What are some tips for transitioning from a vegetarian to a vegan?!
Making a major dietary change is a great opportunity to brush up on your nutritional knowledge. I highly receommend "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. Both are registered dietitians and they have basically written the bible of vegan nutrition.
If you're not already a cook, consider the fact that you will eat far better as a vegan if you cook for yourself rather than relying on convenience foods. A few awesome cookbooks are "Veganomicon" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero, Isa's first book "Vegan with a Vengeance," and "Yellow Rose Recipes" by Joanna Vaught (available at the Herbivore Clothing website.)
Look for support. There are some great vegan online forums in case you don't have any vegan friends. The forums at http://www.theppk.com are cool. There are recipes and kitchen talk, the opportunity to arrange local meet-ups, advice on sourcing vegan products besides food, and plenty of general chit-chat if you're into that.
Decide for yourself what you will do with your non-vegan clothing items. Some people opt to keep their "pregan" leather, wool etc... and just use it until it's used up, some opt to sell or donate and replace right away with vegan items. It's up to you; some people will tell you you're not vegan if you're wearing leather shoes you bought two years ago, but there are no vegan police (and it's usually meat-eaters who are eager to call us out as hypocrites anyway, not other vegans.)
Have fun with it!
Answers: I agree with Fabulous. Make a clean break or you're giving the eggs or the cheese (or whatever you perceive that you're going to miss) way more power than it deserves.
Making a major dietary change is a great opportunity to brush up on your nutritional knowledge. I highly receommend "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. Both are registered dietitians and they have basically written the bible of vegan nutrition.
If you're not already a cook, consider the fact that you will eat far better as a vegan if you cook for yourself rather than relying on convenience foods. A few awesome cookbooks are "Veganomicon" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero, Isa's first book "Vegan with a Vengeance," and "Yellow Rose Recipes" by Joanna Vaught (available at the Herbivore Clothing website.)
Look for support. There are some great vegan online forums in case you don't have any vegan friends. The forums at http://www.theppk.com are cool. There are recipes and kitchen talk, the opportunity to arrange local meet-ups, advice on sourcing vegan products besides food, and plenty of general chit-chat if you're into that.
Decide for yourself what you will do with your non-vegan clothing items. Some people opt to keep their "pregan" leather, wool etc... and just use it until it's used up, some opt to sell or donate and replace right away with vegan items. It's up to you; some people will tell you you're not vegan if you're wearing leather shoes you bought two years ago, but there are no vegan police (and it's usually meat-eaters who are eager to call us out as hypocrites anyway, not other vegans.)
Have fun with it!
jump right in!! you'll adjust faster if you don't do the, "oh my gosh, this is the last milkshake i'll ever have" thing.....it just makes your mind less willing to make the sacrifice. it's like jumping in a cold pool.....you will adjust faster if you just make the leap as opposed to dipping your toes in it. good for you for going vegan! i'm hoping to do it one day, too.....
Find replacements for the eggs, milk and cheese, butter, these are the things you might find harder to give up.
Use soya milk, soya spread, vegan cheese and you can get an egg re-placer for cakes etc,
You should still be able to cook what you did when you were a veggie, you just have to adjust the recipes a bit.
make sure you get vitamin B12, you can buy a supplement or it is in the ingredients of soya milk.
For some recipe ideas go to http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/recipes.htm
or look on the vegan society website for more advice!
good luck! :)
You have some good answers here already. I would add that you can't expect the replacement foods (like the soy milk etc.) to taste like the real thing. I was raised vegetarian and had sooo many people think that my veggie "hot dogs" and "hamburgers" were gross because they were expecting them to taste like meat, and guess what, meat is the only thing that tastes like meat. Definitely keep an open mind.
Start using alternatives like soy, oat, almond, and hemp milks. Eat vegan burgers, dogs, sausages, and deli slices. There are vegan cheeses and yogurts (soy silk is the best so far) as well. They might taste different to you at first but in time you won't even notice and will probably prefer them.
Lastly don't get down on yourself if you brake down. Take a psychic breath so to speak and try again when you feel ready. Credit yourself for what you have already done. Beating up on yourself will only create a bad association.
If you feel you need support contact friends or whatever vegan community you feel comfortable with. Encouragement can go a long long way.
I have faith in you : )
As long as you know what food you can eat you'll be fine. Just don't beat yourself up when you make a mistake. The best advice is to just read the ingredients, most will say somewhere that it is vegan. As time goes on you'll get more and more informed and it will become easier and eventually effortless.