl subsided and now I don't even consider cheese as food anymore.

[Dirty Martini]

I found the only way to really be happy being vegan was to eat a lot of high-fat and calorie-dense foods, which I have a really, really hard time doing.

Otherwise, without the rich foods, I was hungry. All the time. So, that's my advice. Eat a lot of nuts, avocados, bananas, oils, and other various dense/rich foods. It's a lot easier that way.

(as an aside, I am not vegan anymore because I was going bonkers. It was mentally straining. So take my advice with a grain of salt - though I do think that fat is a very important part of feeling satisfied and relieving hunger.)

[Moechalatte]

I would love to try, but I am such a cheese addict I dont know if i can do it. I just cant wrap my brain around pizza without cheese,but i feel like i really want to, just dont know if i would be successful.

That's what I thought the first time I went vegan a while back... It was soo hard for a long time... but then I eventually got to the point where if I did try to cheat and eat some cheese, I'd get really sick - and learned my lesson quick!

I agree with Troub, it really is addicting, and I really wish I hadn't started eating dairy again... I still look at cheese and icecream and all that and want to hurl... but ten minutes later I'll have nachos in the microwave... and then feel horribly guilty after I've eaten it... I do want to get back to that point where cheese isn't even food anymore :(

By the way, on the topic of pizza! I've recently discovered how wonderful pizza can be without cheese! I tried a vegan pizza this past weekend that had artichoke, peppers, spinach and olives... I think that's it, not a lot on it, with tomato sauce, and it was really the best pizza I've ever had! (And the best pizza I'd ever had before that was a triple-cheese with cheese crust... a big difference! :) )

Yea... I can't guarantee I'll be successful either, especially not at first, but I'd still love to try. I'm much more stressed out now feeling so guilty about not trying to go vegan than I ever was when I was trying to go vegan originally...

[Moechalatte]

I found the only way to really be happy being vegan was to eat a lot of high-fat and calorie-dense foods, which I have a really, really hard time doing.

Ah, yea, I actually made that mistake when I went vegan before... I gained 20-30 pounds because all I ate was tons of pasta and sugary canned fruit, and always hungry from eating the wrong things. I'm determined to eat right this time! :)

[Dirty Martini]

I should rephrase that -- I don't have a hard time eating high-fat foods in that I can't eat them. :p I just wanted to do things right but would do the "eat well then binge" cycle because I wanted to be so healthy. Totally backfired.

[Gita]

Why do you need money to go Vegan? I thought it would be cheaper than Vegitarian-- if you only went whole foods and "basics." I have been transitioning from O/L to More Vegitarian but I am still not totally intrested in ingredients, so I don't know if I would make a good Vegan.

[troub]

I've recently discovered how wonderful pizza can be without cheese!

I LOVE vegan pizza. Both homeade and the ones they make at WholeFoods. Every other time I go there I order me up a wholewheat vegan pizza with tomatoes/peppers/pineapple. mMMMmmmmmm

[Ethos]

I normally make pizzas at home it is simple self raising flour with warm water

[karenlovessnow]

... I do want to get back to that point where cheese isn't even food anymore :(
...

I've been off dairy for nine months and haven't reached that point quite yet. It's getting better but I still miss it. :(

I feel like people who have given up smoking for years and say they still 'crave' it.

[Ethos]

plus herbs for taste salt and pepper etc, then just thow peppers sundried toms soy bacon and olive oil. You can also get some wicked soy cheese

[Ethos]

I am not completely vegan but avoid milk and cheese. I feel so much cleaner i.e. my digestive system!! I guess you just need to make sure you keep up your B12 etc and eat healthy. 'Amy's Pizza's' are amazing they have a cheese free pizza you can buy from health food shops.

[Shantih]

When I went vegan I made sure I had loads of replacements - not just milk and butter, but cheese, icecream, chocolate, that sort of thing. I didn't even eat a lot of that, I found it quite easy to switch to eating much more basic foods - most of my dinners are made from scratch, but I'd definately try using some of those when you're starting out, it makes the change easier.


I haven't found it problematic moneywise, when things are tight my nearest supermarket has its own value brand of soy milk and butter that are amazingly cheap :lol:

[Rotting]

I've been moving towards veganism this past several months. If I don't buy another box of tea w/ honey I think will be technically there, but I am not worrying about labeling myself vegan. Without a label any slip up should be easier to deal with. If you find yourself in a situation in which you have a slice of cheese pizza - it's okay - you are not a vegan, but you still should be able to keep your goal (being vegan) in mind.
Also, post here a lot. Veggie boards is great support.

[troub]

get some Soy Dream, or Rice Dream

it will make you forget all about icecream.

[Moechalatte]

Why do you need money to go Vegan? I thought it would be cheaper than Vegitarian-- if you only went whole foods and "basics." I have been transitioning from O/L to More Vegitarian but I am still not totally intrested in ingredients, so I don't know if I would make a good Vegan.

I live in nowheresville, Georgia. We have no restaurants or food stores that sell anything close to veg*an (we do have an "Herb Shop," but it's mostly... herbs, which I grow anyway). To be vegan and still eat healthy food, I have to drive an hour away or order online - both expensive choices on my budget :(

[Moechalatte]

... I guess you just need to make sure you keep up your B12 etc and eat healthy...

I've heard a lot about B12 since joining VB... Can I get this from my garden? I don't want to take supplements for anything.

Yea, so someone (Troub, I think..?) posted about soy icecream and stuff like that... I still haven't gotten to the point where I really like that stuff since getting rid of it last time, BUT I got just got a job at Mc.Donalds to help pay the bills and it really has me craving those horrible icecream sundaes! Arggg, I hate that place... but anyway, thank you for that suggestion. That will make things a little easier for a while I think, when I feel like cheating :)

[Moechalatte]

Ah, yea it was you - thank you! My next check is going to soy dream!

[ReginaCeltarum]

I am trying little by little to mostly buy vegan stuff when I go to whole foods. I buy a lot of Amy's stuff, because it says if it is vegan right on it near the ingradients, and I really don't cook from scratch, living in a dorm. I am trying to avoid cheese, because I just recently learned about rennet, so I buy veggy singles, which aren't vegan because they have casein, but sometimes I buy the vegan ones if Whole Foods has them.

I hope to get to the point that everything I buy is vegan, but it probably won't stick anytime soon to eating out. But the main problem with that is cheese for me too. If I go to an italian restaurant that has cheese tortellini or ravioli, it's mine. I really don't eat out often at all though.
It won't stick either to going home and eating non-vegan stuff my parents have. At least not in the immediate future. I also can't resist fresh mozzarella and tomato with basil. I had that last time I was home, even though I knew I told myself to start laying off the cheese. I am really not sure I can take non-cheese pizza also. I think there would at least have to be vegan cheese on it.

But the last few times I went shopping all the Amy's stuff i got was vegan, and i use mac and chreese instead of mac and cheese.

[tammay]

I found the only way to really be happy being vegan was to eat a lot of high-fat and calorie-dense foods, which I have a really, really hard time doing.



Well, not necessarily :D. I've been vegan for about a month now and I'm actually eating less fat than I was when I was an lacto-ovo vegetarian. I've found the trick for me is to make veggies, legume, and protein-based foods (like tofu, veggie "crumble" and TVP) my main staples. Since I did lowcarbing for years as a carnivore, I got used to eating lots of protein and even though I'm eating less protein now and certainly more carbs, I'm keeping to whole grains only and fruit as carbs and filling the rest of my menu with veggies, legume, and proteins and I'm not finding myself hungry (unless I do something idiotic like I did today, like wait to have lunch until I was starving!).

Tam

[courgette]

Hey Moe, I have been a practicing vegan since last Sunday. I decided I was going to try to eat vegan for just one day. Then next day I decided to try it again....and so on and so forth. I feel pretty committed to veganism now, but I don't plan to beat myself up if I wander back into eating dairy and eggs (however, I really can't imagine consuming dairy again...I have been doing some serious reading and thinking)

Anyway, all that to say this...you do what you can when you can. You are doing a good job already...give yourself credit for that. You keep up the good work and someday you will be where you want to be. :yes:

[Moechalatte]

Hey Courgette - I remember reading a post you wrote somewhere else about going vegan for just a day, then sticking with it. I thought that was so neat when I read that!

I think that's a great idea... I'm thinking of trying to go every day from here on out with only one serving of dairy at most... does that seem like a lazy way to do it? I wan't to get rid of dairy completely eventually, so I don't want one serving of dairy a day to make that harder rather than easier... It worked for me last time just dropping all dairy overnight, but if there's an easier way I'd really like to try it this time around...

[Poppy]

[QUOTE=Moechalatte]I'm thinking of trying to go every day from here on out with only one serving of dairy at most... does that seem like a lazy way to do it? QUOTE]

You do it anyway you want! It sounds like a good plan - I wish you the very best of luck!