Is veganism a diet?

[NotVegan]

me and a friend are having an argument, maybe you guys can me. Is veganism a diet? He argues hes not doing it to lose weight or anything, and i keep telling him that a diet is what a person eats, it doesnt have to change to be a diet (i.e. no fast food)

So what do you think? In this sense would veganism be considered a form of a diet? thanks

[foxytina_69]

your diet is what u consume. A DIET, i would consider to be sumthing u go on to lose weight. veganism is not a diet/weight loss eating plan, if thats what u are asking. its a way of eating. just like your diet contains meat. ours doesnt. so both of u are right. any way a human eats would be considered to be their diet. altho diet isnt the proper word for a weight loss plan it tends to be said that way.

[Mystic]

Veganism alone, is not a diet - it is a lifestyle - a belief system that INCORPORATES dietary aspects. If you say you eat vegan, but do not maintain the belief system that goes along with veganism, and you are doing it purely for the dietary aspects, then that is what, I am sure most people agree as a strict vegetarian.

[gertvegan]

Read the www.veganforum.com front page again notvegan.

[Korn]

Hi NotVegan, I found a little comment on veganism in a book review at vegsource.com:

" [...] vegans must not allow the word "vegan" to become a diet just like the word "vegetarian" because there is more to being a vegan than following a "strict vegetarian" or "total vegetarian" diet. Being vegan encompasses a philosophy of compassionate living."
http://www.vegsource.com/jo/books/bvreview2.htm

[TheFirstBus]

They are right, there are any other aspects of veganism aside from the food you consume. But personally when I think of diet the first thing that comes to mind is those things people do when they want to lose a certain amount of wait then just consume junk again later, I think if you truely want to be healthy it will always be more of a lifestyle choice to stop eating crap altogether. But no veganism is a lifestyle choice.

[foxytina_69]

i didnt even think about the other aspects of veganism. its so natural to me now that its just my lifestyle. i dont think about it!

[TheFirstBus]

I never do either, but when I did becom vegan over the course of a couple months I began to notice how many things were leather.

[gertvegan]

NotVegan, HERES a link to a "Veganism, It's Not Just a Diet. While vegetarians eschew meat, some go further" article from eatveg.com . It made me chuckle anyway.

[Kiva Dancer]

me and a friend are having an argument, maybe you guys can me. Is veganism a diet? He argues hes not doing it to lose weight or anything, and i keep telling him that a diet is what a person eats, it doesnt have to change to be a diet (i.e. no fast food)

So what do you think? In this sense would veganism be considered a form of a diet? thanks

Diet originally meant lifestyle. It comes from the Latin diaeta, meaning "way of living/routine of day". Over time, it's been changed to mean "way of eating" or "method of losing weight".

In a strict sense, veganism is a diet but only in the "way of living" sense (we call that a lifestyle, now). It can also be a way of eating and some use it as a method of losing weight. If it's a way of eating, then it's known as strict vegetarian and if it's a method of losing weight, then it's the strict vegetarian diet or the vegetarian diet.

Does that help a bit?

[K4J]

Diet originally meant lifestyle. It comes from the Latin diaeta, meaning "way of living/routine of day". Over time, it's been changed to mean "way of eating" or "method of losing weight".

In a strict sense, veganism is a diet but only in the "way of living" sense (we call that a lifestyle, now). It can also be a way of eating and some use it as a method of losing weight. If it's a way of eating, then it's known as strict vegetarian and if it's a method of losing weight, then it's the strict vegetarian diet or the vegetarian diet.

Does that help a bit?

Yes, I agree with the person above whom I've quoted here. You can go vegan & not loose the weight ya want to loose. Or ya can go vegan & loose the weight, that ya desire to loose. It all depends on what ya know about how to eat & when to eat & to do it properly, that counts.

There is a lot to look at here but, If ya want to search it out, check this website out:

http://www.notmilk.com

K4J

[cowpie]

Veganism is not just a diet, it's a philosophy. I would, however, consider vegetarianism a diet.....

[l337_v3g4n_1]

veganism is more than food.
If you are really and truly vegan you do not use wool, leather, honey, shampoo with animal products, lipstick with cows in it, etc.

I'm not trying to sound elitist, but someone claiming to be vegan while wearing a pearl necklace, wool sweter or/and leather, is like someone claiming to be a non-smoker, but occasionally hving a sigarette.

I hope this has cleared up any questions still lingering

[scorpy]

Veganism is not just a diet, it's a philosophy. I would, however, consider vegetarianism a diet.....

Vegetarianism is a philosophy too, with milk in it.

[Korn]

I have yet to meet a vegetarian that insist that we need milk, or even argue pro the using dairy products. They just seem to be addicted. Anyway, to me a vegetarian is different from a lacto-vegetarian, so I would say that in the real meaning of the word, a vegetarian is someone who eats only plant based food, but who isn't necessarily a vegan. A lacto-vegetarian is one who eats both plants and dairy products. But we have several threads about that topic already .

[Wildflower]

Well put Korn.

I usually explain to someone that if you eat only plants, you eat a vegan diet, but that doesn't make you a vegan. A vegan is someone who is morally opposed to the exploitation of animals and avoids all animal products.

So, you can have a vegan pizza, or a vegan cassorole, because they are animal free but eating these doesn't make you vegan - to be a vegan person you also have to be entirely animal free.

[Love]

No,it's a whole lifestyle
With love from Love.XXX.