Positive (side) effects of going vegan

[Spud Addict]

Found a new one the other day. Me and my brother were walking through town when we were accosted by a chugger. I said "oh I don't support x charity because of <insert anti-animal testing lecture>" they were like ok then and left us alone. My brother was well impressed. :D

[emzy1985]

I get those charity people from Cancer Research come up to me all the time in town! Do I look like someone who supports animal testing? I think sometimes people genuinely have no idea because I've had people come up to me when I am blatantly wearing anti-vivsection t-shirts!

[Mfap]

Energy boost. And I've become much more positive as a person. I've just become so much more... i wouldn't say content, I'm as intently against what strikes me as injustice in the world as ever. But just more, able to find happiness alongside anger and frustration.

If that makes sense

[Joeybee]

Being vegan with family and friends who are almost all meat eaters, i have had a lot of silly questions (you know that sort!) and a lot of criticism, people trying to say i'm unhealthy, and because of this i have researched further into veganism, and found out a lot more about my health and diet. Also being vegan has helped me to stick up for my beliefs far more than i would have before.

[JC]

i've discovered so many new foods that i wouldn't have otherwise. my favourite being dairy free cheeses, everything vegi deli and swedish glace. in fact, until just a few weeks ago, i had never even heard of halva. it made me laugh the other day when one of my omni friends was looking at my can of mung beans and announced that she couldn't understand what on earth you'd use beans for, and that the only beans she'd eaten in her life were baked beans!!! :eek:
also, synthetic shoes are much cheaper than leather and if you're on a diet, you can't really get tempted by snack machine's coz there's never anything suitable in there anyway... :rolleyes:

[hiddenfromview]

Being vegan with family and friends who are almost all meat eaters, i have had a lot of silly questions (you know that sort!) and a lot of criticism, people trying to say i'm unhealthy, and because of this i have researched further into veganism, and found out a lot more about my health and diet. Also being vegan has helped me to stick up for my beliefs far more than i would have before.
Tell me about it! I once had someone ask if I ate 'rabbit food' *rolls eyes*... but once you equip yourself with the knowledge then you will always suceed. I always keep the following in mind
- Curly Kale and other green vegetables have 6 times more calcium than cows milk
- Flaxseed oil has 6 times more omega 3 than fish oil, fish oil synthesise it from the algae in their diet... hemp seed oil contains 3,6+9 in the ratio your body needs it
- Hemp, soy, quinoa and loads more are complete proteins
The thing is, a lot of people already visit you with preconceptions, 'what do you eat' is a common one and I never know how to answer it, theres loads I know but I don't sit around making a conscious list!

[hiddenfromview]

i've discovered so many new foods that i wouldn't have otherwise. my favourite being dairy free cheeses, everything vegi deli and swedish glace. in fact, until just a few weeks ago, i had never even heard of halva. it made me laugh the other day when one of my omni friends was looking at my can of mung beans and announced that she couldn't understand what on earth you'd use beans for, and that the only beans she'd eaten in her life were baked beans!!! :eek:
also, synthetic shoes are much cheaper than leather and if you're on a diet, you can't really get tempted by snack machine's coz there's never anything suitable in there anyway... :rolleyes:
Swedish glace is heavenly! I'm yet to find an enjoyable dairy-free hard cheese, although I did enjoy the sheeze spread. I'd love to start cooking with lentils and beans but the prep and cooking time is waaay to long for me.
Shoes for work wern't a problem, but trainers were...I can get really self conscious sometimes and I always hated the ones I found on vegan shoe sites, but eventually I discovered VANS does vegan trainers and I have found a pair I'm very happy with :D

[Joeybee]

Ooooh hiddenfromview, i like that, you have summarised a whole argument into 3 small quickfire points...I'll remember that for next time someone tries to argue with me about being vegan :)

And yeah my father refers to everything i eat as "rabbit food" even though every time he tries vegan food he says it is really nice!

[Est]

1. Eating a wide variety of interesting, tasty, healthy foods - this is the best I've ever eaten.

2. My relationship with food has completely changed. It's not just fuel anymore, or something to reward/punish myself with - it's something to enjoy, in reasonable portions. I don't panic if there's no food around now - I always used to.

3. I'd put on 0.75 stones in weight since starting my office job in June 07. I wasn't overweight because I started out quite thin! But I have already dropped some weight and feel fantastic.

4. My skin's clearing up.

5. My sinuses have cleared up 100% - literally after one day of being vegan.

6. I feel clear headed, energetic and vibrant!

7. I feel more confident. I've always been a bit of a worrier, and I'd feel quite nervous about some things. Now I feel more comfortable in my own skin. I stand different, talk more confidently.

(I've also been having Alexander Technique lessons and they have helped enormously with that too.)

8. I'm becoming more adventurous! Before, I wouldn't try anything different, even basic things like cous cous or hummous. I thought I didn't like most vegetables. My taste buds must have been so skewed!

9. Periods - gone from 9 days of hell to 3 days that I don't even notice.

10. No guilt. Like others have said, I wasn't aware of feeling guilty before, and would have denied feeling it if asked. But as soon as I went vegan, I became aware of the *absence* of guilt, so it must have been there even if I wasn't aware of it.

As I've said elsewhere, best thing I've done for a while!!

[JC]

Swedish glace is heavenly! I'm yet to find an enjoyable dairy-free hard cheese, although I did enjoy the sheeze spread. I'd love to start cooking with lentils and beans but the prep and cooking time is waaay to long for me.
Shoes for work wern't a problem, but trainers were...I can get really self conscious sometimes and I always hated the ones I found on vegan shoe sites, but eventually I discovered VANS does vegan trainers and I have found a pair I'm very happy with :D

have you tried redwood melting mozarella? it's really good on pizza or in toasties. my new favourite is redwood nacho style, because it's so seasoned you don't get the aftertaste that you do with certain brands, and it will melt into dishes eventually, i love making cheezy beans with it or putting it on vegetable chilli. i find sheeze a bit strong, tofutti cream cheese it much nicer :D
lol, i feel like a dairy-free cheeze connoisseur!!

[hiddenfromview]

have you tried redwood melting mozarella? it's really good on pizza or in toasties. my new favourite is redwood nacho style, because it's so seasoned you don't get the aftertaste that you do with certain brands, and it will melt into dishes eventually, i love making cheezy beans with it or putting it on vegetable chilli. i find sheeze a bit strong, tofutti cream cheese it much nicer :D
lol, i feel like a dairy-free cheeze connoisseur!!
hehe... i havent tried tofutti spread, although they do sell it at work, but its v.expensive... i have tried the nacho style by redwood, it was nice but i could still taste a powderyness (perhaps the potato starch?) when i ate it... and this was after it had melted!!

[hiddenfromview]

3. I'd put on 0.75 stones in weight since starting my office job in June 07. I wasn't overweight because I started out quite thin! But I have already dropped some weight and feel fantastic.
i think i'm the only one who hasn't lost any weight since becoming vegan... were you all meat eaters before or veggies? i suppose my eating habits dont help, ive been known to eat a whole block of marzipan (yes, the one made for baking) in a day :o

[JC]

hmm, that's weird. well i highly recommend tofutti if you haven't tried it! even though it's a bit pricey, you should try it at least once to see if you like it. i don't allow myself to buy it very often because i can't be trusted to not eat a giant spoonful every time i go into the fridge... :rolleyes:

[Est]

i think i'm the only one who hasn't lost any weight since becoming vegan... were you all meat eaters before or veggies? i suppose my eating habits dont help, ive been known to eat a whole block of marzipan (yes, the one made for baking) in a day :o

:D LOL @ the marzipan - it is quite more-ish!

I was omni. I went from retail management (16 hour days running around) to training work (7.5 hour days in an office environment) but kept eating the same amount of food. :o

I would eat:

Breakfast: Bowl of cornflakes at home, followed by bacon and egg roll and a hash brown at work.

Snack: Packet of crisps and some fruit

Lunch: Sandwich (usually ham and cheese on white bread), more crisps, chocolate, fruit

Snack: Could easily be another packet of crisps

Dinner: Varied, but often pizza and garlic bread or cheese and red onion toastie.

Supper: Cornflakes

I think all that refined, processed, high-fat, -sugar and -salt food meant I was always hungry and never really felt full even after just eating.

Now I'm eating completely differently - for example, I have homemade granola for breakfast on weekdays. I eat it at work at about 8.15, and I'm full right through until lunch at about 12.30 ish.

My lunches are smaller (and also tastier), and my dinners are filling.

So if you already ate healthier food anyway (let's ignore the marzipan ;) ) then you probably wouldn't lose any weight - whereas on my previous diet I'd have probably lost weight whatever I changed to!

[yum]

Hi all!
I haven't noticed any changes in my health- it might be because i never ate much dairy coz it grossed me out and iv'e been veggie since i was 15. I lost weight and kept it off though:D which was great. Being vegan makes me happier and i don't struggle with my conscience as much.

Love all the vegan people

yum
x

[pavotrouge]

That Veganism *can* cause heart attacks. I needed laundrey detergent and the cheapest one that was animal friendly/cruelty free was $10!!! For a really small amount! That's more than 5 times the price of my old detergent.

I have postponed doing the wash until I can find a cheaper alternative.

what about soapnuts?

[Jiffy]

i think i'm the only one who hasn't lost any weight since becoming vegan... were you all meat eaters before or veggies? i suppose my eating habits dont help, ive been known to eat a whole block of marzipan (yes, the one made for baking) in a day :o

No, you're not the only one. I lost a bit initially, probably due to the cessation of my cheese habit, but I'm still a porker. I'm hoping that I can overcome the obstacles (mainly the Mrs and her sneering or finding me something that 'has to be done' immediately) start running again and actually stick to my cycling now the evenings are getting lighter.

The only problem I have with the Cheezly is actually finding somewhere who sells it. They sell the white cheddar one in Tescos, but that's the one I like least.

I made the mistake of asking in two different branches of Holland and Barratt. The first one said they didn't have any because they were running stocks down in order to clean out the fridge, well that was six weeks ago and last week they clearly hadn't done it.

The second one wasn't much better, didn't even know what it was, let alone if they stocked it. Made the helpful suggestion that I should go there on Mondays, 'cos that's when we get most of our deliveries, which would be fine if I didn't have to earn a living. :rolleyes:

It's such a shame Redwood's delivery charges are so high.

[Alael]

Sounds kind of funny, but my body-odor practically diminished. And with a deodorant stone, it goes away completely,it didn't when I was just Vegetarian.

[missbettie]

So you are no longer stinky Alael? hehe :D

[Alael]

So you are no longer stinky Alael? hehe :D

Nope :D, emitting a pleasant, appleish scent (I eat lots of apples).

[cobweb]

Jiffy - you could order from Goodness Direct, you get free delivery with orders over £35 and they have loads of great stuff.

I came here to say that best unexpected effect of being Vegan, for me, is finding so many interesting Vegans to communicate with.

[steven1222]

Body odor is definitely related to diet, but being vegan does not inherently prevent body odor. There are many smelly vegan foods, and eating them will make a person stink, even if the food smells "good."

My favorite unexpected effect of my veganism:
-It has evolved into a whole system of ethical beliefs that I hold in the absence of religion.

[Jiffy]

Jiffy - you could order from Goodness Direct, you get free delivery with orders over £35 and they have loads of great stuff.

I came here to say that best unexpected effect of being Vegan, for me, is finding so many interesting Vegans to communicate with.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have a wander over there, I don't suppose it will be too difficult to hit the £35 mark. ;)

[runnerboy]

I agree with Steven - veganism opens your mind and encourages an ethical lifestyle in every respect.

I also attribute my first sub 3 hour marathon to veganism :)

[Healthy]

I agree with Steven - veganism opens your mind and encourages an ethical lifestyle in every respect.

I also attribute my first sub 3 hour marathon to veganism :)

Right on!

I attribute veganism to making a healthier, more positive career choice.

My peace for the animals made me strive for more peace within myself.