Vegetarians how do you do it?

[Jeff]

So I gained about 10 lbs over the holidays thankgiving and Christmas, and someone challenged me to go completely Vegan for 30 days. I started doing some slow transitioning eating less meat and more veggies and trying some veggy dishes trying to get my tastes set up. Anyway, so February 1 I started. Pure vegan, vegetable and fruits only. No breads, milks, pasta.

First 10 days were rough I admit. One of the things that I quickly noticed was I was cold. Really cold. I am normally a hot person but everything was cold. Even getting into bed I would crank up the electric blanket. Which I didn't even own an electric blanket until this. Ok, aside from being cold. After the first 10 days, I actually felt and still feel wonderful. I feel better than ever. Odd things started happening like my Eczema which I had mentioned before and I have had for over 10 years completely disappeared. I had more energy. I also had my physical end of February and my cholesterol numbers were perfect which I am usually borderline.

So ok eating a lot more fruits and veggies are better for me. However, here is one thing I am eating a ton of food. I mean a ton. I am still loosing weight. I lost 26 lbs since Christmas. Most being in February. It seems you just have to eat so much to be able to get enough calories. I actually eat more now than when I didn't eat vegan. Like last night for supper I had almost a quart of Avocado Mushroom soup and then a large steamed veggie salad with a home made ginger vinaigrette dressing. I was overly stuffed. Breakfast this morning was a green smoothie with 1 whole apple, 1 banana, 2 large kale leaves, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup coconut water, 1 cup almond milk. I am now having a splash of sun smoothie, 3 large carrots, 2 ornges and a 2 inch piece of fresh ginger. For Lunch I have the second quart of soup from last night and a huge salad. Afternoon snack, and so on. I just eat a ton of food. Now I am slowly adding foods back in. I wondering if there was something in my diet causing my eczema so slowly adding in more foods. Eggs and meats then dairy. So I just wonder how in the heck vegans eat so much. Is it just the cheeses and grains I am missing to add in some extra calories?

This is really a pic I took last night after grocery shopping of my fridge. This is only a 5 day supply of veggies, it doesn't include non refrigerated items. Like apples, grapes, potatoes, tomatoes, oranges and lemons banana. Every drawer and shelf is packed. 5 days from now it will be completely empty.

[BaconsMom]

I commend you. I could never do it, and living with a Man who loves his meat, we would never try it.

[SoapySophie]

I'm not veg, but I found that just by eliminating grains and sugar from my diet, weight fell off, I felt fantastic, and my acne disappeared. I had found Marks Daily Apple.

[Jeff]

Oh I love meat as well and plan to get back to it, however I do have a greater appreciation for some of the things you can do with just veggies. We all know they are healthier for you but I do believe we also need meat. Also, I am not one to dismiss something, I never had a problem with vegans but I wanted to understand it a little more. It's tough to eat out as a vegan. I pretty much had to eat at home or bring something with me. I found some great recipes that I will make again. Sweet Potato baked fries, Squash and Apple Soup, Raw Carrot and Ginger soup. I also learned there is a proper way to make a good salad. Then Dressings, I will never buy dressing from the store again. I learned some fantastic but healthy dressing recipes. I also tried a wide range of new veggies I never would have ever tried. Celery Root, Kohlrabi, quickly come to mind as new veggies I had that I never heard of or never would have tried and I actually liked.

Hemi liked it as well. He loves Fruits and veggies. So he was always getting slice of apple here, carrot there and so on.

[beth101509]

Good for you. I could never do anything like that. I love pasta, cheese, and beef too much to give any of those things up. Glad it makes you feel better though. Maybe instead of going vegan try Paleo. That has meats incorporated but no pasta or anything like that. Again, I can't try that diet either as I could eat pasta every day of the week.

The Paleo Diet

Above is the link for paleo in case you want to look into it.

[ZoeysMommy]

I am not a big fan of meat in general unless its a huge steak so I eat very little meat.

Remember to replace the protein you are loosing from the lack of meat. I do a lot of hemp protein shakes and cook with tofu a lot. I also eat a lot of eggs. I try to eat fish but I just don't like it except maybe tuna fish

Your body will feel better without all the meat, I also do not eat a lot of starchy grains or white pasta unless its something whole grain like brown rice.

[Labradorks]

It's probably not the lack of meat that is making you feel great, it's the lack of processed foods. I got pretty heavy in my mid-20s and then went on the Atkins diet and lost a lot of weight and cleaned up my blood work, even though that was back when Atkins was basically a bacon and whipping cream diet. That was nearly 20 years ago and I've managed to keep much of the weight off just by eliminating processed foods from my diet (rice, pasta, chips, bread, sugar, etc.) and eating whole foods: meat, veggies, fruit, eggs, and some dairy. Basically, I eat nothing from a box. That's not to say I'm perfect because I'm certainly not! But, even though my weight fluctuates based on how much I'm going out and working out, there are 50 lbs I've managed to keep off just by not eating processed food as a part of my regular daily diet.

It makes sense about your skin issues. Dairy is often linked to skin problems as is sugar. I have a mild dairy sensitivity, but cream in my coffee and cheese as an occasional condiment works for me. I know a lot of people who completely eliminate it forever though as they can't stomach it. Sugar is pretty much the devil. It all turns to fat and it does terrible things to your body, inside and out. It affects your mood, sleep, and can cause depression.

Personally, I have a hard time eating meat. It just does not appeal to me most days. I'm a "flexitarian" in that I don't often cook meat anymore, but I will eat it. It's a recent thing, but I am finding a balance. I do not do smoothies because I don't like to drink my meals. I know of lots of people who went vegan who gained weight due to the sugar in fruit (most bought a Vitamix and went smoothie crazy). These were people who were in shape (CrossFit) who wanted to take their nutrition a step further. When you are working out like that though, you need protein and it's hard to get if you are a vegan. Many health conscious people will avoid soy so there are not many options as a vegan. In cases where people are overweight, taking out the processed foods, even if you do add lots of fruit, the weight often just falls off.

I am glad you are finding health! I hope you can find something that you can stick with and that helps you continue on a healthy journey.

[Labradorks]

Oh I love meat as well and plan to get back to it, however I do have a greater appreciation for some of the things you can do with just veggies.

Did you make "zoodles"?

[CraftHer]

Jeff, I applaud you for taking this road. Congratulations on your success.

A side story.....I have a co-worker who's vegan. To him, it's more than just health issues, it's animal rights and environmental issues as well. He has 4 cats and they eat vegan, as well. However, they are all diabetic and 2 have kidney problems. One of them had to be hospitalized for a while and now has a feeding tube and many health problems. This guy loves his cats like we love our dogs. So it really makes me wonder if the vegan diet is what's causing his cats' problems. None of the cats are siblings.

[Jeff]

It's probably not the lack of meat that is making you feel great, it's the lack of processed foods. I got pretty heavy in my mid-20s and then went on the Atkins diet and lost a lot of weight and cleaned up my blood work, even though that was back when Atkins was basically a bacon and whipping cream diet. That was nearly 20 years ago and I've managed to keep much of the weight off just by eliminating processed foods from my diet (rice, pasta, chips, bread, sugar, etc.) and eating whole foods: meat, veggies, fruit, eggs, and some dairy. Basically, I eat nothing from a box. That's not to say I'm perfect because I'm certainly not! But, even though my weight fluctuates based on how much I'm going out and working out, there are 50 lbs I've managed to keep off just by not eating processed food as a part of my regular daily diet.

You know I would probably agree with this. I never ate a lot of processed foods but 2-3 times a week to Arby's because it is right on the way home for lunch. then I ate out at a Thai restaurant once a week cause I love spicy foods. But when I go on vacation I never eat out. I am actually a big griller so I love to grill food and I do grill veggies a lot but I have a lot of meat.

It makes sense about your skin issues. Dairy is often linked to skin problems as is sugar. I have a mild dairy sensitivity, but cream in my coffee and cheese as an occasional condiment works for me. I know a lot of people who completely eliminate it forever though as they can't stomach it. Sugar is pretty much the devil. It all turns to fat and it does terrible things to your body, inside and out. It affects your mood, sleep, and can cause depression.

This one I am not sure on, if it turns out to be dairy I would be stunned. I have drank a lot of milk all my life. When I was a teenager my mom complained a lot because of the cost of it, I literally drank a gallon of milk a day as a teen. Now I am older before I did this I was still a 2 gallon a week drinker. When I was a teen and well into my 30s I never had skin issues. However, I had them as a younger child and now in my 40's so I would be surprised if it turned out to be milk. Sugar has never been much of an issue with me. Every now and then I have a piece of cake or a doughnut but that's like once a month maybe twice at the most when someone brings something in at work, my only weakness is Reese's cups which around the holidays I do eat more of those.

Personally, I have a hard time eating meat. It just does not appeal to me most days. I'm a "flexitarian" in that I don't often cook meat anymore, but I will eat it. It's a recent thing, but I am finding a balance. I do not do smoothies because I don't like to drink my meals. I know of lots of people who went vegan who gained weight due to the sugar in fruit (most bought a Vitamix and went smoothie crazy). These were people who were in shape (CrossFit) who wanted to take their nutrition a step further. When you are working out like that though, you need protein and it's hard to get if you are a vegan. Many health conscious people will avoid soy so there are not many options as a vegan. In cases where people are overweight, taking out the processed foods, even if you do add lots of fruit, the weight often just falls off.

I have always enjoyed smoothies myself. However, again this was something i learned over time to try to keep an 80/20 rule 80% veggie or nuts and 20% fruits.


Then on Zoodles, I have not yet, it is on my list of things to try. I want to actually make a couple pasta like dishes one with Zoodles and one with Spaghetti squash to kind of compare them. I did buy a bread maker, I do plan to try and make my own not overly refines breads and see how that goes. I always loved fresh bread anyway vs store bought. So we will see. I am starting by introducing better grains like Teff and Quinoa.