Answers from Vegans??

[pitchik]

Give me an example of your diet for a day. I am wondering, I have heard once you go vegan, you feel so much better. And I have thought about it however, I am wondering, a true vegan doesnt consume dairy, cheese, milk, so so much, how do you cut out all that and stay healthy? I mean, then a salad is just rabbit food w/out cheese and stuff. And protein? What is your protein substitue and how much?

 

[nothankyou]

I'm not really a vegan, just vegetarian. But I did try it for a month and a half and foun dit extremely hard. You feel lighter and better, you are more energetic (that is if you eat properly) as your body doesn't have any problem digesting what you eat. Soy products, beans, nuts, some grains, other vegetables are high in protein. There are a lot of vegan cheeses, and even meats available these days (can't say that it's the healthiest thing on the market, just an option). I tried it and found it too much of a hustle, too many poducts contain milk and eggs. Eating out seems like a pain in the ass instead of a night out. You have to learn to cook vegan recipes, otherwise you will be constantly hungry. You have to make sure you get all the things you need as iron defficiency and B12 defficiency are very common, if you don't get enough protein, your hair and skin start looking dull. I didn't las tlong, because it seemed that 24/7 I was worried about what to eat and what not to eat, if I'm getting enough. It's not a life when you constantly have to think about food, and from my personal opinion is the other extreme of the lifestyle. Vegeterianism works for me, as I don't have to try hard, I feel light, get enough of everything, have enough energy, feel great, love what I eat. Hope it helped, but it's only a personal opinion and experience. If you give it a try maybe you'll feel different about it.

 

[pitchik]

What is the difference. Sorry but I didnt pick it up in your post Vegan is all the way? And vegetarian is just no meats?

 

[milew66623]

Vegetarians will eat dairy, and some eat fish, or eggs(which is BS). Vegans won't eat anything that came from a living thing at all. Not even a chocolate bar with dairy in it! I think they fail to realize plants are living things. They might not have eyes but the are alive. Grass and dirt is what they eat.

JK

 

[dogged]

During my teen years, I was a vegan for 1 year and a vegetarian for 7. Being a vegetarian was do-able, being vegan (in the South) was near impossible. I won't bore you with all the details--but there are non-dairy options to ice cream, cheese, sour cream, milk and so on but none of them (minus some of the ice cream which was OK in its own way) are comparable to the real thing, IMHO. Protein sources come from nuts, beans, tofu and other soy products.

Thanks to my Cuban friends, I now eat meat on a regular basis. For the record, I still also eat some meat substitute that are just plain tasty and healthy. But If I was a betting woman, I would say that most people that feel a remarkable change after going vegan probably had some underlying intolerance or allergy to animal products. Just a hunch. Personally, I didn't feel all that great as a vegan. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

My last beef (horrible pun intended)... Vegan food options or substitutes can be pricey and hard to find, at least in these parts. If I was going to make a change in my diet, I would opt to spend my money supporting local farmers and butchers and getting good "home grown" meat/dairy.

 

[pitchik]

I only ask because I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Know what i mean? Maybe I dont need to go vegan, or complete vegetarian, but should lean towards a more veggie diet. I eat lotsa veggies now, but also lotsa cookies, maet, fried, fast food. I dont have a weight problem, lol I cant gain a pound if you stapled it to me-so I dont watch what I eat.

Im just seriously looking at my health these days.

 

[dogged]

I hear ya, pitchik. I've been doing a lot of the same. I've experienced a big change by cutting out fast food and processed carbohydrates/refined sugars. I've added a lot of whole grain, lean meats, eggs and more veggies to the roster.

But everyone's different and I'm still tweaking my own diet. I hope you find something that works for you! If you do, please share it!

 

[Michele]

I've changed alot in my diet too. I feel so much better. My diet was never really bad, but I just polished it up a bit.

 

[milew66623]

I only ask because I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Know what i mean? Maybe I dont need to go vegan, or complete vegetarian, but should lean towards a more veggie diet. I eat lotsa veggies now, but also lotsa cookies, maet, fried, fast food. I dont have a weight problem, lol I cant gain a pound if you stapled it to me-so I dont watch what I eat.

Im just seriously looking at my health these days.

You don't have to give up meat products to not feel "sick and tired" Just cut out the cookies and everything else that you know is not good for you. Sounds like you know what you are doing wrong, if it isnt easy to stop the way you are eating now, it will be even harder to only eat veggie food.

 

[nothankyou]

Vegetarians will eat dairy, and some eat fish, or eggs(which is BS). Vegans won't eat anything that came from a living thing at all. Not even a chocolate bar with dairy in it! I think they fail to realize plants are living things. They might not have eyes but the are alive. Grass and dirt is what they eat.

JK

Most of Vegans don't consume animal based products (not things that came from living things), some do it for health reasons, some as a way to self control, others do it as a protest against meat market.
How's eating fish, dairy or eggs BS?

pitchik:

Semi-Vegetarian- are usually those that eat fish, or those that eat chicken, some consume meat, but very rarely (it's just a label)
Vegetarian - those that consume dairy and egg products (sometimes also refferred as Lacto-Ovo Vegeterians)
Lacto-Vegeterians - those that cosume dairy products, but avoid eggs (usually due to allergies)
Ovo-vegeterians those that cosume eggs, but avoid dairy products (usually due to lactose intolerance)
Vegans or sometimes also Vegeterians - those that do not consume any animal based products, some won' touch it, some won't even buy anything that may contain animal products like leather, certain cosmetics, even photo-paper and film as it contains gelatin derrived from animals.

I consider myself Lacto Ovo Vegeterian, as I do consume dairy and egg products. Both my parents are vegeterians, my brother is the only one that consumes meat products (usually outside of the house). We do buy raw meat for the dogs on regular basis. Usually even becoming vegeterian leads to other healthy choices, as you are more aware of what's on the market (you don't have to be a vegeterian to be healthy). I see nothing wrong with consuming meat and fish, as long as it's not on daily basis, and it is actual meat. I do not consider store bought burgers and sausages anything close to healthy, as they contain god knows what, and sometimes I even doubt there are still traces of meat in those things. (I have nothing against home made products, that YOU yourself make at home, however it is not the case with the majority of population). Even a good chunk of meat has a good chunk of hormones in it (say much less than 50 years ago), but then you have to be aware of the pesticides, herbicides used on your fruits and vegetables, even GMO products. So you have two know both sides of the story before you choose what's right for you.

Of course ideally, you'd be eating clean greens and clean meat.
But sometimes the choices are not between bad and good, but between bad or worse, or good and better. In this case between GMO products full of pesticides, or meat that was fed GMO products full of pesticide and then pumped with hormones and antibiotics, so they would be 'meatier and have no problem digesting those GMO products, especially corn, which is often fed to cattle (when it is not their natural food). Mind of you most of the milk and eggs contain the same hormones (guess where it comes from), but sometimes even cutting down on those products helps.


Again you have to remember that not all vegeterians are healthy, as some will not eat meat, but will consume bread, and cakes, and sweet stuff 24/7 ,not enough fruits and veggies, and end up looking like balloons in a matter of weeks. So whether you decide to go vegeterian or keep eating meat, as long as you make healthiest choices, you should be fine. If you do decide to go vegeterian, do a lot of research (www.goveg.com) is pretty good for fome information, but there are plenty of sites all over the net.

---------- Post added at 02:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 PM ----------

I do agree with dogged and milew, try cutting down on processed carbs and refined sugars, see how you feel

 

[PitPop82]

Veganism is totally unnatural. My two cents.

 

[milew66623]

How's eating fish, dairy or eggs BS?

If you are a vegetarian? It is meat, chicken, fish, seafood, etc all have eyes, hearts, brains, no matter how tiny. People that are "vegetarian" and eat fish, chicken, etc are not vegetarian IMO. That is how it is BS. If all you eat is fruit, grain, vegetables, but you eat fish, and eggs, then you are just someone who eats minimal animal products and not a vegetarian

 

[pitchik]

I see. Thanks guys. I just need to make better choices. My number one peeve is being hungry. Dont know why, I have always ben that way. I cannot stand to go hungry, not in the least. At the first growl in mystomache comes food! To me, starving is the cruelish mosthorrible way to die! So with that view-I eat alot. I must have a hell of a metabolism, as I dont gain weight. I smoke as well, and I know that needs to stop-but that helps with my weight as last time I quit I gained 45 lbs!!!

This weekend, I am going to make a difference. With everything, eating, exercising, and I have got to find a way to stay motivated!

Thanks for the info. I have alot to consider with all the info

 

[Jelet]

I only ask because I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Know what i mean? Maybe I dont need to go vegan, or complete vegetarian, but should lean towards a more veggie diet. I eat lotsa veggies now, but also lotsa cookies, maet, fried, fast food. I dont have a weight problem, lol I cant gain a pound if you stapled it to me-so I dont watch what I eat.

Im just seriously looking at my health these days.

you dont need to go vegan to be healthy. Meat is not the problem. PRoblem is, lots of people who have meats, eat the unhealthy meats. ---- I say this Because the best diet includes meats (lean meats, not the greasy fatty meats and such.).

And Just cut out the fast food, cookies, soda, and fried foods and learn how to read food labels properly.

Reading Nutritional Lables For Bodybuilding

and do some exercise. and try to quit smoking.

 

[Michele]

you dont need to go vegan to be healthy. Because the best diet includes meats (lean meats, not the greasy fatty meats and such.). Just cut out the fast food, coookies, and fried foods and learn how to read food labels properly.

Reading Nutritional Lables For Bodybuilding

and do some exercise. and try to quit smoking.

I agree

I stopped smoking a couple of years ago. Then, I started preparing my meals a little differently. I try to use only olive oil when I fry, which is not often. Instead of frying chicken cutlets, I bake them. They taste just as good.

I eat more fish now. You can do so much with fish. Fish tacos, fish stew, etc...
You don't have to change alot to eat healthy.

Also, if you don't do outdoor grilling, invest in an indoor grill and start grilling.

 

[nothankyou]

If you are a vegetarian? It is meat, chicken, fish, seafood, etc all have eyes, hearts, brains, no matter how tiny. People that are "vegetarian" and eat fish, chicken, etc are not vegetarian IMO. That is how it is BS. If all you eat is fruit, grain, vegetables, but you eat fish, and eggs, then you are just someone who eats minimal animal products and not a vegetarian

Ok I understood what you meant, vegeterian, semi-vegeterian, they are just labels. Sometimes those labels are there for the purpose of generalizing. And it's much easier to say that you are a vegeterian, and people will not bother you if you don't want to eat something, rather than giving them an hour long explanation about how you don't eat all animal products, just some. (Think of 'pit bull', it became a label, in most cases it doesn't go into detail, it just describes a stocky, powerful dog and to everyone it's a different thing).

Fish - I agree with.
But eggs that we eat, are unfertilized, which means they are not really babies, they are just that, eggs. they don't have tiny hearts, brains, eyes. They are animal products, but they do not hurt the animal if that's what you are arguing. So they are not much different than milk that just comes out of an animal, or honey. Forgot to mention that vegans don't consume honey.

 

[Galadriel]

I grew up vegetarian, gave it up when I was about 16. In our house, being vegetarian meant we didn't eat meat...of any kind. We did eat milk based foods, like cheese, yogurt, ice cream. We ate eggs, with the exception of my mother, who is allergic. Our diet was very well rounded, actually, and I don't remember every really being sick. I've had more colds since I started eating meat for sure! We took daily supplements just to make sure we were getting our daily intakes.
My Mom has been vegan for several years now, and the woman is healthy as a horse. She eats NO animal products.
I wouldn't suggest making the switch from your current diet right into being a vegetarian or vegan. It would likely do more harm than good. There is definitely no harm in reducing the amounts of "bad" meats (as jelet) suggested, though.

 

[milew66623]

Ok I understood what you meant, vegeterian, semi-vegeterian, they are just labels. Sometimes those labels are there for the purpose of generalizing. And it's much easier to say that you are a vegeterian, and people will not bother you if you don't want to eat something, rather than giving them an hour long explanation about how you don't eat all animal products, just some. (Think of 'pit bull', it became a label, in most cases it doesn't go into detail, it just describes a stocky, powerful dog and to everyone it's a different thing).

Fish - I agree with.
But eggs that we eat, are unfertilized, which means they are not really babies, they are just that, eggs. they don't have tiny hearts, brains, eyes. They are animal products, but they do not hurt the animal if that's what you are arguing. So they are not much different than milk that just comes out of an animal, or honey. Forgot to mention that vegans don't consume honey.

I understand, I for one don't understand those who do not eat dairy products, and the so called "die hard" vegetarians that act better, but they will eat fish and some will eat chicken and claim to be vegetarian. I have a lot of vegan friends and I couldn't imagine eating like that forever.

 

[dogged]

At the first growl in mystomache comes food! To me, starving is the cruelish mosthorrible way to die!

Me too! As an alternative, I eat pretty much all day rather than three big meals. I find whole grains and protein are a good fix to quiet my stomach.

 

[Michele]

Also, drink alot of water. If your stomach starts growling, start drinking.