Comments on: Gone Vegan

By: diet recipes

diet recipes — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:46:24 +0000

I love your site. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Thank you!

By: Touch Up Paint Kit

Touch Up Paint Kit — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:18:02 +0000

I’ve been looking for this precise info on this topic for a while.

By: Body detoxification diets

Body detoxification diets — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:07:03 +0000

i became a Vegan three years ago and i can say that my health have been very very good. meat and dairy substitutes like soy also works well for the body.

By: Clintus McGintus

Clintus McGintus — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:44:15 +0000

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.

By: Seska

Seska — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:22 +0000

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

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:01:21 +0000

@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.

By: Steven Etienne

Steven Etienne — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 23:36:27 +0000

@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.

By: Dany

Dany — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:46:42 +0000

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.

By: Vu Bui

Vu Bui — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:21:43 +0000

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…