It's Not So Hard to Switch to a Vegan Diet: Report

[gertvegan]

It's Not So Hard to Switch to a Vegan Diet: Report
Thu Aug 5, 2004 03:20 PM ET

By Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Making the switch from a regular meat-and-dairy diet to an all plant-based, vegan diet may be easier than it would seem, new research suggests.

Among a group of overweight, postmenopausal women, most of those who followed a vegan diet -- which contains no animal products such as dairy, meat or eggs -- said they enjoyed the diet.

Most women also said they were mostly or completely used to the vegan diet after 14 weeks, and planned to continue it, for the most part at least, in the future.

It's Not So Hard to Switch to a Vegan Diet: Report (http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=78)

[Gorilla]

that's really good to hear. i always thought being vegan would be difficult, but when i finally decided to go for it, i realised it was actually really easy. i would imagine i was used to it after less than 14 weeks, but then i was veggie before and it sounds like the people in the article ate meat before changing to a vegan diet.

it's a shame there aren't more reports like this, as one of the things that stopped me going vegan before was the way people thought it meant denying yourself all the nice food and constantly craving animal products. i had no trouble being veggie, but thought being vegan was so much harder, and it isn't.

if only i'd known that sooner! :D

[Artichoke47]

"Vegan diet"? Uhm, no, it's a lifestyle based on ethics.

Anyway, I suppose it's good that people are eating less animals or whatever and find it in their hearts to say it's "not so hard."

[Roxy]

I love following a vegan diet as part of my vegan lifestyle! I am very used to it after only 8 months and can't imagine what it would be like to eat an egg, or a piece of meat or drink a glass of milk! It would probably make me quite sick, I would imagine.

When people initially find out I am vegan, a common reaction is "ohhh - that must be so hard". But it's not at all. Once you start to discover food alternatives that had never occurred to you before, a whole new world of cuisine opens up.

Roxy

[moomin]

Yeh ive only been a vegan about 2months but already i cant imagine how i ever ate eggs or drank milk. I'd been a vegetarian since i was 7 despite little encouragement from the rest of my family who eat meat and i cant believe its taken me so long to decide to become vegan. But im here now so :)

[Fruitbat]

I had wanted to be vegetarian for a very long time but family pressure preveneted me until I rebelled and became veggie anyway. My parents were very unsupportive at first but after 6 months or so, and i think as I got used to it, everything got easier. However veganism is something they cannot and will not accept - for them it is an unreasonable, extemist unhealthy way of life and they ignore my veganism and treat me like I am still vegetarian. Nothing in the world can persuade them otherwise. Bizzarely, my Dad, who knows me as a dietary vegetarian not as a lifestyle vegetarian (and ignored vegan all together) says that ethical-minded vegetarians (those who do it for the animals) should be vegan as being vegetarian is barely more ethical than bein omni. But either way he shouts down, criticises and scorns veganism. It's a tough life when you are a part of a family!

I found the transition from veggie to vegan really easy because at the time having an ED, I wasnt eating any junk food, cakes, biscuits, cream, custard or ice cream that I would miss on a vegan diet, I had already been drinking soya milk instead of dairy milk for months and away from home I never ate cheese because of the high fat content and the expense. As a veggie I never bought ready-made meals containing cheese and egg so really there was very little change except that suddenly I discovered vegan junkfood and wanting to try them all - slowly relaxed with my eating as I didnt feel guilty about it as it was "unhealthy healthy food" or "healthy unhealthy food". When I discovered vegan tofu, soy products, processed foods like Redwood's etc - then I started trying and eating more and more and more. I have always been a bean and lentil fan but during those ED days I didnt eat them because they were too high in carbs for me and same goes for nuts and the fats they contain.

[phillip888]

Why oh why did I take eleven years. If I would have gone vegan in the first place, then things would have been so much nicer. My switch from vegetarian to vegan was very easy.

[Kiva Dancer]

I didn't think it was hard at all going to a vegan diet. It's a lot easier than being a meat-eater for sure and a lot healthier too.

[blue]

I just posted that I decided 2 days ago to quit eating meat. The reason I went for Vegan instead of Vegetarian is because I am allergic to Dairy and Wheat anyway, so I might as well go all the way, and go Vegan!

[eve]

Why oh why did I take eleven years. If I would have gone vegan in the first place, then things would have been so much nicer. My switch from vegetarian to vegan was very easy.
You're so right, phillip888. Why make changes little by little? If meat or dairy is not so good in one's diet, why keep consuming them? I was a veggie for some years - what a waste, when I could have become vegan straight away - though I didn't know about it then!

[MzNatural]

Originally Posted by phillip888
Why oh why did I take eleven years. If I would have gone vegan in the first place, then things would have been so much nicer. My switch from vegetarian to vegan was very easy.

You're so right, phillip888. Why make changes little by little? If meat or dairy is not so good in one's diet, why keep consuming them? I was a veggie for some years - what a waste, when I could have become vegan straight away - though I didn't know about it then!
I agree, I am not sure why I waited 12 years. I wish I had done this sooner however I am happy I finally made the switch.

[veganblue]

I started out vegan and was for six months until I was sent to boarding school where vegan was an unknown; the kitchen staff were very good about it but they had to make a special meal which was usually chopped veg with some sort of sweet and sour sauce. I had no control over what I ate so went back to vegetarian till I left school. When I moved out of home I went vegan again but not consciously - it just 'happened' which is probably why I swung in and out of it for a few years till finally going vegan about 6 years ago. I am not sure why I didn't take the final step earlier (for good) but there was a great deal of unknowns about it and seemingly no one to talk to about it. The weight of opinion was that I would be unwell and that has a strong effect when all your justifications come from second hand sources.

[crystal77]

I Have Been Vegetarian For 7 Years And Really Want To Become Vegan. I Have Convinced My Husband To Have A Vegetarian Home ( I Have Converted My 10 And 2 Year Old Sons To Vegetarian And My Husband Only Eats Meat Out Of The House) I Am Finding It Hard To Make The Transition Even Though I Really Want To.......and To Deal With Peoples Reactions (when People Find Out My Children Are Vegetarian, They Act Like I'm Some Kind Of Weirdo).....i Am Very Concerned About Getting Enough Of The Essential Vitamins Etc.......but I Have Been Researching For Months So That When I Do Make The Transition, I Do It In A Healthy Manner.........does Anyone Have Any Advice To Make The Transition Easier And Deal With Peoples Comments?

[Korn]

Welcome, Crystal! I've never had a problem with others' comments, really. About essential nutrients, you'll find all the info you need on the internet, probably even in here. To make the transition as easy as possible, accept that taste is important (make sure you eat food that's really tasty: veganism is not about sacrificing / ascetism! :) Start to experiment with new ingredients, and make sure you eat varied food with enough fresh/green plants in it. While you're in the transition phase, you can always ask others in here if/when questions come up - there are lots of nice people in here with knowledge about nutrition, good food and many other things. And if you get comments that you're uncomfortable with (or that you don't know how to respond to), why not just say that you'll need to think about that question (and post it here, if needed!) ;) Or just say 'I don't know'?

[LoopyGothLou]

Hey, i find it quite hard to find vegan products.
I don't know about any1 else but most vegetarain products that i eat, if you lok at the ingredient list, they contain some type of dairy e.g. milk of eggs. I'm thinking of becoming a vegan but most of my vegetarian products do include dairy and so it will be hard for me to cut milk out of my life completely. Does any1 else find this?

[Korn]

Yes, kind of, but the good news is that because more and more people ask for vegan products, the people who today manufacture lacto-veg products, will find it more profitable to make vegan versions of their stuff, because more people will buy it then: not only vegans, but all those with milk allergy and lactose intolerance as well.

As always, if you want a real change in your life, you need to challenge your habits as well. But it's fun and interesting....

[Realfood Mary]

My corner shop has agreed to order in Redwood's products and do vegan butties with a green sticker on them, as well as selling stuff from the freezer etc. Wahay! Veganism is getting easier every day.

Anyone reading this who wants a bit of help going vegan (which as Korn says is not so difficult) can email us at Realfood if you want a vegan buddy. Or pm me with your details and we will try and help you out. Most of our buddies are in the UK, but we can find folks to help if you are in the US as well.

See youse!

[Pilaf]

I was completely at home in a vegan diet in less than three weeks. Not only had all my digestion problems disappeared, but I was already losing weight and my stamina was up. Best decision I ever made besides pledging straight edge for life.

[boywonder]

Hey, im a new vegan.. carnavor :( to hardcore vegan.. i read your posts and found them very inspiring.. thanks :D

[Realfood Mary]

How you doing boywonder? Well done on going vegan!

I have been talking to lots of new vegans, seasoned vegans, and want to be vegans. I think what is hard is not the diet, it is coming to terms with why to be vegan. After all, when I was a meat eater I didn't want to think about doing anything wrong. So therefore I locked down any of my pro vegan thoughts. The hard thing is thinking, not doing. Once you have realised why to go vegan, the rest is easy. You just need a little friendly word on the way. Like where to find vegan icecream and chocolate!!!

Mary

[tipsy]

i agree that it is not hard to be vegan. i myself switched from a vegetarian to a vegan three months ago...it was always in my future seeing as how i was raised an organic vegetarian and very animal friendly.

i work at a hospital and every lunch period i get picked on...."what does miss healthy have in her lunch today" ...but i occasionally bring good vegan things to share with my cooworkers (almost half of them had never had hummus!!!!!!) and most of those who keep an open mind are surprized by how much they like the things i bring.

by the way... im a NEWBIEEE... 1st post! :D :) ;)

[feline01]

i agree that it is not hard to be vegan. i myself switched from a vegetarian to a vegan three months ago...it was always in my future seeing as how i was raised an organic vegetarian and very animal friendly.

i work at a hospital and every lunch period i get picked on...."what does miss healthy have in her lunch today" ...but i occasionally bring good vegan things to share with my cooworkers (almost half of them had never had hummus!!!!!!) and most of those who keep an open mind are surprized by how much they like the things i bring.

by the way... im a NEWBIEEE... 1st post! :D :) ;)


Hi jjdairquiri,

Welcome to VF, why don't you start an introduction thread in chitchat?

Lucky you to be raised in an organic, vegetarian family. :)

[Karma]

Hello!
This is my first post as an aspiring vegan. I have been surfing your great site for the last few days. Thanks for all the excellent info etc.

Thing is, I am not finding this transition so easy! I have been vegetarian since I was 8 (hmmm... that's 21 years ago now!) and have kept veganism on the back burner of my mind for several of those years... you know, bought a few cookbooks I never opened and so on. Anyway, have now been vegan for about a month, apart from a couple of slips (egg in vegeburgers, most probably ghee in the daal at the local indian etc... but it's all a learning curve I suppose), but here are my problems...

I ate a lot of veggie processed food. I know it's not so great for my health but I lead a pretty busy life and I am starting to feel chained to my (very tiny) kitchen. I do love cooking from time to time, but eating fresh home cooked food every day is getting a bit wearing. I love the ideal, but any advice on quick and tasty would be much appreciated! Also I have exams coming up (which I ought to be revising for now... oops!) so I'm not feeling like I've got a whole lot of time for ploughing through recipe books (never have, so probably why I've never got around to it, but I feel it is important I don't give up this time) or 'experimenting'. Anyway, several of my experiments have been complete disasters, which is pretty demoralising. Maybe I need to book into a vegan cooking course? Do they exist (I am in London, soon to be moving to Brighton)? Mostly I really enjoy the food, so that isn't it, but I think I've only really kept going because I'm studying round the corner from Planet Organic (which isn't cheap I might add... I've spent a relative fortune).

Second problem is that my partner really hates this. We have been together 5 years and living together for two, and although she occasionally eats meat outside, at home we were agreed on veggie food and she was fine with that, so we had it all worked out. I know I have kind of made a unilateral decision to change so I understand that she's a bit fed up, but it's hard to know how to negotiate. She feels that cooking together and for each other is really important, but she doesn't want to become vegan and I am not about to try and force her. I tried to change before but she was so unhappy about it we kept on arguing and eventually I gradually gave in because I was so exhausted fighting all the time. Sometimes she is trying to be supportive and she has been out and bought me stuff from the healthfood shop and so on that she thinks I'd like, so I don't want you to get the idea that she's totally opposed, but what I think is that for her dairy is very deeply connected with love and experiences of being nurtured. It's interesting, but many of the foods kids are given as treats or special in our society are made with dairy, and also her family are Bulgarian and we went there to visit not long ago and so much of the national diet is cheese and milk... it's really deep in the collective subconcious. Also trying to avoid dairy makes you so aware of how it is in just about everything. It was really interesting to see because I do kind of understand why this is so difficult for her. The crazy thing is that she has bad eczema and it's really clear that it's so much worse when she has lots of milk. A while back we both changed onto soya milk and it almost completely went away, but she really hates the idea of soya substitutes in anything, so I try to make nice food for us and she tries to say it's nice but it's clear she hates it. Not sure how to resolve this except I don't want to get in a battle with her where its one or other of us who is going to win. We talked about how it's important for me to do this now and about love being about respecting each others choices etc. not about controlling the other person and that seems to have helped. I made vegan spag bol the other night and she put cheese on top and I didn't and that has been requested again!

Okay, last point. Where can I buy nice vegan biscuits! I made some great maple and pecan ones but they were so nice my entire family ate them all! I can't live without biscuits and I can't spend my life baking. This is especially true when I have exams. Carrot sticks and houmous just aren't making the grade I'm afraid!

Sorry, I've finished my ranting now. Thanks for reading anyway!

[bittersweet]

On the biscuit front, I don't know if you'd call them nice, but for an occasional thing, most brands of bourbon biscuits seem to be vegan (and I love 'em! - yes, I know, over processed and bad for me...but chocolaty biscuit you can dip in your coffee...mmm)

As for the conflict issues, I think you have to ask her why she objects to what you eat - you've made it pretty clear you're not forcing her to eat solely vegan. If she can give you her reasons why she thinks YOU should change for her, maybe you'll have a starting point for discussion.

[Karma]

Thanks bittersweet.
Unfortunately the one biscuit I have always most hated is bourbons. That sucks!
Re. my conflict, I know it is about how can we still shop and cook and eat together, and cook for one another, if we eat different things? At first I tried trying to 'prove' that vegan food was really nice and that this could be like an exciting voyage of discovery for us both, but now I realise that it is only me that feels this, so we have to find ways of negotiating a compromise. Anyway I just got exhausted trying to come up with new interesting things all the time and really what I made wasn't all that great sometimes. I do not want either to end up shopping and cooking completely separately... From a purely practical point of view this is not economical or time efficient, but mainly it is because cooking for someone you love is a way of expressing that love and we have to find a path of mutual respect etc. If anyone has any thoughts on recipes other than spag bol that can be made vegan or non-vegan at the last minute, that would be great. Also made good stir fry and I had it with tofu and she had prawns added just at the end, but things like risotto which have dairy mixed in are more problematic. I suggested making it with soya milk and that was refused.