Transition to vegan!

I'm sure posts like this appear all the time in this forum but I have been vegetarian (with some sushi exceptions!) for about a year now and love the idea of becoming vegan. My stomach does not digest dairy very well so I figured it's silly not to cut it out seeing as it makes me feel sick for the most part. But it's going to be quite a struggle as my snacks consists of cottage cheese and my breakfasts consists of greek yogurt and i LOVE eggs! I know these are typical problems for people trying to go vegan but i would love to hear your stories and any advice you vegans have to offer!

My favorite piece of advice:

DON'T rely on soy for your protein. I did for abouth a month when going vegan, and for the first time in my life I had HORRIBLE acne. Get your extra protein from beans, brocolli, nuts, etc - soy products are tempting to rely on, but doing so will mess with your body.

Soy is one of the most toxic, genetically modified foods of our time.

If you do use soy products, make sure the products are made from certified organic soybeans, which likely won't cause the myriad problems the irradiated genetic mutation monster soy causes. It's harder to find soy products made from certified organic soybeans, so you'll likely end up eating less soy, anyway.

Before invoking on this journey, ask yourself why you want to be vegan and if it's really for you. Seems like your current reason is "I don't do well with some dairy, so I'll make a drastic change to my lifestyle". I mean technicality speaking you are not even Vegetarian with your "sushi exception".

UD

I concurr, UD!

Hi! My name is Ania. Ive been fruitarian for 6 months, really loved it! But recently started to binge...i still cant believe i ate that cheese and ham......help me please....what should i do in my situation i want to be on 100 per cent fruit diet i feel myself so light so fresh...but feel so depressed sometimes cause of a lot of stress...i put on weight seriously after summer, probably because of binges....i let myself eat some soy....yuba...its a soy milk skin...guesse i gained cause of that....please help i need some support....

Ania, what kind of fruitarian diet do you follow, out of curiousity? As to everyone else (including moderators), don't freak out just yet, fruitarian diets should include nuts, berries, seeds, vegetables; anything with seeds in it is technically a fruit. It's essentially a raw food diet, not including tubers and whatnot, and can be done very healthily. So don't discard the post just yet.

Original Post by annapcholka:

Hi! My name is Ania. Ive been fruitarian for 6 months, really loved it! But recently started to binge...i still cant believe i ate that cheese and ham......help me please....what should i do in my situation i want to be on 100 per cent fruit diet i feel myself so light so fresh...but feel so depressed sometimes cause of a lot of stress...i put on weight seriously after summer, probably because of binges....i let myself eat some soy....yuba...its a soy milk skin...guesse i gained cause of that....please help i need some support....

Well for one you probably are not getting nearly enough calories, period. Then you are missing out on all kinds of different nutrients that come from vegetables, dairy products (going by vegetarian minimum here), eggs, and legumes. That is probably one of the reasons for binging. I would recommend is stopping this insane diet, and going to nutritionist for consultation.

UD

UD I suggest you research the fruitarian diet. It DOES include ANYTHING that is the fruit of a plant, which means nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits. It can be done healthily, and has been by certain cultures for years.

I'm assuming Ania has not researched the fruitarian diet, either, and assumes that fruitarian diet means we simply eat what we consider to be 'fruit', as in sweet fruit. Obviously, that is unhealthy and will not supply a full spectrum of nutrients.

Original Post by edamame3:

UD I suggest you research the fruitarian diet. It DOES include ANYTHING that is the fruit of a plant, which means nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits. It can be done healthily, and has been by certain cultures for years.

I'm assuming Ania has not researched the fruitarian diet, either, and assumes that fruitarian diet means we simply eat what we consider to be 'fruit', as in sweet fruit. Obviously, that is unhealthy and will not supply a full spectrum of nutrients.

 

I am just going, but what she is posted. Specially "100% fruit" part, to me it implies no vegetables. Yes nuts are technically considered fruit, but I don't think she was counting those. If I assumed wrong, my bad. Still I don't think it is a healthy diet. I am sorry, but we have to just agree to disagree on that one.

UD

EDIT: omigod I am sorry to the original poster, I had been following these replies and I totally forgot about the original post! Ania kind of hijacked it...so sorry! This is the last I'll post that is off topic!

A fruitarian diet is 100% fruit, when you use the biological definition of fruit. Most practicing fruitarians know this, which is why I asked her for more info. She emailed me and I don't think she understands what a fruitarian diet is, either, but I wasn't sure of that by simply looking at her post.

And you can't really know if it is a healthy diet if you haven't researched the diet. And I don't even mean you personally; I mean the general public; most people aren't too clear on fruitarianism and veganism and raw foodism and all those 'isms'. That's the only reason I made such a big deal about clearly defining what a real fruitarian diet is here, so the mods don't delete it out thinking it's an eating disorder.

The first to subsist on a fruitarian diet were zen and buddhist monks, hence the reason it is commonly referred to as a zen diet. It's essentially eating without causing ANY harm, which means you are not only not eating animals, you are also only eating the parts of the plant that the plant wants you to eat, hence the 'fruit' of the plant. This includes a lot more than it seems to.

Ania, look this up and log in your food on Calorie Count to make sure your calories are all there (which, with dates, nuts, dried fruit and figs, seeds, avocados, bananas, nut butters, etc, is a lot more easy to do than it sounds. Remember, even chocolate is a fruit!), and pay attention to your protein/fat/carbohydrate balance to make sure it is...well, balanced. It will take a LOT of work and research on your end, and if you're not willing to do it, then DON'T be a fruitarian. It will give a bad name to those who legitimately are fruitarians, and you'll end up harming yourself, which is one of the tenants of fruitarianism: harm none, INCLUDING yourself.

Original Post by edamame3:

 Remember, even chocolate is a fruit!

Is it included as one of my 5 a day??

Original Post by pierc108:

I'm sure posts like this appear all the time in this forum but I have been vegetarian (with some sushi exceptions!) for about a year now and love the idea of becoming vegan. My stomach does not digest dairy very well so I figured it's silly not to cut it out seeing as it makes me feel sick for the most part. But it's going to be quite a struggle as my snacks consists of cottage cheese and my breakfasts consists of greek yogurt and i LOVE eggs! I know these are typical problems for people trying to go vegan but i would love to hear your stories and any advice you vegans have to offer!

I'm also lactose intolerant which was one of many reasons I went Vegan.

I never had a love of cottage cheese so I can't help you there

But I recommend the So Delicious Coconut brand of yogurt-- not soy based. I had the straeberry banana one. Delish!

The only advice I have to offer is this:

Try. Try. Try. Don't hate yourself if you slip up. Remember that even a decrease in the amount you eat is helping both the animals and the planet. Always remember that.

I do have to say that going cold turkey (for me) would be easier than weaning myself off, however. In just a month, I consider eggs a non food.

For myself, not finding replacements at all has been easier than finding them. If you don't eat anything similar to cheese, you will have no reminders that you ate it in the first place. ya know?

and I second not looking to Soy as your main source of protein. Although I eat some tofu products now and then, I get plenty of proteins from my grains/rice/beans/nuts.

but anyways I'm letting you know where I've hung out and recieved a lot of support and cooking ideas with WAY LESS attacks from omnivores and those who are just plain non informed.

Livejournal.com

vegancooking

veganpeople

without those 2 groups I wouldn't' have made it this far and I actually feel like I'm not a freak on there (as everyone in my life likes to do about this transition)

Thanks so much phoray! I'll check out those websites, thanks for the advice

Umm this threaad is a little off topic...

Becoming a vegan is a great experience, it is a very healthy way tolive. I would say slow and steady wins the race, I gave up dairy for the same reason (lactose intolerance) but put that out of your diet first. Dont worry about the full gamut initially especially if you think the dairy will be difficult for you.

Take small steps, and you will get there. Eat plenty of variety, and don't overdo it with the vegan alternative products (gets to be an expensive habit)

With a little bit of imagination, you will find a whole new world of flavours to explore!

I also recommend www.vegan-food.net and www.vegweb.com

Good luck!