Do you feel healthier? Do you have more energy?And how do you get your protein? I ask because I had stopped eating red meat completely as part of my weight loss program and started eating more vegetables and fruit than meat (I lost 30lbs) and I'm wondering what the effects might be if I stopped eating meat all together? First off, you can stop eating meat all together and not be a 'vegan'. Vegan is a subset of vegetarianism.
There are many variations that one can eat and be vegetarian. Some eat eggs - some don't. Some eat honey - some don't. Some drink milk - some don't. Combinations of all the above as well as some that only eat vegetable based - and you will see what is reflected within the many that post here.
I felt healthy before - but actually testing out with the doctor as being healthier.
Energy level - depends. I became really serious about doing without any and all meat products AFTER I found out about having epilepsy - which WAS making me very tired. So really hard to compare as the epilepsy is now totally under control with medication. Seizures really make one TIRED even if they are not the grand maul ones.
Protein is in everything that you eat. They even have vegetable based protein drinks for those that are into body building and need more than the average person when in competition.
There are a ton of sites online that can help you in answering that question that me typing it all out here. Just type into a search engine 'vegetarian protein diet' and you will get THOUSANDS of hits.
Sounds like you more than likely are still doing poultry and fish from what you write - so you might have times that you crave eating something that is animal based. It happens - maybe not to all - but to many. How you deal with such - is a personal choice. Some give in - some don't. Make the choice that is right for *YOU*. It is a way of eating that *YOU* are making and others views - really don't matter since you are the one that has to live it.
You won't 'die' by not eating animal products. Depending upon if you continue to eat egg and dairy products, you will actually cut down on the bad cholesterol as plant products don't have the 'bad' within them - the amount depending upon the choices that you make.
All in all - a healthy choice to make. I am one of those that always suggest to people when making a major change within their body to check with your doctor and get referred to a dietician to help with a diet that meets the needs that you have - because there is many things to take into consideration - and each individual is unique.
Good luck on what ever choice that you make. I'm almost 16 and I've been vegan for almost a year (since my 15th birthday) and I've really felt different! in a good way!
I am also on a weight loss program and the nutritionist has no trouble with me being vegan soy milk, tofu, legumes... etc have all I need of vitamins minerals and other things.
I've lost 33 lbs *YAY* and I'm actually feeling more energized.
meat is really troubling if you want to lose weight, it's also bad for you, REALLY bad, and I'm not only saying this because I'm vegan or anything, I've always thought meat is bad I just ate it.
But really going vegan will help you lose even more weight if you want because sugar is an animal product, I never stopped consuming sugar even when on diets until I heard it's an animal product and so are many other products!
Good luck in losing weight (to you and me ;] ) Vegans give up meat and dairy. Are you considering just giving up meat alone? Then you'd be vegetarian.
I've been an aspiring vegan for several years now. Vegetarian before that.
I had a lot of medical problems which doctors couldn't pin point. Since I was a small child. In true Western Medicine fashion, they'd give me shots and pills to end the "symptoms" but never found out what was actually wrong with me.
Around the time I was 21, I dropped down to 72 pounds. I realized the doctors were killing me so I blew them all off. Chucked out the pills and potions - then began studying nutrition.
Not long after that I went veg. I had an easier time maintaining my weight. I no longer had hospital stays.
But like many Americans and vegetarians, I bought into the protein myth. I ate way too much of the stuff. I used a lot of cheese. I'll probably pay dearly for that with heart disease later in life.
Long about the time I was 35, I started going vegan for Lent. I'm Catholic. I realized that for several months after that, I'd be really healthy. While everyone around me had the flu, I never got it. So I made the choice to go Vegan.
My family still gives me vegetarian meals loaded in cheese when I visit them. I don't complain. They try really hard. Hi!
I've been vegan a year and a half, and my experience thus far has been very positive.
I'm much more self-aware, calmer and more peaceful, no longer anemic, and consequently MUCH more energetic. My acne has almost completely cleared-up since becoming vegan. I used to be the kind of person who caught every bacterial and viral infection that went around, but since becoming vegan I've not been sick - not once! Pretty cool, eh? Being vegan has given me a lot more energy, and I feel cleaner. I don't worry about protein because I eat mixing bowl size salads with cups and cups of greens and some avocado. Did you know that spinach for example is 20% protein? It just isn't really a concern so long as your eating a lot of vegetables and not living on junk. Keep a percentage raw for best results.
Totally stop eating dead things, it's gross! lol. Hi, thanks for the interest!
I'm new to veganism. I've been vegetarian for 10 years so it felt right to make the transition.
The best thing is the feeling of purity by living on a plant-based diet.
I feel great. I couldn't be happier! :)
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/
Protein- nuts, seeds, tofu!, tempeh, soya milk- soya is the best source of plant protein!
http://www.alprosoya.co.uk/alpro/UK_en/i...
[edit] I cannot believe how rude BOB P is. Please ignore his insulting words. It was kind of a pain in the butt for me. I am a carnivore for life, my ex-gf is a vegetarian/vegan. We had all kinds of problems as far as eating at the same places or even buying food at the store. Okay, this is turning into a relationship thing. I can tell you from what I observed from her is that she was rarely sick, had healthy skin, and stayed very lean.
DRAGON 2008
"I BELIEVE IN U.S." It caused me to start giving people smart a$$ed answers. I started for reasons of athletic performance. For bicycle racing and the other sports I do. At the time I ate a lot of pasta in the form of spaghetti with tomato-beef sauce. Through my research on the optimum diet for humans, the first thing I researched was meat -- and decided that humans are not designed to digest it, and thus fat from meat directly goes into the blood stream, slowing everything down. In the height of summer training/racing, I took meat out of my diet. Immediately, the next day, I noticed a huge increase in stamina and endurance. I was amazed. And this spurred me onward to research the rest of my diet, the human digestive system and topic of health spanning and branching outward into infinity.
At the same time as my performance went up, I also lost my acne of many years. I needed half as much sleep. My recovery was very fast... I could not basically go from a training ride straight to playing tennis. I had boundless energy.
I didn't lose any weight, because being an endurance athlete, my body was already at optimum weight. I also soon found that my mind was reeling with thoughts... It was like a cloud that I didn't know was there was lifted from my mind... I was just thinking and thinking and thinking and it felt so effortless to think suddenly... I was even kept awake at night for the first number of weeks because I just could not stop thinking... as I said, my mind felt like it was released from some cloud and suddenly it was surging forward. Over time my eyes changed colour. I was born with blue eyes, but my eyes became a very dark brown, then after changing my diet to a healthier one, my eyes have brightened again and are now a greenish colour. Maybe eventually they'll go back to blue... who knows -- that would be interesting. Also, I stopped getting sick. I didn't get colds or coughs or anything anymore... maybe a drooly nose for a day or two, but that's it. Needless to say, stopping eating meat (and eventually all animal products, all junk foods, additives, colours, msg, etc.) has been a life changing experience. I recently became sick for the first time in a long long time but not due to diet. Was due to my wife cheating on me and leaving me... so I basically was very screwed up, stressed, and could not eat or sleep for about a month and got very ill. The only other time I have been so sick over the years was about 10 years ago where I was hanging out with a couple smokers in a small room... their second hand smoke made me sick for about a week... Again, not due to diet or 'catching' something or 'developing' something. Oh, also about years ago my roommate was very ill and I had an overnight fever from 'cathing' what he had... but I was also doing graveyard work at the time which was really stressing my body. Normally I don't think his sickness would have affected me.
On the other hand, others I know are always getting sick... seems at least once a month they've got some sort of problem.
Protein? Protein and amino acids are all over the place... they are unavoidable. Protein is not even a topic... it's just propaganda bullsh*t straight from the meat industry etc. Contrary to urban legend, a full Vegan diet is DANGEROUS!
It is dangerous because of Vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause, among other things, anaemia.
Vitamin B12 is made by the action of bacteria on meat. There are no viable substitutes.
Actually, a glass of milk per week provides sufficient B12 to keep you going. So giving up the flesh is not the end of the world!
I could happily live on Frijoles and Rice for ever! |
