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If you become vegetarian or vegan how has it changed your life?

34 replies

Cupcakeicecream · 19/09/2019 16:27

I'm very curious as to how it has impacted your life as I'm considering it myself.
At the moment I dont eat eggs never liked them much and dont really have diary as intolerant so I have alpro soya or other plant based milks. but my downfall is halloumi and mozzarella. But I notice when I do have dairy I feel si k and lethargic so probably best to avoid all together. As for meat I dont have much chicken or Turkey one twice a week and red meat rarely. So I'm wondering how easy it is to change lifestyle and stick to. Did it boost up your week shopping costs. Is it easy to eat out. Can you still enjoy the occasional treat like crisps or chocolate. How does your lifestyle compare to what it was. Are you skinny healthier more energetic sleeping better?

OP posts:
Clayplease · 01/10/2019 22:02

Sorry, might be a bit late to this. I went vegan after finding out about how calves are permanently removed from their mothers between 24-72 hours old (I emailed Tesco, Sainsbury's and Yeo Valley to confirm) If you see the videos it's hideous 😭

So it really wasn't health based at all. After a few months I noticed I had had NO bouts of IBS which was quite incredible as I had had it for years following dysentery in my 20's. Later I also realised my life long sinusitis (approx Sept-March every year) has completely gone too! Really incredible!

That is just my experience, but general benefits include, its Actually so much easier to eat healthily. We eat tonnes of veg so easily now, I feel healthier than I ever have actually. Honestly can't recommend it enough.

One more point!! It actually has also opened up a whole new incredible world of food which has been really exciting! I have learnt to cook loads of meals that omni family also enjoy. I didn't expect all that either. Now 5 years in and certainly no reason to go back. Good luck if you go for it.❤️

Fluffsmum · 01/10/2019 23:07

My mum has been vegan for 18months (veggie for 33years before that).

  • she's gained 10lbs (was always very slim)
  • unless actively ensuring she gets a balanced diet can get easily tired and look a bit drained
  • loves it, feels it has been life changing
  • has made it virtually impossible for she and I to eat the same meals (I'm allergic to most legumes including all beans and soy, but not peanuts).
SherbetSaucer · 01/10/2019 23:16

Vegan for 6 years!!

It’s changed my life beyond recognition.

Any health complaints I had have completely gone and I am on average 3 stone lighter than when I ate animal products!

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Thirtyrock39 · 02/10/2019 08:13

I gave up meat about 6 weeks ago (still eating fish at times). The biggest change I've found is that it's leas tempting to eat take aways, fast food etc as the non meat options aren't as appealing so I feel I've got a lot healthier as I've had to generally cook meals from scratch and get a bit more inventive - eg in the past we had lots of bbqs, roasts, take aways, pies and once you cut out meat I've not found the vege alternatives that tempting so have been having lots more salads, falafels, risotto, soup etc so am generally eating much healthier foods as I don't really like meat substitutes such as vege burgers and vege sausages.

Thirtyrock39 · 02/10/2019 08:15

Meant to add I have lost weight and food shop is a lot cheaper. The meat I buy for the meat eaters in the family I can afford to buy from a good quality butcher with the money I'm saving from the normal shop

Allthepinkunicorns · 02/10/2019 08:35

My dh has been a vegetarian since January so by default I have mostly been eating vegetarian meals. I enjoy them but also enjoy eating meat. Our food bills are cheaper but he is boring me to death.

aliensprig · 02/10/2019 09:11

How you get on with going veggie/vegan is very subjective, as proven by these comments.

If you plan your diet carefully, eat a wide variety of fruits and veg, wholegrains, nuts and healthy fats, avoid the processed crap (Oreos), and be sensible (as you should on an omnivorous diet!) then you won't feel you're missing out.

We've been vegan two years (for ethical reasons) and I can't honestly say I miss anything - you can get decent replacements for all animal products, if you miss them. My digestion is better, I sleep better, I look healthier, and still shave my legs unlike the stereotype Grin

I have regular blood profiles done due to my thyroid condition (pre-veganism Wink) and they always come out on the upper end of normal.

That's my personal experience of veganism though, I know some people don't get on with it but it's worth a try :)

BlindAssassin1 · 02/10/2019 09:43

I tried to be vegan for three years. At first all was great, felt better in myself, acne improved, felt lighter and moved more freely in my joints.

Then it all went down hill; anemia flare ups, acne difficult to control, energy levels very poor (surviving on caffeine), could never eat out with friends (I have allergies to cater to as well). I went down to about 8st which is too think for my build and energy needs.

I introduced fish back in, put on a few pounds and feel so much better. I still avoid dairy, and rarely eat eggs. I think something to do with allergies (gluten) means I have trouble absorbing nutrients so I feel washed out very quickly.

It definitely pushed up the grocery bill because I was the only one in the house following it, so we were preparing several different meals in one go. I don't think I'd ever eat beef, lamb etc again, but maintain the bulk of my meals vegan (as well as beauty and cleaning products). Its the best I can do at this point and I'm happy with that.

The only thing I definitely do now is always gluten free, and intuitive eating, listening to my body and what it needs.

BahHumbygge · 02/10/2019 10:25

From the other perspective, I was vegan for four years.

It wrecked my periods, they changed from being painful & needing ibuprofen to being agonisingly stomped on and no painkillers would touch the sides.

It wrecked my mental health, I was a regular vegetarian in my late teens and early 20's. I suffered then terribly with crippling social anxiety and depression (massively underachieved at college and university due to non existent motivation and energy). I didn't eat junk food as such, but did eat things like home cooked pasta and sauce dishes, vegetables in curry sauce and rice etc. Likewise in my vegan period I ate home cooked meals, basically beige carbs, tinned legumes and supermarket vegetables. I became so reclusive and phobic of even answering my phone or reading emails, and suffered brain fog so I couldn't concentrate on anything. I felt dull, flat and apathetic all the time.

I then read a book called the Vegetarian Myth, where the author suffered many health complaints such a crumbling spine, digestive complaints, depression etc. It was an epiphany moment, and it goes into the ethical and ecological aspects of vegan diets and how farming monocrop plants like grains and legumes have a far bigger impact on animals and wildlife than eating pastured meat, and that large amounts of carbon in the atmosphere can be sequestered into the soil if we convert croplands into pastured rangelands. The plough, the combine harvester, the cropdusters, the rodenticides around granaries kill trillions of animals and insects per year and destroys the soil structure, and the carbon absorbing potential of humus, so that we've only got a few decades of harvests left of grains. Even growing lettuce in your own garden requires an armoury of all kinds of -CIDES. Whereas one pastured cow can feed one meat eater per annum... and that is the path of causing least death to animals and sequesters the most carbon.

I've been keto/primal-ish for a while now and I feel that I'm finally in recovery from my diet. I can participate in events, keep in contact with friends, use social media and keep on top of chores better. I eat local beef and lamb from the butchers in town (5 mile radius), local/UK grown vegetables, sauerkraut/kimchi, raw milk, kefir, eggs, dairy, the odd sliced potato on a hotpot but otherwise minimal carbs.

There's many nutrients that are minimal or absent in a vegan diet:

B12
K2
D3
DHA
The retinol form of vitamin A (many people have a genetic polymorphism where they cannot convert betacarotene in veg to retinol)
Taurine
Carnosine
Creatine etc etc

K2 is especially important, it helps shepherd calcium away from the arteries and soft tissue where it causes vascular disease and into the bones and teeth. It's why many vegans suffer from bone loss/weakness and tooth decay. I urge vegans to at least eat a fermented Japanese food called natto or take natto based supplements.

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