Current Events > I've been vegan for three years.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ask me anything.

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My condolences

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What is the best and worst vegetal

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3PiesAndAFork posted...

My condolences

For what?

Sictis posted...

What is the best and worst vegetal

The potato is king. I have a hard time placing the worst because most of them can be prepared in some way that is incredible or are noticeably absent if not in certain dishes. If I absolutely had to choose, I would go with bitter melon because it seems like only a select few can make it taste truly amazing and if you fuck it up, it's real fucked up.

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Were you vegetarian before or did you jump right into vegan?

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Flockaveli posted...

Were you vegetarian before or did you jump right into vegan?

I wasn't vegetarian but I had been making a lot of changes in the last year or so, trying to become more of a "reducetarian" or "flexitarian." Started adding in more meatless meals and stuff like that, but I didn't really have any intention of going full vegan. I didn't even plan for this to go on longer than a month.

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Potato is the obvious king - this thread confirms it.

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What was your motivation to go vegan

masticatingman posted...

Potato is the obvious king - this thread confirms it.

Socrawheeze posted...

What was your motivation to go vegan

Health was the main one but I've always fancied myself an animal lover and abhorred factory farming, so the two things started complementing one another very early on.

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I never understood the concept of becoming a vegan. You can still become a healthy person as long as you occasionally exercise for at least 1 hour and eat unhealthy/fatty foods in moderation.

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Homeless_Waifu posted...

I never understood the concept of becoming a vegan. You can still become a healthy person as long as you occasionally exercise for at least 1 hour and eat unhealthy/fatty foods in moderation.

Its hardly ever about becoming healthy, its about animal rights or environmental change. Plenty of vegetarians and vegans still eat like shit.

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TheLiarParadox posted...

Health was the main one but I've always fancied myself an animal lover and abhorred factory farming, so the two things started complementing one another very early on.

I'm ignorant, what are the health benefits?

Flockaveli posted...

Its hardly ever about becoming healthy, its about animal rights or environmental change. Plenty of vegetarians and vegans still eat like shit.

What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of environmental change comes from agriculture. Whether it's the use of pesticides to kill the various kinds of insects that might feed on the vegetation to the land needed to grow said vegetation...

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TheLiarParadox posted...

The potato is king.

Always has been.

Ive read that us meat-eaters should really treat meat as a condiment, using only shavings of it in our meals. I just am not sure how full I could ever get without it BUT potatoes give me hope.

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Flockaveli posted...

Its hardly ever about becoming healthy, its about animal rights or environmental change. Plenty of vegetarians and vegans still eat like shit.

Only problem is, becoming a Vegan won't change anything except your diet. Sad but true.

Homeless_Waifu posted...

What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of environmental change comes from agriculture. Whether it's the use of pesticides to kill the various kinds of insects that might feed on the vegetation to the land needed to grow said vegetation...

Why do people always get so defensive and try to "gotcha" vegetarians with stuff like this? Repressed guilt? I mean the guy wasn't shaming omnivores over that stuff, just stating that it's a big motivation. And I'm an omni myself to be clear, but I have tried to limit my consumption more.

I can understand this kind of response if a vegan is calling you a horrible monster or whatever but I think if we could all be more chill and thoughtful from both perspectives it would go a long way

Went vegan over 7 years ago at age 23. Now I feel 21.

What do people mean when they say stuff like that^?

GrabASnickers posted...

Why do people always get so defensive and try to "gotcha" vegetarians with stuff like this? Repressed guilt? I mean the guy wasn't shaming omnivores over that stuff, just stating that it's a big motivation. And I'm an omni myself to be clear, but I have tried to limit my consumption more.

I can understand this kind of response if a vegan is calling you a horrible monster or whatever but I think if we could all be more chill and thoughtful from both perspectives it would go a long way

I know this isn't exactly what this topic is about but it tickles me how suddenly health focused people come across in their arguments when they're mad about veganism as if they don't eat like shit already

You know. "Vegans are clearly malnourished and vitamin deficient, meat is good for you, we're supposed to eat it, it's all natural", says Dave, avid twinkie and mountain dew fanatic

Sure, vegan diets are not perfect, but at least vegans are actively thinking about the shit they put in their mouths. They read the labels, they think about the things they're missing or how it was made, usually.

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Homeless_Waifu posted...

I never understood the concept of becoming a vegan. You can still become a healthy person as long as you occasionally exercise for at least 1 hour and eat unhealthy/fatty foods in moderation.

As far as health goes, it's really going to depend on the individual. I've lost a crapload of weight because of the specific vegan diet I follow (whole food, plant-based) and really came back from the brink of the total collapse of my health because of it.

My "relationship" with food was such that I don't think there would have ever been a way for me to lose weight while consuming meat, dairy, and eggs. I have binge eating disorder and the foods that always did the most damage were animal products. The only other thing I had a severe problem with was white wheat flour products and it was never half as bad as it was with those other things.

I only planned to do a one month vegan challenge (Veganuary) and it was to try to get myself into the habit of analyzing the food I eat. It was basically an elaborate exercise in mindfulness. Then a lot of little benefits started adding up, as well as some big ones, and this was even before I found my optimal diet that has yielded even more tremendous benefits. It got to a point where I was making preparations to go back to omnivory and I was planning to have meat, dairy, and eggs only sparingly but I had this thought of, this is going too well to stop and risk the problems of going back, I'll let it ride. Then the animal rights aspects came into play and I realized I couldn't go back. There was some apprehension about sticking with it if my health suffered but it's been three years and everything is great.

Flockaveli posted...

Its hardly ever about becoming healthy, its about animal rights or environmental change. Plenty of vegetarians and vegans still eat like shit.

There are different motivations in different quantities for different people and health is a big one. I personally don't care what motivates a person to go vegan as long as they do it.

Socrawheeze posted...

I'm ignorant, what are the health benefits?

It's really going to depend on the individual but I am finally able to control my binge eating disorder with a whole food, plant based diet full of nutrient dense, low calorie foods and that has helped me lose weight, which subsequently improved a lot of my other problems.

I found out I'm not lactase persistent and a lot of my digestive problems were caused by consuming dairy like I was instructed to.

There are some other things based on suspicions and diagnoses from non-professionals that have vanished coinciding with my switch to a plant-based diet, but I don't know for sure if I had them or if a PB diet fixed them, so at the risk of presenting it as a panacea, I'll refrain from propping those up too much.


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Homeless_Waifu posted...

What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of environmental change comes from agriculture. Whether it's the use of pesticides to kill the various kinds of insects that might feed on the vegetation to the land needed to grow said vegetation...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Environmental_impact_of_meat_production (remove space before Environmental)

EzeDoesIt posted...

Always has been.

Ive read that us meat-eaters should really treat meat as a condiment, using only shavings of it in our meals. I just am not sure how full I could ever get without it BUT potatoes give me hope.

That was originally going to be my plan after my one month challenge but I don't think I ever could've made it work.

I didn't think I could do it but here we are, and it started with just trying for one month.

AngusBurner posted...

Only problem is, becoming a Vegan won't change anything except your diet. Sad but true.

This is the same logic as "my vote won't change anything." One person might not change much but one person who helps another person change who helps another person until there are thousands or millions of people can change a lot.

Mez Static Merizer posted...

Went vegan over 7 years ago at age 23. Now I feel 21.

Nice! I wish I'd done it that early in life.

Socrawheeze posted...

What do people mean when they say stuff like that^?

Even before I started losing huge amounts of weight, I found myself with more energy because I was sleeping better, I had less inflammation in my joints, and my... let's just say blood flow was almost back to teenage levels. There was actually a point that I jokingly refer to as a second puberty because I was so perpetually ramped up.

And when I tell people about this, they're like "well yeah, you were fat as shit and had a horrible diet. You could probably just eat a healthy omni diet and get the same results." I actually did lose a lot of weight about 8 years ago and did not see any of these improvements on an omni diet.


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(in response to post 20) Right, I wish people would be more honest about themselves with the issues. I think you can be aware of them and still eat animal products, it doesn't make you a hypocrite or something. Being a hypocrite would be more like if you adamantly told people not to eat it but still ate it yourself.

Just focus on reduction if you aren't ready to go all the way. It'll probably be better for your health anyway. I'm sure like most things some is fine in moderation, sure. Nutrition info is one of the most confusing things out there, there's a lot of contradictory info and competing agendas, and even studies that are made with unbiased intentions end up contradicting each other all the time.

Homeless_Waifu posted...

What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of environmental change comes from agriculture. Whether it's the use of pesticides to kill the various kinds of insects that might feed on the vegetation to the land needed to grow said vegetation...

what a lot of people don't realize is that the vast majority of agriculture is used to feed animals. if you didn't have to feed animals (I.e. if everyone went vegan) then we would only use a fraction of the land we use

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pinky0926 posted...

I know this isn't exactly what this topic is about but it tickles me how suddenly health focused people come across in their arguments when they're mad about veganism as if they don't eat like shit already

You know. "Vegans are clearly malnourished and vitamin deficient, meat is good for you, we're supposed to eat it, it's all natural", says Dave, avid twinkie and mountain dew fanatic

Sure, vegan diets are not perfect, but at least vegans are actively thinking about the shit they put in their mouths. They read the labels, they think about the things they're missing or how it was made, usually.

I mean, I get it. I used to be like that. Nobody likes to be challenged about the things they enjoy and we can potentially do some wacky shit to justify our own behavior and lambast others. I think it is no coincidence that introspection in general became a bigger part of my life after becoming vegan.

GrabASnickers posted...

(in response to post 20) Right, I wish people would be more honest about themselves with the issues. I think you can be aware of them and still eat animal products, it doesn't make you a hypocrite or something. Being a hypocrite would be more like if you adamantly told people not to eat it but still ate it yourself.

Just focus on reduction if you aren't ready to go all the way. It'll probably be better for your health anyway. I'm sure like most things some is fine in moderation, sure. Nutrition info is one of the most confusing things out there, there's a lot of contradictory info and competing agendas, and even studies that are made with unbiased intentions end up contradicting each other all the time.

Strictly with regards to health, I agree. I'm not in pursuit of the optimal diet or trying to live as long as possible (fuck that) or anything like that. I just want to avoid having a heart attack before 40 (well, at all lol) or becoming diabetic. I don't want to spend my last days in agony because of health conditions I subjected myself to. While I ultimately don't care about what other people do to their bodies, certainly not to the point that I wish to control their actions, I do think it is a crying shame how many people neglect their health with pride and gusto, setting themselves up for a mostly avoidable rough second act. I'm not mad that "Dave" is criticizing vegans. I'm sad that he's not criticizing himself and responding accordingly.

ThyCorndog posted...

what a lot of people don't realize is that the vast majority of agriculture is used to feed animals. if you didn't have to feed animals (I.e. if everyone went vegan) then we would only use a fraction of the land we use

Yup. Turns out feeding plants to billions of animals to feed to humans is pretty resource intensive.


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bump

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bump

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Asl?

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SamsungGearS2 posted...

Asl?

32/M/Dallas, TX

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I went vegan last year myself, and it's one of the best decisions of my life. The reason I did it is because there all of those videos of factory farms and how abusive they are. But I refused to watch them because I knew I couldn't handle it. I figured if I couldn't stand to even see the consequences of my eating habits I probably shouldn't be doing it. But the added health benefits have been equally as great for me. My joints barely hurt anymore and I haven't had constipation in over a year.

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What's your most common meal
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Pre-vegan you reminds me of current me. I need to take the plunge because my current food lifestyle is not sustainable for a pleasant or long life.

Talked to a customer at work who has been a vegan for 36 years. She went cold turkey after having a baby. In Alaska. In the 80s. That's just bad ass.

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How long did it take for the "casomorphin" or "dairy" addiction to go away

Son Of Spam posted...

I went vegan last year myself, and it's one of the best decisions of my life. The reason I did it is because there all of those videos of factory farms and how abusive they are. But I refused to watch them because I knew I couldn't handle it. I figured if I couldn't stand to even see the consequences of my eating habits I probably shouldn't be doing it. But the added health benefits have been equally as great for me. My joints barely hurt anymore and I haven't had constipation in over a year.

Very nice.

Yeah, I've always had a problem with factory farming and wanted an alternative but I figured it was a necessary evil in the world. Being compelled by health to give veganism a try and the results that has yielded showed me it isn't and I have to say, it's really nice not having that on my conscience.

emblem boy posted...

What's your most common meal

Rice and legumes of some sort. I'll eat it several times a week, only changing things like spices and condiments.

MorbidFaithless posted...

Pre-vegan you reminds me of current me. I need to take the plunge because my current food lifestyle is not sustainable for a pleasant or long life.

Talked to a customer at work who has been a vegan for 36 years. She went cold turkey after having a baby. In Alaska. In the 80s. That's just bad ass.

My biggest advice is to get to it because it only gets harder. I don't know where you are but I was rapidly approaching 400lbs. It is crazy how quickly health can start going after you get to a certain point. I went from feeling "good enough" to damn near housebound in a matter of weeks. I really believe that if I'd waited any longer, I'd have hit the point of no return.

Da-Etiquette posted...

How long did it take for the "casomorphin" or "dairy" addiction to go away

I don't know that I ever experienced that, but if I did, the digestive relief from giving it up was all I need to never give it up. Even before I decided I was going to stick with veganism, I knew for sure I wasn't going back to dairy.

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Bums me out to see how people overrate potatoes. Literally the least flavorful vegetable, with the worst texture. Almost any other veggie is better. They're like the cotton candy or circus peanuts of vegetables.

They're good raw but no one does that but me

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Oh btw, and hopefully I haven't burned too many bridges by shitting on potatoes, what's the best milk alternative iyo? Just for cereal. I've tried almond, soy and oat milk recently and while oat milk is good as fug I don't like it as much in cereal as milk milk and it also lacks the protein. Is there a good alternative to soy for that or not really? Low sugar preferable since the cereal already has tons

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How bloody good are roast chickpeas?

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Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Bums me out to see how people overrate potatoes. Literally the least flavorful vegetable, with the worst texture. Almost any other veggie is better. They're like the cotton candy or circus peanuts of vegetables.

They're good raw but no one does that but me

There's like 80 different ways to prepare them and a bunch of different herbs, spices, sauces, etc. though.

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Oh btw, and hopefully I haven't burned too many bridges by shitting on potatoes, what's the best milk alternative iyo? Just for cereal. I've tried almond, soy and oat milk recently and while oat milk is good as fug I don't like it as much in cereal as milk milk and it also lacks the protein. Is there a good alternative to soy for that or not really? Low sugar preferable since the cereal already has tons

Look into pea milks. Ripple and Sproud are some of the best milks I've had. Only bad thing is that they tend to be a little pricier than other plant milks. They're what I'd consider a drinking milk. I don't cook with them.

Pinotage posted...

How bloody good are roast chickpeas?

They're amazing.I eat them several times a week.

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Do you drink vegan wine or beer?

I'm not sure most people realize what goes into their wine.

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TheLiarParadox posted...

There's like 80 different ways to prepare them and a bunch of different herbs, spices, sauces, etc. though.

Same goes for all veggies. Still the worst

TheLiarParadox posted...

Look into pea milks. Ripple and Sproud are some of the best milks I've had. Only bad thing is that they tend to be a little pricier than other plant milks. They're what I'd consider a drinking milk. I don't cook with them.

Interesting, I'll look into it.

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Pinotage posted...

Do you drink vegan wine or beer?

I'm not sure most people realize what goes into their wine.

Not anymore. I am an alcoholic (18 months sober) but I was very into craft beer and homebrewing/wine making, so I had a fairly deep understanding of it. It's actually one of the things that made me first start analyzing my drinking. I never had a problem with temptation to eat animals while being drunk, and I actually went to great lengths to make sure I didn't have non-vegan alcohol... before I started a drinking session, when I was sober.

After I was already drunk, I would turn down all kinds of food made with animal products but my addiction was a little more powerful than my objection to alcoholic beverages made with them. There are three particular moments that stand out as my only true lapses in "vegan judgment" and they all come back to my inability to control my consumption of alcohol. The silver lining (for me, anyway) is that they helped get the ball rolling on sobriety but they'll always bother me to some degree.

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Same goes for all veggies. Still the worst

Nah but okay.

Giblet_Enjoyer posted...

Interesting, I'll look into it.

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Ive cut back on meat a lot(especially red and fried meat) but I need my fish and dairy.

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Interesting, it seems obvious but I never realized how easily drinking could skew your eating habits. Thanks for the honest answer.

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Pinotage posted...

Interesting, it seems obvious but I never realized how easily drinking could skew your eating habits. Thanks for the honest answer.

It never impacted what I ate; I've not intentionally eaten animal products these past three years, even while drunk, but the alcoholic beverages were a different story. I drank a beer made with isinglass, a beer made with honey, and a tequila that had the worm in it.

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How do you feel about John Sakars?

Literally never heard of them before today but seems like a pretty cool person from what I just saw.

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TheLiarParadox posted...

Literally never heard of them before today but seems like a pretty cool person from what I just saw.

He's hilarious. I know people will use him as a means to make fun of veganism -- but there's a really good interview with him where he basically says, even if his content is knowingly awkward and laughable it's at least getting people to talk about/think about veganism, which is the point.