Help with transitioning - craving oils and fatty things

Greetings all,

I was so happy to find this site. I went vegetarian just over a month ago, mainly for health and spiritual reasons (to help with meditation, and universal compassion), and wish I had done it a long time ago. Watching Earthlings was the final step in that transition, and I have not eaten meat since seeing the horrible truth.

I am now transitioning to vegan, and would be most grateful for some support with this. I have read some books on plant based nutrition, and am eating a varied diet, and even taking kelp, B12 and the 10 brazil nuts a week that one book advised would keep up selenium levels, and a tablespoon and a half of flaxseed a day.

The only difficulty I'm having is an insane craving for avocados, olive oil, biscuits and pretty much anything naughty. I guess the obvious answer would be that I'm not getting enough calories, but I'm eating cereal (with rice milk) or porridge for breakfast (with fruit and the flaxseed), a proper lunch like beans on toast or veggie burger in wholemeal bap and big salad, and I love cooking main meals in the evening that I am careful to ensure have lots of protein. I also snack on seeds and nuts throughout the day.

I absolutely LOVE my new diet, and the taste of all these wonderful things, but feel constantly hungry and have to "graze" continually to feel ok. I am hoping that this is just my body's conditioning/addiction "screaming" out for whatever has been taken away from it. I have also cut out white sugar (just read about a syrup-like replacement, so am going to look for that in the health food shop tomorrow), and stopped drinking alcohol about 3 months ago. I am also slightly overweight for my height, so it can't be that I *need* the extra calories. I would love to drop down a bit to my natural weight. Think my body is just protesting, lol.

Any advice would be useful though. How to stay full and reduce cravings for fatty things. The flaxseed seems to have helped a bit (probably the fibre).

Look forward to getting to know you better :)

Soup is good for staying full longer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8068733.stm

Hi, and welcome!
If you are used to have a higher level of fat and sugar, cravings should probably be expected - and if you ate the same time are telling yourself not to consume animal products or sugar, your mind will probably crave something else which is fatty instead. It could be that simple.

It's probably not good to crave anything insanely - and the biscuit craving probably comes from cutting out white sugar (such craving usually only lasts a few weeks), but I've heard about worse cravings than for avocado and olive oil. :) And after all - if you are used to a diet with animal fat/sugar and you change that now, maybe some healthy, plant based fats isn't such a bad idea in a transition period? Some extra nuts and fruit could maybe easy that transition period for you.

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Risker

Soup is good for staying full longer.

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Thanks Risker. That was a very interesting article indeed. It pieced together a few parts of the jigsaw for me and made a lot of sense. That ghrelin seems to have a lot of answer for, eh?
*dusts off blender* I love making soup so will enjoy finding lots of exciting vegan ones ;)

Thank you, Korn :-). Yes, I do hope it is that simple. Feels like I never appreciated how fantastic avocados taste until now... and guacamole is just heaven. Will try not to overdo it, as I love curries with coconut oil too and seem to be having a lot of fat. I am really enjoying the challenge of finding new and exciting things to cook and eat though. I'm eating about three pieces of fruit a day (plus juice) and have two jam jars on my desk (one of nuts and one of seeds).

Avocados, olive oil... these are great for your health and happiness, enjoy them without guilt!

Veganism is about kindness, and that includes being kind to yourself.

It's NOT about eliminating fat from your diet - that's a separate issue, and I'd be careful about the health implications of both going vegan and going "on a diet" at the same time.

Vegan comfort food is amazing and I highly recommend it!

All things in balance, yes? for health, happiness, peace and harmony.