View Poll Results: How did you go vegan - and was it easy for you?

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  • Omni -> vegan. Easy.

    154 29.00%
  • Omni -> vegan. Difficult.

    4 0.75%
  • Omni -> vegan. Somewhere between easy and difficult.

    48 9.04%
  • Omni -> lacto-vegetarian -> vegan. Omni to lacto-veggie was easiest.

    125 23.54%
  • Omni -> lacto-veggie -> vegan. Lacto-veggie to vegan was easiest.

    149 28.06%
  • Less difficult than it would have been to continue not to live according to my viewpoints (added July-06)

    51 9.60%
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Thread: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

  1. #101

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I went 'free range' first, then 'vegetarian who eats fish', then vegetarian, then 'vegan who ocassionally eats free range eggs and honey' and now I'm properly vegan, in diet and lifestyle. The whole process took about 2 years from omni to vegan and I've been fully vegan for about a year. The hardest part is dealing with friends. Most of them thought that being vegetarian was great for the animals, but being vegan was too extreme and that I was only doing it to get attention.

  2. #102
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I've been eating meat daily until the start of last year, after a while I started eating less meat and slowly developed to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian 5 weeks ago. The day I made my decision I went on holiday to Ireland and met a vegan girl from Argentina, I was already aware of the horrible dairy- and egg-industry. I started trying vegan things and when going home I started cooking vegan meals until I decided just over 2 weeks ago to turn fully vegan. I'm now on a vegan diet and also non-food products I buy are vegan now. Unfortunatly I can't financially handle it to replace all my non-vegan non-food products by vegan ones right now, but eventually I'll have vegan products only, I'm sure!

    So turning from vegetarian to vegan was a lot easier then turning from omni to vegetarian, the first step took over a year, the second under 3 weeks.

  3. #103

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    It's been surprisingly easy for me, so far. I had been vegetarian for over 10 years, and diary was unfortunately quite firmly rooted in my diet; I absolutely loved cheese and anything cheese-related But a little while ago it just sort of clicked for me out of nowhere that what I was doing was wrong, I wasn't in as morally defensible a position as I had been telling myself I was, and suddenly veganism was the only option that made sense.

    The hardest part for me was that I couldn't really rely on shop-bought ready meals and various other processed foods any more, so I had to force myself to learn to cook properly. It's not only been a lot of fun to learn, but my food bill has also gone down a bit, which is a very nice bonus on my limited funds. And I haven't even missed cheese terribly

    I only wish I'd come to the realisation sooner.

  4. #104
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote my3labs View Post
    Being vegan is easy, the fact that the rest of the world isn't, is the hard part.
    That pretty much sums up my answer.

  5. #105

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I gave up eating meat when I was about 12, but still ate fish for a while-so I guess I was a pescatarian -I became an ovo-lacto vegetarian a few years later. I gave up eating eggs a couple of years before becoming vegan and I found the transistion from lacto-vegetarian to vegan very easy- I literally did it overnight! I wished I did it earlier,- Vegan 10 years now

  6. #106
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I find it fairly easy if I'm organised with foods but struggle when family meals are a last minute affair and I've nothing much in the freezer - I have a real problem remember to soak beans overnight too! Also I'm finding I can get bored quite easily as I tend to cook the same foods which is ridiculous as I've loads of vegan cookbooks - I must start using them rather than just reading them!

  7. #107

    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    ^ I soak three or four bags of beans, then bag them in separate portions and freeze them. It is so much easier than remembering the day before

  8. #108
    CurrantCottage's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote jimmeh View Post
    ^ I soak three or four bags of beans, then bag them in separate portions and freeze them. It is so much easier than remembering the day before
    Wow - what a brilliant idea!!!! I can tell this will revolutionise my cooking! Thanks !

  9. #109
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Going from omni to veggie was easy as we never ate much meat anyway and were careful not to buy cheap, only local organic. That limited our choices but it also made us think about the creatures involved as we might have met them.... 8(

    Veggie to vegan just happened! One day I said, "That meal was vegan" and realised that several meals had been vegan without trying. So we just stuck at it and never looked back. 8)
    "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

  10. #110

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I became lacto-ovo-veggie about 16 months before turning vegan. It seemed so difficult at the time, even though I had always been uneasy with the concept of eating flesh. Animal by-products were everywhere, it seemed, and very well hidden. Then I discovered Whole Foods Market and the health food stores, and a whole world of alternatives was opened. I saw how using these animal by-products was not an important part of food production but a practice of a few corporations. Slowly, it became clear that there are vegan versions of almost everything, and suddenly the question changed from "How could I possibly be vegan?" to "How can I justify continuing to cause suffering when there is no need to?" About 2 months before going vegan, I set a date, and when it finally came there was no other choice. I had spent so much time researching my options that it was actually quite easy, much easier than initially going vegetarian.
    When people finally realize that their appetite for animals is upsetting the planet's balance, will they change, or even care?

  11. #111

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I'm one that going omni to lacto-ovo was easiest. I did it overnight on a whim, just to try it and ended up loving it. Transitioning from lacto-ovo to vegan took years of mis-tries as I've a mild dairy allergy that caused an addictive cycle. Plus, I swear they try to sneak dairy into just about everything lol.

    Then, the last time, this time, it cliqued and felt right with none of the struggling past tries had involved. Yay.

  12. #112
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I found veggie really easy. Vegan I have struggled with a lot. It is mostly that I am alone and my family are not at all supportive. It is only my own drive that kind of keeps me going. I have the tiniest slip ups when I don't think to check. Like I was eating After Eights for a while before I read that they weren't vegan. I just didn't keep checking. However, I keep going and it does get easier for me.
    There are 10 kinds of people in this world; those that understand binary and those that don't.

  13. #113
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote RumpusParable View Post
    Plus, I swear they try to sneak dairy into just about everything lol.
    No lol about it. They do. Dairy 'products' are such a cheap filler these days. Milk in bread? Every kind of soup? Popcorn? Oven chips? Salt and vinegar crisps??????????

    Plus it doesn't help with the UK government publishing the likes of the following:

    Quote people who really ought to know better but, evidently, don't:
    It's a good idea to have some milk or other dairy products every day, because they are the richest sources of calcium. They also contain other valuable vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. Some dairy products can be high in fat, but there are plenty of lower-fat options you can choose, or you could have just a small amount of the high-fat varieties. To cut down on fat, try using:

    skimmed, 1% fat or semi-skimmed milk
    low-fat spread instead of butter
    cottage cheese, low-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat versions of hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Cheshire and Edam
    low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais
    yoghurt instead of cream in cooking, or less of a stronger-tasting cheese
    Calcium is especially important for growing children and young people, to help build healthy bones and teeth. Two glasses (300ml) of milk will provide enough calcium for children aged one to three.

    Remember children need full-fat milk until they're at least two. After this age, you can gradually start giving them semi-skimmed milk, as long as they're eating a varied diet. But fully skimmed milk isn't suitable for children under five.

    Adults also need plenty of calcium. If you have one glass (200ml) of semi-skimmed milk, a small pot (150g) of low-fat fruit yoghurt and 40g hard cheese, that would provide roughly the amount of calcium an adult needs in one day.

    Canned sardines, and other fish where we eat the bones, are good sources of calcium. If you eat canned sardines in tomato sauce, two slices of toast, an orange and a small pot of fruit fromage frais, that would also give an adult enough calcium for the day.
    And I wonder why no-one's responded to this?
    "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

  14. #114
    Fiend Neptunus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    When I decided to take the plunge to veganism, I had previously been adjusting to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet - I was what they call a 'pescetarian'. Upon finding information about the milk and egg industries, I decided to go vegan immediately, forgoing fish while I was at it. I did slip up once in a while, but I found it easy to let go of all foods that I realized were non-vegan. I don't know why, but I've never been too attached to my food. I love eating it (I consumed a lot of dairy before I went vegan), but letting go in favour of something else just comes naturally to me.
    "Neptunus, you've finally gone mental." ~ Stu

  15. #115
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Omni=vegan somewhat difficult but just because i was so used to the omni way of life . the second time , this time, omni vegan easy as pie.
    I am the Devil, and I'm here to do the Devils work.

  16. #116
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Omni-> ovo-lacto-vegetarian ...... Im still trying to be vegan but is difficult to find things to eat

  17. #117
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Omni > vegan - easy

    It has been easy for me so far. I'm actually finding being vegan easier than being vegetarian. I've been vegetarian before and gone back to eating meat. I have an extremist personality, so only partially cutting out animal products never really worked for me.

    I do think it's been easy mostly because I've been on my own here at school. There are no temptations and I only have to prepare my vegan meals for myself.

    Now that I think of it, I'm currently in a real big vegan protective bubble.

    I posted a reply at Health Kicker to a post about vegetarianism about how easy it's been for me since I went vegan - and someone posted something along the lines of what I'm experiencing is a placebo effect and I need more time to discover if my veganism has been a positive change.

    coughhatercough

    I personally believe that is bull - because the definition of a placebo effect is when you experience positive effects while not having made changes (to whatever) but thinking you have. But I'm very well conscious that I have made extreme changes to my diet. And the effects have been a lot more than psyching myself into it - which I could never do while attempting "healthy" diets while eating animal products.

    But as I said, I just began to think of it, and I'm beginning to worry about what going home for Christmas will be like. I haven't yet told my family that I've gone vegan - and I have no idea how they will react.

    But despite that I know I'll still be obligated to help prepare Christmas dinner for everyone which obviously will include non vegan dishes. And in general our house is just overrun with non-vegan food. While I do plan to go grocery shopping for myself while I'm home, and I'm sure my mom will be happy to buy me some things as well, I'm concerned about how I'm going to survive being vegan in the "real world".

  18. #118
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    it would have been a piece of cake to go vegan if there were more vegan friendly options out there, not to mention people who attack us for being vegan!! Thank god I live in Vancouver bc and not in ignace ontario.... places like that have almost NO vegan options...

  19. #119
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote Marten View Post
    I've been eating meat daily until the start of last year, after a while I started eating less meat and slowly developed to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian 5 weeks ago. The day I made my decision I went on holiday to Ireland and met a vegan girl from Argentina, I was already aware of the horrible dairy- and egg-industry. I started trying vegan things and when going home I started cooking vegan meals until I decided just over 2 weeks ago to turn fully vegan. I'm now on a vegan diet and also non-food products I buy are vegan now. Unfortunatly I can't financially handle it to replace all my non-vegan non-food products by vegan ones right now, but eventually I'll have vegan products only, I'm sure!

    So turning from vegetarian to vegan was a lot easier then turning from omni to vegetarian, the first step took over a year, the second under 3 weeks.

    I certainly don't believe in replacing all the non-vegan things in your life with vegan ones. Use them until they are gone, or until you need a new one. If something died to make it, I think it would be a travesty to replace it. If you don't feel comfortable using these items anymore however, make sure that they are put to good use elsewhere. That is what I am doing with my stuff... I have many non-vegan things around my house, but I just can't imagine (let alone afford to) put them to waste. Leather couch, sheepskin throw, bath products, clothing... I don't feel right using them but I would feel ultra crappy throwing them away... anyways... blah blah blah, seems like I am just saying the same things over and over here.... lol

  20. #120
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote kookooforkarma View Post
    it would have been a piece of cake to go vegan if there were more vegan friendly options out there, not to mention people who attack us for being vegan!! Thank god I live in Vancouver bc and not in ignace ontario.... places like that have almost NO vegan options...
    Not saying that Ignace Ontario attacks vegans at all, actually they are very nice people and are very accepting, its just that there are almost no vegan options.... went out there for Christmas last year visiting family.... food was a struggle... plus I was only vegan for about three months at that time so I barely knew what I was doing, but I never slipped up out there!!

  21. #121

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Switching to lacto-vegetarian was a bit scary. Fortunately there was no trouble with my family, but at first I worried a lot and and had a few slip-ups from not paying attention. It didn't take long getting into it, though.

    Going vegan was suprisingly easy, I guess those first few years as a vegetarian helped. So far I've never been tempted to cahnge my mind.

  22. #122

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    It was fairly easy, food-wise. While I didn't go lacto-ovo-vegetarian first, I had already transitioned to actually liking a lot of fruits and vegetables (unlike my husband and myself as a kid). I had been introduced to a few vegan brands by a friend, even, so I had no problem using them as substitutes taste-wise. In fact, some people thought I was a vegetarian because I simply ate a lot of vegetarian food.

    Also helpful, my husband and I had both cut way back on eating out and buying prepared stuff. I'm sure that made it a lot easier than it would have been otherwise since, while finding prepared vegan stuff is usually harder, I think making vegan stuff is as easy or easier. However, we are lucky to live in a city with a decent selection of vegan-friendly restaurants and grocery stores -- much better than the surrounding area.

    What was hard for my husband was finding stuff that he liked because he is such a picky eater. He's had to try a lot of different stuff. He also has to travel sometimes for work, often with very little notice, and sometimes to very non-vegan-friendly places where few people are familiar with the word and even decent fresh produce is a rarity.

    What's been the hardest for me has been the social part of it. I didn't expect everyone we knew to just suddenly go, "Veganism! What a great idea!", but I wasn't expecting the sort of outright hostility we got. After all, we've been trying to be very careful not to be pushy or judgmental. We've tried very hard not to inconvenience people and we've been more than willing to bring our own food to gatherings and even share it. But despite that, I saw some outright mean streaks in people close to me, meanness that I often didn't even know was there. Some of the worst of it came from people I thought would at least appreciate it, people who pride themselves on being "animal lovers" or who I'd at least expect would be happy to see us eating healthier. But the constant pokes and jabs from them has been almost overwhelming -- to the point where I really don't want to be around them anymore no matter what the family ties.

    So, I guess, it may be easier than ever to go vegan, but it still sucks to be different.

  23. #123

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    Unhappy Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I’m 3 weeks into my new vegan lifestyle and the minute I start to miss the dairy products I think back to the footage I saw of the cow with the infected utters, oozing with blood and puss and I miss NO MORE.

  24. #124
    Divided by 0 MoonDance's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote PlantsPlease View Post



    What's been the hardest for me has been the social part of it. I didn't expect everyone we knew to just suddenly go, "Veganism! What a great idea!"

    So, I guess, it may be easier than ever to go vegan, but it still sucks to be different.
    I definitely agree with you there PlantsPlease! It amazes me too that someone like my mother and my aunt who both love dogs can still sit down and eat the flesh of another animal, all the while lovingly cooing to their canine 'babies.' I mean hello, what's the difference?!
    Or the fact that my mum, sister and father know the cruelty involved and still eat chicken
    To be fair though they don't eat red meat, and my dad doesn't eat much dairy, though my sister guzzles it
    Yes it does suck a bit to be different, especially at a restaurant or social gathering. People just look at you like 'what the hell is wrong with you?' But I usually just give 'em a glare lol

    Anyway, going from omni to lacto-ovo vegetarian was very easy and switching to vegan has been just a tad harder because of all the crap that food companies like to sneak into their otherwise seemingly innocent food, but I could NEVER go back! I actually feel ALIVE now, more natural.
    I hate it when I'm studying and a velociraptor throws bananas on me.

  25. #125
    Ruziko
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Easy since I was already vegetarian anyway.

  26. #126
    V for Veganica Sarabi's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I don't know if it was harder to become lacto-ovo-tarian or vegan because the former took me 6-7 weeks and I didn't think I could do it until I did. But once I got over my mental block, the rest was easy. On the other hand, I wanted to become vegan, but it was scary for a few days and I had no idea what I was doing.... I thought pancakes and waffles were vegan. Took me two weeks to actually figure out what was vegan and what wasn't. So it was harder to actually implement veganism, and it took more time in terms of how much effort I put in, but it took less time in terms of weeks to transition.
    "To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana." - Buddha

  27. #127

    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Omni to vegan very quickly and easily. Once I knew where my food etc came from, it just made sense to me. The idea of eating or using something from an animal makes me feel sick and guilty now. Even fake meats, if they're too realistic it makes me feel squicky lol, I had some fake chicken pieces earlier and they were flakey like real chicken and it was too weird.
    Last edited by Mollfie; Mar 12th, 2010 at 09:25 AM.

  28. #128

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I can't understand why anyone has a hard time becoming vegan. Once I decided that I didn't want to eat chickens or pigs or cows or eggs or cheese or fishes or any of that stuff, I just stopped doing it. I don't see where the difficult part comes in.

  29. #129

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote MoonDance View Post
    It amazes me too that someone like my mother and my aunt who both love dogs can still sit down and eat the flesh of another animal, all the while lovingly cooing to their canine 'babies.' I mean hello, what's the difference?!
    Well, if they're anything like my mom, the difference is that her dogs are "hers". Yeah, she says they're her "babies", but she still treats/views them as property that's she's invested too much in to just kill and eat, especially when she can buy de-boned chicken breast patties for less than $1 a pound.

  30. #130
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote Tigerlily View Post
    And I was like, "That's it!"
    Me too, I just knew I had to do it. I went from omni to vegan and didn't find it very difficult.
    cupcakekitteh.blogspot.com

  31. #131
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I voted from omni-vegan has been a tad difficult since I am still learning a lot. But so far so good. I haven't had the urge for meat at all. Cheese I still crave but have no intention of eating.

  32. #132
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    yea, for me just to think about how I am harming the animals make me become vegan right away. I don't miss anything because I know where those things come from and how much sadness and horror they contain with them.

  33. #133
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    Talking Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote LittleRedApple View Post
    I voted from omni-vegan has been a tad difficult since I am still learning a lot. But so far so good. I haven't had the urge for meat at all. Cheese I still crave but have no intention of eating.
    trust me, when you don't eat cheese for a long time, if you just bite a bit of it it tastes soooo gooey and disgusting. I really wonder how I was eating all those stuff before and enjoying them.

  34. #134
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Becoming a Vegan wasn't hard at all! My Mom is a Vegan too so there wasn't any peer pressure or anything. I was always meant to eat healthy (:

  35. #135
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    The only thing that was difficult about my becoming vegan (aside from pressure/health fears from my family) was that as time goes, I wish I had made the decision so much sooner. Once I saw how easy it was and how great it makes me feel, I couldn't believe that I hadn't gone vegan before simply for the fear of not being able to do it.
    X

  36. #136
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote Zanahorias! View Post
    The only thing that was difficult about my becoming vegan (aside from pressure/health fears from my family) was that as time goes, I wish I had made the decision so much sooner. Once I saw how easy it was and how great it makes me feel, I couldn't believe that I hadn't gone vegan before simply for the fear of not being able to do it.
    Yeah, i understand what your saying. I became a Vegan when i was 16, now im 17.

  37. #137

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    It took me 18 years to go vegan!! Was lacto- veggie for all that time! Then went vegan for lent last year, couldnt stand the smell of moo juice or cheese after the full 6 weeks. was 21 when I went veggie & 39 when I went vegan, must be good for me the only way you can tell my age is the grey hairs i'm collecting! Lol!

  38. #138
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote Dawny View Post
    It took me 18 years to go vegan!! Was lacto- veggie for all that time! Then went vegan for lent last year, couldnt stand the smell of moo juice or cheese after the full 6 weeks. was 21 when I went veggie & 39 when I went vegan, must be good for me the only way you can tell my age is the grey hairs i'm collecting! Lol!
    Wow! Yeah, isn't cheese and milk just gross?

  39. #139

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote IbanezGuitar5 View Post
    Wow! Yeah, isn't cheese and milk just gross?
    Oooohhh, I know! My gut flips at the thought that I used to eat & drink the stuff! . though the grandsons Mum is a bit dim when it comes to making me a brew......does it every time yep...puts moo juice in & says ya can drink it right? or just puts it in hoping that I wont say owt! I know shes 22 & run ragged with the grandson ,but theres no room for ignorance!

  40. #140
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote xrodolfox View Post
    It was easy going from Omni to Vegan. One morning I woke up an omnivore, and totally unplanned, by lunch I was a vegan and I had my first vegan meal.

    It's been quite easy.
    That's pretty much how my transition from omni to veggie went: my conscience caught up a week or two before a rather snap decision one day to start a veggie diet.

    Going Vegan was brought on by an online debate I was having with a meat-eater, who called me out on my (secretly long acknowledged) hypocrisy. She was right to put me in my place. That was the day I became a vegan. She'd a good attitude, better thought through than mine in many ways, and it's a shame I didn't carry on speaking with her, and not just because of this... She was a fiercly intelligent, funny and impressive woman. I liked her a lot.

  41. #141
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    And a doddle is the answer: never looked back, either time.

  42. #142
    frogfucious convectuoso's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    made some mistakes but I found the change relatively easy
    i wish it was raining

  43. #143
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Gave up the meat over 4 years ago. Decided midday one Thursday and have never looked back. Went home and told my hubby "I'm never eating meat again" and he said "good idea" and he became vegetarian with me that same day. He had been vegetarian off and on throughout his childhood so it was easy for him. About a year ago, same thing happened with becoming vegan. One Sunday, I decided to stop eating dairy and all animal product, thus becoming a vegan. I have never looked back nor craved the products. My husband followed suit a little bit later (about a week) after doing his own research. Both of my decisions come from animal cruelty, health and environment...but number one is animal cruelty. My husband has the same reasons, but his first reason is health then cruelty. My initial switch to vegetarian came one day sitting at work: I work at the local animal shelter. Sitting here it hit me like a ton of bricks---I care SO much about animals to the point I have made a career out of it then why am I eating them? I felt like a hypocrite. So right then and there I stopped. I have always loved the following quote by Maya Angelou and I often use it when I am questioned about my veganism: "Once you know better, you do better".

  44. #144
    Mrs. Beane fondducoeur's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I went vegetarian when I first went away to college. It was something that had been in the back of my mind for a while, but I don't think I gave it serious thought until I was on my own. That was pretty simple, as I was responsible for my own meals and didn't really have to deal with anyone else.

    I went vegan two years later (beginning of 2007) after I started dating my now-husband who had been vegan for close to 10 years. That was pretty easy too, since he was able to give me a lot of advice and help me out a bit when eating out in the town where we went to school. Going vegan however, was not easy when it came to my parents. They tolerated the vegetarian bit pretty well, but they had a very hard time adjusting to me being vegan. I lived at home for a while when doing an internship, and my mom and I fought about it quite a bit, although my dad was much more understanding. They are much better now, though.
    tabbouleh-bouleh

  45. #145
    inspiredbykittens's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote SamSarah98 View Post
    Gave up the meat over 4 years ago. Decided midday one Thursday and have never looked back. Went home and told my hubby "I'm never eating meat again" and he said "good idea" and he became vegetarian with me that same day. He had been vegetarian off and on throughout his childhood so it was easy for him. About a year ago, same thing happened with becoming vegan. One Sunday, I decided to stop eating dairy and all animal product, thus becoming a vegan. I have never looked back nor craved the products. My husband followed suit a little bit later (about a week) after doing his own research. Both of my decisions come from animal cruelty, health and environment...but number one is animal cruelty. My husband has the same reasons, but his first reason is health then cruelty. My initial switch to vegetarian came one day sitting at work: I work at the local animal shelter. Sitting here it hit me like a ton of bricks---I care SO much about animals to the point I have made a career out of it then why am I eating them? I felt like a hypocrite. So right then and there I stopped. I have always loved the following quote by Maya Angelou and I often use it when I am questioned about my veganism: "Once you know better, you do better".
    I completely agree with you and I'm happy you shared your story. This is pretty much the same for me. I watched Food Inc. and decided to buy free range meat and eggs. Then I researched the issues surrounding these practices. Later that week, watching The Fabulous Beekman Boys during an episode where they had the pigs "harvested" reminded me of my days in 4-H and I bawled my eyes out. I decided then that I would try to be a vegetarian or pescatarian. Then, a couple days later, Netflix sent me "The Cove". I decided then to become a Vegan. This was just a month ago and like you, I haven't looked back. I am still in the beginning stages, finding out how animals are used in the production/testing of various products. My husband is on board with me for the most part. He has eaten dairy a couple times in the last month, but I haven't. No blood and pus for me, thank you very much. This has been the easiest transition I've ever made.
    Give me all your vegan recipes and no one gets hurt.

  46. #146

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I found it easier then i thought that it would be, i cut out one or two foods at a time, so the transition was over a couple of months, but was much much easier then changing overnight.

  47. #147
    Charley333's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Quote Mollfie View Post
    Omni to vegan very quickly and easily. Once I knew where my food etc came from, it just made sense to me. The idea of eating or using something from an animal makes me feel sick and guilty now.
    I agree, I'd never really liked milk to start with but I used to put cheese on everything, which makes me feel ill now... Once I saw Earthlings and I'd read Vegan Freak etc, I knew I had to go vegan to be consistent, being vegetarian just didn't seem enough, so I cut out everything overnight. The food side has been the easiest, I live in a big city and there's a lot of alternatives etc available, the hard part was telling people and their reactions and just wanting them to understand, but as Harpy has said to me before, I guess just being a positive example as a vegan will show people how easy and great it is!
    "Who was the guy who first looked at a cow and said, 'I think I'll drink whatever comes out of these things when I squeeze 'em!'?” - Calvin and Hobbes

  48. #148

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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I found omny->ovo-lacto & ovo-lacto->vegan both easy (because I didn't have to push myself, I just cannot crave products of animal suffering).

  49. #149
    Cakeaholic rainbow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    I would echo much of what others have said. In terms of making a decision, sticking to it, eating well etc, it has been easy. I went vegetarian overnight aged 7, and vegan overnight aged 11, and never looked back or faltered either time. I had the courage of my convictions, and everything else followed suit. Once you have accepted the truth about animal products, they are no longer food - they are the by-products of abuse, torture and murder. I could no sooner look at an animal product and find it appetising than I could watch a film of someone being raped and find it arousing. It is horror, pure horror.
    But also in keeping with what others have said, the social aspects - the fact that the rest of the world is not vegan - has been somewhat more challenging. Dealing with negative attitudes has always been tough. I was very lucky to be raised in a vegetarian family, with a health food store at the end of the road. That made the conversion to veganism so much easier (even if, in 1991, the range of vegan products was significantly more limited than it is today. On the other hand, the fad with putting lactose in everything had not yet begun). Another advantage was that, being so young, I had not yet acquired a taste for many things, and had barely learned how to cook anything, so my taste buds and culinary skills developed around a vegan diet. On the other hand, dealing with the hostile attitudes of people at school was very, very tough.
    When I was 17, I spent a year living with a French family. It was an extremely tough year. The *only* vegan convenience food I could find was soya milk - other than that, it really was back to basics. That was the year I really learned how to cook, because it was a baptism of fire. No recipe books, no internet (this was 1996), no specialist ingredients, and no help - just me, vegetables, rice, pasta etc. I didn't get on with the family at all. They thought it was incredibly rude of me to ask them to use the bread knife on the table, rather than cutting the communal bread with their steak knives covered in blood (after which, of course, I would no longer touch the bread, which was the staple of every meal I ate there). I did the dishes far more than my share (with rubber gloves on, of course), just to make sure I got all the corpse off the plates - and then they would chastise me for using too much water. When they wanted to "punish" me for whatever, they would eat the food I had cooked for the week (which they would mock to my face, but steal behind my back), or refuse to buy me basic ingredients such as vegetables. They made me eat stale bread and kept the fresh for themselves. My parents had already paid them for the food I ate so they were just mean, mean, mean. They smoked all over me and told me that I was evil. It was a fascinating, if deeply unpleasant, insight into what bad families are like. They didn't even like each other. I was so miserable that I couldn't stick it out for the whole year, and quit at Easter. (Once, early on, we visited the grandparents, who made me a "vegan" cake without eggs or milk. Unfortunately though, the margarine they had used instead of butter contained fish oil. What would others do in this situation? They had made it specially for me and went to great lengths to make sure I knew that they were all suffering from an inferior cake as a result. But I just couldn't eat something with fish in it. I felt so awful about it but I just couldn't, I would have puked. So I just sat there, captive at the table, for an hour or more, while they just sat there abusing me to my face. I feigned illness the next time they went to visit the grandparents to get out of going because I just couldn't bear it. Oh, bad times!)
    That was the last time that being vegan was really, really hard. And that was social rather than dietary. Being trapped in situations where I have no control over food (eg work conferences which are full board, or visiting people who don't really get veganism) can be hard, but wherever possible I plan ahead to mitigate these situations. But I have never once contemplated going back. Being vegan is mostly joyous and occasionally socially awkward; eating animal products is just unthinkable.
    Live and let live

  50. #150
    Cakeaholic rainbow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going vegan - was it easy for you?

    Oh dear, that was a long post! Sorry.
    Live and let live

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