Going vegan - just how difficult is it?!
Answers: I am already a vegetarian, i just wondered wether becoming a vegan reduced your options drastically and had social consequences eg. having to check ingredients carefully when someone offers you something.
It is definitely a significant change from vegetarianism -- as it would include omitting all animal products, including anything made with eggs, milk, and cheese. However it's a great lifestyle choice, and I believe it to be the healthiest move anybody could make. What makes things really difficult is going out to eat -- there's a veggie restaurant in Denver where all you have to say is "Make it vegan" and they know exactly what to do. Unfortunatley most places aren't like that! So you'll have to customize a lot of your ordering. Good news though is that many Asian / Thai / Japanese restaurants have many vegan options because they rarely use dairy or cheese. Just don't hesitate to speak up and ask! Another thing that may be difficult is giving up some meat substitutes. For example -- Gardenburger makes these fantastic BBQ "Riblets" that are vegetarian, but they contain milk & egg products. So you'd definitely have to become a label reader -- but the good news is that many products now list whether or not their vegan right there on the packaging, making it much easier! For me, when summer came around that made things difficult too because most people don't have vegan things at cookouts. But I started making teriyaki marinated veggie & tofu skewers for the grill that everyone loves! So it may be difficult at first, but it gets much easier as you get the hang of it. Good luck to you!
I went from meat-eater to vegan in one day. It was really easy for me.
When someone offers me something I do ask them about the ingredients and then I check if possible. My friend made me mini cheeseless pizzas once and used a pesto sauce rather than a tomato sauce. Well I know that pesto usually has cheese in it so I wasn't able to eat them and she felt terrible but I told her not to worry and her family ate all of them. No big deal.
It is really difficult, and if you aren't careful you can really get out of balance with your nutrients. However, it can be sooo good for you! You have to check everything, becuase you would be surprised how many things include some type of animal product. It is almost impossible to eat out, like at restaurants, but you can usually find things at the grocery store. Also, for some it affects the clothes you wear becuase they don't want to wear things like wool and leather. GOOD LUCK!!!
I myself am a Vegan and I work for a Vegan food company that cooks meals for Vegans and ships them out all across America. The meals are delicious and very worth it :) As a Vegan I try very hard to watch what I eat, avoid eating out, and try really to eat at home. However you can find places to eat anywhere. Veggie subs at Subway are a perfect example. :) It's tough at times but very well worth it. If you want to know more about the company I work for, e-mail me ^_^
I guess it depends on the person, but for me it is very easy! You might have to learn about what common animal ingredients are and where they might pop up in unexpected places, but if you stay away from processed foods for the most part it is very easy to see which whole foods come from plants. Other people may try to be hard on your about your decision, but I don't care what anyone else thinks. I just go about by business being my happy, healthy, vegan self and they can shove it. :)
FYI - Those Gardenburger BBQ riblets are vegan and delicious! Many "mock meats" do contain egg or dairy (often in the form of casein, or milk protein) so read your ingredients carefully!
Helpful hint: eggs and milk are common allergens and often the allergy warning in bold below the ingredients list will tell you if the product contains eggs or dairy.
This is going to be fairly easy for you personally because you just check on the ingrediants and if it has an animal product(s) in it, don't eat it.
However, unless your friends are also Vegan it is going to be very hard socially. There is almost nothing you can eat in a restaurant and your friends are going to find it a real pain in terms of preparing foods for you. This is a highly restrictive diet and most people do not abide by this nor understand it. (I don't).
Also, you need to be very careful about getting enough protein. Yes you can get enough protein but you are going to have to go to great lenghts to do so. Also, you may end up with an iron deficiency.
If you hope to live longer you can forget that. My grand mother drank, smoked ate meat etc. and lived to be 96. A friend of mine who was a vegetarian recently passed away at 67.
Also, you may be miserable at holiday times. Your family will be enjoying some delicious ham or turkey and you will be having salad and a nut loaf. lol
No problem...all you need is will power. If you eat something with a non-vegan item without knowing than what will it hurt.
I check ingredients all the time just becasue I want to make sure there is no animals fat in it and the like. I am a vegetarian...though I hate the term, but almost never eat cheese, never drink milk anymore, and rarely eat eggs. But I do eat fish that my father and grandfather catch. So, many would say I am not a vegetarian, that is why I hate being catagorized as such. I have a moral diet that consists of no land dwelling meat and very little dairy and eggs. I am ethical and I feel good about the choices I make what to eat and not to eat. I only eat fish my family has caught in moderation and eat local free-range organic eggs. As long as you feel good about your decisions, that is wonderful!
As for Restaurant...Absolutely! Many places are serivng more and more veggie/vegan dishes. Check out the web for places in your area.
You can do it, however, I think it would definatley be easier in a big city. But just plan ahead. If you are going to a party eat before you go and then snack on veggies when you are there. An even better idea is being hostess then you know exactly what is in everything. If it comes to eating in a restaurant you can always fall back on a salad with oil and vinegar dressing :).
This site will give you lots of food ideas especially the Good Eats part
http://www.veggiegirl.com/
For me, it was unbelievably easy, and I went from omni to vegan overnight.
All you need is the right information, some support, a good cookbook, and you're set. "Becoming Vegan" by Davis & Melina is the vegan nutrition bible and a must-have. ThePPK.com is a vegan food forum frequented by thousands of happy, healthy, awesome vegans. And any cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz is an asset - Veganomicon is freaking AWESOME.
If you're willing to put forth the effort to educate yourself (it doesn't take much), prepared to plan-ahead, and ready to be creative in the kitchen, you'll be allright.
Best of luck!
this is exactly the crap i'm talking about. PLEASE research this before you decide to do it. it takes a serious dedication to the lifestyle. it has to be more than a matter of just skipping meat in order to be even bordering on healthy.
As long as you like carrots you shouldn't be difficult at all. However, the social strain you put on your friends by their having to abide by your diet may be difficult on your social life. you may find a lot of eye rolls when people find out you are coming over for dinner.
Keep in mind that humans are naturally omnivores...
animal-source foods are a very important part of our diets. If you do decide to go vegan, make sure that you're taking supplements for calcium, vitamin B-12, etc. There are a lot of things that come strictly from animal-source foods. Just make sure that you do your research and will be getting the proper nutrients.