Starting my first day as a vegan today (this might only last about an hour)

[Arkitech]

I've been wanting to try a vegan diet for quite some time now and I think today is the day I get started. I want to get healthier, lose weight and gain more energy.

So a few questions for the non-meat eaters:

How many times a day do you normally eat?

What's a typical breakfast for you?

What should a new vegan/vegetarian add to their diet to ensure they are getting the sufficient nutrients and vitamins that the body needs?

For those of you who lift weights, what's the most protein heavy foods?


thanks

 

[KLin]

You know you can get healthier, lose weight, and gain more energy without having to do a vegan diet.

 

[Ameesh]

lentils are high in protien but why go all the way vegan why not just vegitarian?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Yeah no kidding... vegan is an extreme... at least try vegetarian first... if even that. There's lots of options.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: KLin
You know you can get healthier, lose weight, and gain more energy without having to do a vegan diet.

true, but from what I've read and seen I'm really interested in trying the vegan diet to see how it works for me

 

[DainBramaged]

I had steak last night. It was amazing.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: KLin
You know you can get healthier, lose weight, and gain more energy without having to do a vegan diet.

the only difference between a vegan and a vegetarian is dairy products right?

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: DainBramaged
I had steak last night. It was amazing.

I had bacon last night, which was equally amazing. But I'll be saying goodbye to that, at least for a long while.

 

[gabemcg]

Congradulations on your choice, I've grown up a vegitarian, the biggest thing you're going to want to pay attention to is your protein intake as you mentioned.

I eat dairy, so eggs milk and cheese profide most of my protine. For you, at least starting out, I would reccomend a suppliment of some sort. Peanut butter has TONS of protien, so that will become a staple for you. I usually eat 2 big meals a day, and a couple smaller snacks, but I'm not very healthy, so don't look at me for portion suggestions.

I like breakfast foods... Bagles, Cereal, Milk, Eggs... That doesn't do you much good but hey...

One thing to remember... If you cheat sometimes, it doesn't mean you've failed. I give in and have a bacon, egg, and cheese biscut from McDonalds a few times a year, it's a guilty pleasure, nothing more.

Good luck, and best of health!

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Nuts, lots of nuts.

Brown rice & Whole wheat everything. Stay off the bleached flour, white rice, and the like.

I'm a carnivore but have been on low-carb for 9-months. Has worked wonders for me.

 

[TheoPetro]

People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
Nuts, lots of nuts.

Brown rice & Whole wheat everything. Stay off the bleached flour, white rice, and the like.

I'm a carnivore but have been on low-carb for 9-months. Has worked wonders for me.

What you just listed is a big part of my eating plan. My goal is to take in very little bread, none of which will be bleached flour and white rice. In fact last night I bought quite a bit of brown rice (I love it with canola oil, mushrooms and onions).

I plan on eliminating the following from my diet:

all candy and sweets (will replace that with fresh fruits)
fast food (I might treat myself to the occasional order of fries and onion rings)
breads/pasta (I don't eat a lot of bread anyway so that's not a big deal)
fried foods (I don't eat much of fried food either, so this is an easy one)
soda/pop (again I've never drank much soda, I usually drink water)

Basically I want to try and follow a really stripped down but vitamin and nutrient heavy diet. At the same time I plan on becoming more active (lots of walking and exercise).

 

[jtusa]

Originally posted by: DainBramaged
I had steak last night. It was amazing.

As I often tell people, if I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be beef.

 

[Chaotic42]

Being a vegan is a pain. Eggs and milk products are in way more things than you think. It's hard to eat correctly and if you want dairy and meat replacements (Tofu jerky, rice-based ice cream), those things are very expensive.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation. Also humans are the only carnivores who can not produce vitamin c naturally, (most mammals need this vitamin to function properly for fighting off infections and recovering from illness) this can only be attained for humans in supplements or produce.

So again while I have nothing against eating meat, the assumption that it's part of our nature is not really true in my opinion.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation.

I've eaten raw beef and raw fish, my body processed it fine. The human body has evolved to eating cooked meat as it reduces the risk of critters getting in our system. Cook out the bacteria and we are a healtheir breed of animal.

It's all about evolution.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation. Also humans are the only carnivores who can not produce vitamin c naturally, (most mammals need this vitamin to function properly for fighting off infections and recovering from illness) this can only be attained for humans in supplements or produce.

So again while I have nothing against eating meat, the assumption that it's part of our nature is not really true in my opinion.

That's where you're wrong. We are made to eat meat, vegetables, and fruits. You are assuming one extreme or the other. We are not carnivores or herbivores, we're both.
We're omnivores.

Edit: We started cooking meat because it tasted better cooked. We were able to digest raw meat before then.

Oh, and the obligatory "For every animal you don't eat, I'll eat three"

 

[doze]

Why not just try a balanced diet and eat only at mealtime? Vegan is a bit extreme and basically means you no meat and use no products that are made with animal byproducts.

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation. Also humans are the only carnivores who can not produce vitamin c naturally, (most mammals need this vitamin to function properly for fighting off infections and recovering from illness) this can only be attained for humans in supplements or produce.

So again while I have nothing against eating meat, the assumption that it's part of our nature is not really true in my opinion.

Humans aren't carnivores, we're omnivores. It's possible to live healthily (with research and planning) as a vegan, but it is definitely not the way our bodies have evolved to work.

 

[Descartes]

No offense, but it sounds like you are seriously ill-prepared. If you don't know what vegan means and don't know a few basic protein sources that vegetarians consume, then how are you going to be successful?

I'd suggest you do a little more research and come up with a better plan. You can't just "go vegan" one day without first understanding what it means to be vegan; it's a hell of a lot more than just a diet. It's an entirely different philosophy of life, and food is simply a part of it; at its core is more about the interaction between people and other forms of life.

And as others have said, going vegetarian doesn't somehow equate to losing weight and being healthy. It can be devestating to your health if you don't understand what you're doing, and if you don't know of a few basic protein sources you're on the path.

Sorry to be so negative, but I think you need to think this out a little more. It requires serious dedication, and should not be taken lightly. Contrary to what some may think, you're not a vegetarian if you cheat a few times a week with a slab of filet mignon or bacon at breakfast.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation.

I've eaten raw beef and raw fish, my body processed it fine. The human body has evolved to eating cooked meat as it reduces the risk of critters getting in our system. Cook out the bacteria and we are a healtheir breed of animal.

It's all about evolution.

Again I'm speaking of true carnivores, if humans were true carnivores the way animals were any form of raw meat would supplement our health instead of damage it. Lions, wolves, bears, sharks, etc.. don't need cooked meat, their bodies are able to naturally deal with bacteria and parasites. Try eating raw bacon or chicken, if your body can process that fine then I'll defnitely have to rethink my opinion.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

PLANT KILLER!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructarian

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation. Also humans are the only carnivores who can not produce vitamin c naturally, (most mammals need this vitamin to function properly for fighting off infections and recovering from illness) this can only be attained for humans in supplements or produce.

So again while I have nothing against eating meat, the assumption that it's part of our nature is not really true in my opinion.

That's where you're wrong. We are made to eat meat, vegetables, and fruits. You are assuming one extreme or the other. We are not carnivores or herbivores, we're both.
We're omnivores.

Edit: We started cooking meat because it tasted better cooked. We were able to digest raw meat before then.

Oh, and the obligatory "For every animal you don't eat, I'll eat three"

Good point, most people are omnivores. However I'm skeptical about humans being able to digest raw meat in the past. Maybe certain types of raw meat, but definitely not like animals do.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: doze
Why not just try a balanced diet and eat only at mealtime? Vegan is a bit extreme and basically means you no meat and use no products that are made with animal byproducts.

I'm leaning closer to a vegan eating pattern because I want to avoid dairy products for awhile. My goal is to really try and eat as natural as possible, meaning that I want to consume very little processed foods. Which is why I want to avoid fast foods, soda, candy and other foods similar to those categories.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
People were made to eat meat. It is in our nature. YOU ARE DENYING YOUR NATURE. I am a sharp tooth (land before time) and always will be. I find it is my duty to eat plant eaters. If you become a plant eater then prepare to be hunted like a deer.

I don't have anything against meat, I've enjoyed it for 34 years. However I don't think it's as natural to the human diet as some people would make it seem. If you look at any other carnivore on the planet you'll realize that humans are the only ones who need to cook meat before they can eat it. A true carnivore does not have that limitation. Also humans are the only carnivores who can not produce vitamin c naturally, (most mammals need this vitamin to function properly for fighting off infections and recovering from illness) this can only be attained for humans in supplements or produce.

So again while I have nothing against eating meat, the assumption that it's part of our nature is not really true in my opinion.

That's where you're wrong. We are made to eat meat, vegetables, and fruits. You are assuming one extreme or the other. We are not carnivores or herbivores, we're both.
We're omnivores.

Edit: We started cooking meat because it tasted better cooked. We were able to digest raw meat before then.

Oh, and the obligatory "For every animal you don't eat, I'll eat three"

Good point, most people are omnivores. However I'm skeptical about humans being able to digest raw meat in the past. Maybe certain types of raw meat, but definitely not like animals do.

You're right, we can't just eat any random raw meat and digest it well. But we cannot just pick any random plant and eat it, either. We're a compromise between herbivore and carnivore.