It seems that at some point every online personality goes vegan. I did it last year though it was not a decision I made lightly; the thought was running in my mind for a few months as a solution to my ballooning weight, having gained 20lbs in a year. Only thing stopping me were my friends and family laughing at the idea that carnivorous Rudy Jahchan could survive a week going vegan.
But then I was lucky to have the brilliant, vegan, (and sexy) Sean Bonner visit us. With his encouragement, inspirational links he provided on others who had done it, and his accompaniment on a grocery shopping makeover experience, I was on my way.
I didn’t document my experience like Vu Bui is doing (slap my own wrist) but I can tell you what worked.
- Weight Loss – Over the 4 months I was vegan, I lost over 15lbs, without hitting the gym. And I know why it worked for me. Veganism forced me to know exactly what I was eating, preventing me from the excuses I usually make ( “Of course I can have a Wendy’s quadruple; beef and cheese are protein.”)
- Shopping & Eating out classy – Living in a metropolitan city like Montreal is a blessing for food choices. At the grocery store there is a rack of tofu options, with local success Commensal providing a wealth of ready made meals. And I lurve Yves tofu-dogs and other options. Likewise, Montreal’s many restaurants have vegan options, and I highly recommend Chu-Chai for a complete vegan menu that even non-vegans will enjoy. And thank Zod for asian foods; I did not have to abandon my favorite restaurant Le Taj.
- Being honest why you are doing it – Like in my case, it was purely for (again) weight loss. I didn’t do in protest of the meat or dairy industries, or to help the environment. Closest cause I had was acting a bit of a futurist and live more plant based as I do think green-lifestyles will be something we all adopt.
Most importantly, I did not crack once during that entire time, something former vegan fans could not even claim!
So why did I stop? Well …
- Don’t Go It Alone – At least not if you’re living intimately with somebody. My partner was very supportive at first. But meal planning became difficult, as my taste palette was wider then hers. The crisis point though was that she hated when I made a “bad” food choice. Not “bad” as in breaking veganism but bad as in …
- Vegan doesn’t mean Healthy/Eating out sloppy – Due to time or trying to please my partner I would grab some fast food at McDonald’s … and discover the only choice for me were the fries. And no matter how you spin it, that is not a good choice. But I would eat it, making the same excuses like I use to (“Well it IS vegan …”) This introduced stress nutritionally and into my relationship (on top of the many other stresses that were already there).
- Too much weight loss – I was happy when I hit 185lbs. Ecstatic when I hit 180lbs. And proud when I crossed back into 170s. Then started getting really worried at 172lbs. At 6 foot 1 inch I only have so much mass to lose. Granted, a personal crisis during that time period didn’t help. But the same way I (personally) needed a big change to stop the weight gain I needed another change to focus on the next step: maintaining and toning up.
So what am I doing now? Eating more balanced, frequent, smaller meals. In the last month (and through the Holidays no less!) I have maintained my weight in the range of 173 to 175 lbs. I’ve gone back to the gym and regularly swimming. And when the option exists, choose the lighter vegan choice.
Should you go vegan? That’s for you to decide. But I do encourage you to try it out, and don’t take the fact that I stopped to mean it doesn’t work or can’t be done.
Man, thanks for posting this, Rudy. I agree with every point. Especially the fact thatcegan doesn’t mean healthy. And it is very tough on the significant other. She is supportive of me as well but it really limits her food choices… it used to be that I would be up to going anywhere, so she could crave anything and it wasn’t a problem, and now she has 2 choices for places within 10 minutes, everything else is 20 or more minutes worth of driving away.
LA has some awesome vegan places, amazing in fact. Some of which I will be visiting even when I’m done with this project. In fact, next time you’re down here let’s go…
I certainly respect the discipline it takes to be Vegan, but there are many negative effects due to the fact non-animal products simply don’t have some of the essential nutrients that are found only in foods from them. Ultimately I think Veganism is a hidden danger that operates under the guise of being healthy, and I’ve seen a lot of friends come off Veganism on doctor’s orders for that reason. In the long term, it may not be the healthiest choice…
Myself, I’ve opted for “Mostly Vegetarian” - which means only one meal a day has meat in it, and every meal has significantly smaller portions. In the span of a week, with no exercise, I lost 4 pounds. One week at four pounds times four weeks to make the month means I lost nearly the same weight as yourself. But like yourself, at a loss for muscle mass. If one of your goals is to get more toned for 08 beans, nuts and legumes can only go so far in helping you achieve that objective.
I guess I’m saying that I respect the choice because it takes a lot of disciple (and there are some very tasty choices!) but do be CAREFUL, because I worry insanely about those I love. You seem to be on the right track though, and hopefully you’ve got a web of intelligent Vegan-support that can keep you in the lifestyle in long lasting and healthy ways.
@Dany, Not trying to start a flame war or anything, but that is simply not true. It’s one of the biggest myths around that you can’t have a healthy balanced diet being vegetarian or vegan. It is incredibly easy to get ALL the essential nutrients you need from a Vegan diet. But like any diet, you have to eat a balanced variety. If you eat just meat and potatoes every day, you wouldn’t get most of the nutrients needed, same with vegan, if you eat just lettuce and rice all day long, of course you won’t get all the required nutrients.
@All: While I don’t disagree that it’s a myth (I know some quite healthy long-term vegans), it’s true that it’s difficult, at least, for most people. You do have to know what you’re doing, and go outside the regular grocery list. You have to be willing to try new foods… I know a lot of people who would stop right there. And at that, it’s not that veganism is the magic helthy diet, it’s that when making vegan choices, you are forced to think about what you’re eating. But even at THAT, you still have to make sure those are healthy choices. As Rudy points out, just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean it’s healthy (FUDGEE-O, McDick’s fries)…
Rudy ackowledged one of the big things everyone seems to forget when it comes to dieting: dieting alone simply does not work. Eating wisely (vegan or not… and it’s largely about moderation) in combination with regular excercise (or at least physical activity… regular walks/hikes can count, doesn’t have to be the gym) is the key to healthy lifestyle. Weight isn’t everything… and simply dropping weight isn’t necessarily the best goal.
One book that seems to nail some of these points on the nose, is Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food: an Eater’s Manifesto”. I heard an interview with the author just yesterday, and I hope to pick it up soon, although I’ve got a lot of reading for school and am not sure I’ll be able to squeeze it in for a while.
I generally eat well, I think. My gridriend and I rearely buy meat, try new things, and try to eat a lot of fresh veggies. I may indulge in the occaisional poutine… perhaps even too often, but I know that the big thing I need to remedy is lack of excercise. I’ve joined the gym, and have started running. Just a couple of hours a week on the treadmill does a lot. I’ll add weights in a month or so, and when spring/summer comes around, I’ll start up again with my Ultimate team.
So yeah - I guess the real point is, and it’s always the same, no matter how many “diet” books get published, nor how many infomercials air… the average North American eats too much, stresses too much, doesn’t excercise or sleep enough, drinks too much pop and not enough water, eats too much procesed and not enough fresh/from scratch. There’s no quick fix, not veganism, not the abroller - nothing. It takes effort… but you gotta be having fun. You have to enjoy the food and the excercise. 1- that’ll help you stick to it, and 2- it will actually work better.
But… uh… I’m not an expert.
Just in case an aspiring vegan comes across this post - McDonald’s fries are not vegan. They have natural beef flavour which also contain milk derivatives.
http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html#1
That’s awesome man. Thanks for laying it out like that. I don’t think I could ever go vegan but I am trying to cut out my meat intake by ordering things without meat when I can. I even ordered a veggie burger at a burger joint. I could totally use a shopping partner sometime, that would totally help.
Does anyone have an effective treatment for constipation It seems to be a side effect of the diet I am on.
As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you