Tricks to stay vegan?

[Yuna]

What are some "tricks" or advice you have used to stay vegan when you felt like slipping?

My piece of advice is get enough protein so you don't slip.

I just realized soy milk has a lot of protein, and it is fast to drink.

It has 7 grams of protein per cup and cow's milk has 8 grams per cup.

7 grams of protein is 14% of your daily nutritional needs

So, one 32 ounce bottle of soymilk can give you almost 60% (56%) of your daily protein needs.

add one can of beans or one or 2 soyburgers and you're satisfied.

what are some of your "tricks to the trade"?

I'll try to add more advice later.

[harpy]

My advice would be to remind yourself of your original reasons for going vegan, e.g. (in my case) the way animals involved in food production are treated.

[Mollfie]

^ agreed. Remind yourself why your doing this.

I occasionally think "I would love to eat that cheesecake/chocolate bar/cheesy bake" etc but I know I won't, because even just looking at non-vegan things makes me feel sad. I think about it all too much I do get quite upset. So I find that's the easiet way to stick with it lol. I don't want anything to suffer for me, their lives are worth more than my indulgences.

[Yuna]

I agree.

[Johnstuff]

Watching a few moments of Earthlings does the trick for me.

Having plenty of tasty food on hand is always good too, unless you're trying to eat less like me!

[mmmorgans]

Johnstuff, I too think of Earthlings. I can't watch it sometimes though. I will usually watch PETA commercials on youtube, that is enough to remind me why I chose this lifestyle.

[sandra]

I can honestly say I've NEVER been tempted to eat anything non vegan................maybe I'm just lucky but knowing where non vegan food comes from is enough to put me off. I don't want to consume anything from another living being. The vegan alternatives are just as good if not better and far more healthy! :)

For anyone who needs encouragement to stay vegan though, I would say just remind yourself of what animal ingredient you are craving and where it originated and the suffering that the animal has had to endure in it's short life.............hopefully that is all you'd need to put you off wanting to eat that item. :)

[Johnstuff]

Johnstuff, I too think of Earthlings. I can't watch it sometimes though. I will usually watch PETA commercials on youtube, that is enough to remind me why I chose this lifestyle.

Yeah, I never really need to remind myself. It's stuck in my mind from watching it a year or so ago. I find these things hard to watch but also quite 'sobering' somehow...

I'm watching The Cove again with my dad :( ...I do also find it uplifting that there are amazing people out there making films like this and trying to change things.

[animal-crackers]

I agree with all the above. While i have never been tempted to slip from my vegan path, if anybody was struggling i would suggest watching Earthlings again, or a few youtube videos. The longer i am vegan the more wonderful and yummy food i discover, that far outweighs any of my old none vegan favourites. So maybe treating yourself to a really nice vegan meal out, if that is possible, or indulging in one of the yummy recipes on here, that you haven't tried before, that may be all it takes to get you excited about vegan food again. xx

[adl]

I pull up a mental image of the animal that was exploited to make that product. Example: I picture a caged, diseased chicken with it's beak partially cut off when my dad offers me a piece of apple pie made with egg. Then I have to picture a happy, healthy chicken (who wasn't exploited) so I don't get too sad.

[veggievore]

Go to google and type in the words "Meet your meat"


Personally after a long enough time I just forgot what meat/dairy tasted like, so I didn't really miss it.

[BearFruit]

I have never been tempted to go back to eating meat or dairy.

I think if you are tempted you should make a vegan alternative of the dairy or meat that you are craving and wanting to have. You can easily make a vegan pizza with vegan cheese or make spaghetti bolognese with vegan veggiemince etc.

However I think that if you do end up slipping you should learn from the experience. My friend used to eat pizza on a very regular basis and when he went vegan struggled with this aspect...so once he caved and ate a pizza and he said he felt DISGUSTING..physically - oily, greasy, bloated and just terrible. Compare to this how vegan alternatives make you feel and you can learn a valuable lesson that will keep you on track. I know vegan alternatives do not make you feel as grotty and bloated as meat and dairy does. They aren't fantastic for digestion etc but are much better than animal products.

I just remember that there was one thing that was hard for me when going vegan. I have always had tea several times a day with milk. I really missed this but decided to go with herbal teas instead to help me over as black tea just tastes awful. Anyway several months down the line I decided to have a sip of a friend's tea....the taste of milk actually made my tummy turn upside down - even that small amount...that experience really helped me completely let go of my attachment to the tea.

Anyway that is my experience and I hope it helps :)

[AlexK]

I've never felt any desire to slip; fortunately I've found it easy ... maybe because I still feel the powerful effects of what I learned that lead me to veganism in the first place. What I learned still hurts and so I keep up on animal rights news online, forums, blogs, email, and am always reading books related to same philosophy, so it really has become second nature for me. When I'm hungry I just stuff myself silly with something vegan and yummy.
Also ... I have a poster that says "I shall not be a fair weather friend to trusting hearts. It is my solemn vow to protect them and keep them safe.....always." I look at this poster and the words never fail to touch me. :sad:

[veggievore]

Has anybody else come to the point where the idea of eating non vegan food is more gross than tempting?

I remember years ago smelling bacon and thinking mmmmm, now I smell it and think yuk. I think taste buds just change over time, I currently have zero non vegan temptations, I just miss stir fry since I'm trying out a raw vegan diet. mmmm stir fry. yummy red pepper and tofu and squash sizzling with ....dammit.... I'm gonna stuff my face with fruit until I'm not hungry anymore, be right back

[gooberboggle]

Watch a few minutes of 'Earthlings' or 'Meet Your Meat'.

Have some yummy vegan junk food to remind myself there's plenty of nice things I can eat that don't contain any animal products ^_^

[harpy]

Has anybody else come to the point where the idea of eating non vegan food is more gross than tempting?

I don't always find it gross, but I just don't think of it as food, so it's not a temptation.

Haven't tried a completely raw diet and don't really understand the objection to stir fries etc which are lightly cooked anyway - but I'm probably not helping :o

[Festered]

I just remind myself what exactly such stuff is. I have been tempted a few times by taste, of things that I can't buy or make vegan for example cottage cheese. I have even convinced myself that my spending of 40p and eating it isn't going to cause harm. Then I think about what the stuff actually is, that is cow breast milk that's gone off , and I feel ...hang on brb ...

[Yuna]

Alt- F4 closes all the tabs!!!

[Charley333]

[QUOTE=AlexK;660177]I've never felt any desire to slip; fortunately I've found it easy ... maybe because I still feel the powerful effects of what I learned that lead me to veganism in the first place. What I learned still hurts and so I keep up on animal rights news online, forums, blogs, email, and am always reading books related to same philosophy, so it really has become second nature for me. QUOTE]

I feel the same way... I haven't been tempted to eat meat or dairy products since becoming vegan, but I think this is because what I read before becoming vegan including Vegan Freak, Fast Food Nation, Introduction to Animal Rights etc really made it impossible for me to go back - the arguments behind veganism are so impenetrable to me and I totally agree with this quote from Jon Stewart - If you don't stick to your values when they're tested, they're not values. They're hobbies" - To me, veganism is more than just about food, it's an ethics system and through veganism you live life representing to non vegans the animal at the table. Plus, vegan food is so yummy, and there are so many delish vegan substititutes i.e. Swedish Glace ice cream and Cheezly mozzarella that I just haven't been tempted! ;)

[Stillwater]

Yeah, I agree that watching a few minutes of Meet Your Meat or Earthlings does the trick. Not just if you're feeling tempted to slip, but also if you're feeling a bit blase about the whole thing. A while ago I was feeling a bit blase about being vegan, and then all of a sudden I smelt a disgusting smell. I turned around, and a truck had just stopped at the lights next to where I was walking. It was packed with sheep or calves, and I could hear them clambering around inside in confusion, not knowing where they were going, even though I did. It made me very sad at first, but ultimately it rekindled my passion and enthusiasm for being vegan.

[IndeR]

I think is very important to have a discipline besides remembering why we are vegan.
The every day ritual of eating in conciosnes is a must. When someone have tentations to go back to something is just because they did not learn from the experience in the past 100%.

[Stillwater]

I just wanted to add that I think it's really important to focus on the good stuff too, and not just the bad stuff. If you're being tempted to slip from veganism, you should spoil yourself a bit. Go to a good veg restaurant, buy a new cookbook. Go out of your way to find good vegan ice cream or chocolate. Break the budget and buy some nice new vegan shoes. Remind yourself of how fun and easy being a vegan can be.

I recommended watching PETA videos before. But if your soul is being weighed down by all the misery and cruelty of the world, then do the opposite and give yourself permission to forget about it all for a while; concentrate on just having fun, lest you burn out.

[IndeR]

Totally agree with Stillwater

[nadejda]

I just wanted to add that I think it's really important to focus on the good stuff too, and not just the bad stuff. If you're being tempted to slip from veganism, you should spoil yourself a bit. Go to a good veg restaurant, buy a new cookbook. Go out of your way to find good vegan ice cream or chocolate. Break the budget and buy some nice new vegan shoes. Remind yourself of how fun and easy being a vegan can be.

I recommended watching PETA videos before. But if your soul is being weighed down by all the misery and cruelty of the world, then do the opposite and give yourself permission to forget about it all for a while; concentrate on just having fun, lest you burn out.

Well, beeing new to veganism I've foud the most difficult part to be not the vegan food, but other vegan products as cosmetic, clothes, shoes, etc...
For me it was not a problem at all to give up every non vegan food, but finding vegan shoes was mission imposible where I live and...I ended up buying non vegan shoes:(( I guess this makes me a fake vegan, thought I still repeat to myslef - what did you do, what did you do...I felt so much guilty about, but still. There are not any vegan shoes here, except some cheep and crapy sintetic one, not made for vegans expecially, and this only when you are lucky and labels are corect (in any!)...but this is another story. I don't want to give up veganisim, really enjoying beeing into.

You have to be very lucky to have all that vegan staff like shoes, cosmetics, clothes, on a reasonable price...heh...

[lastx]

Well, beeing new to veganism I've foud the most difficult part to be not the vegan food, but other vegan products as cosmetic, clothes, shoes, etc...
For me it was not a problem at all to give up every non vegan food, but finding vegan shoes was mission imposible where I live and...I ended up buying non vegan shoes:(( I guess this makes me a fake vegan, thought I still repeat to myslef - what did you do, what did you do...I felt so much guilty about, but still. There are not any vegan shoes here, except some cheep and crapy sintetic one, not made for vegans expecially, and this only when you are lucky and labels are corect (in any!)...but this is another story. I don't want to give up veganisim, really enjoying beeing into.


You have to be very lucky to have all that vegan staff like shoes, cosmetics, clothes, on a reasonable price...heh...

I have the same problem nadejda. I've been vegan a long time but still wear mostly leather shoes as I have had problems getting ones which are both smart for my work and fit me. It is easier to get sandals and trainers than smart ones. There are a number of companies in the uk who supply shoes mail order so if you have a "standard" size and shape of feet, I'm sure some of them will ship to Bulgaria. I have bought lots of vegan shoes though and had to ship most of them back.