trying to lose weight
I decided to become vegan for many different reasons; I care about animals and am just horrified at the way they are treated; I want to lose weight; if you do it right it can be unbelievably cheap as far as the groceries are concerned, it's good for the environment, I have health issues that I want cleared up.
In the first seven days on a vegan diet I gained about 7 pounds. Not giving up, I moved on and a small miracle happened-- I lost the same amount of weight on the same food in the following 14 days. This is opposite of most diets...but I could definitely learn to like it! :) Currently I am 160 pounds and hoping and expecting to lose more weight.
I also wanted to say that I am not 100% vegan. I eat meat when eating out because there are just no good vegan fast food restaurants. However that still leaves me with 90 or more percent of my diet that I need good recipes for, so that is why I came to this site. I am really pleased with this place and can't wait to try out some of the recipes.
Hello to you all from Illinois.
crazycarat
Welcome!
What kinds of recipes are you looking for? Full on meal types or quick on the go / packs easily type? We can point you to some tasty eats.
(Please don't say you're vegan if you eat meat. It confuses people who then try to feed us all sorts of things because they knew a "vegan" who ate it.)
Welcome to VegWeb!!
First of all, I think it's great that You list so many good reasons for being vegan.
However, the reasons You listed should all act as reminders of why NOT to make 10%, or even 1%, of Your diet including animal products. A lot of Us have slip-ups, especially when starting out..... but ANY amount of knowingly/willingly-ingested animal products does not a vegan diet make.
No one here at VW is going to outright chastise You for Your dietary choices, but if You want some advice, here it is:
Especially when trying to lose weight, eating fast food is a TERRIBLE choice.
If You need quick, on-the-go meals when traveling or working or whatever, You can always make stuff at home and take it with You. Stuff like granola bars/breakfast bars, trail mix, tofu jerky, and even cut up vegetables and pieces of fruit make simple and easy meals that You can take with You when You can't eat at home. It's usually cheaper than fast food, and it is definitely the more health-conscious choice. Making Your own "fast food" is SO easy once You get in the habit.
If You forget to pack snacks/meals, Subway at least offers the veggie delight sandwich, which can be delicious as long as You order it with lots of vegetables and vegan condiments. And last I checked, the whole wheat bread is vegan.
But like I said, making Your own on-the-go food is the best way to go. I know that there are threads on these boards that have plenty of advice and recipes on the topic.... just enter a few keywords into the search bar on the left, and You'll find what You need.
Or like HH said, if You have any specific things in mind, You can ask here (or on the 'Dine n' Dish' or 'Lean, Mean Vegan Machine' boards) for tips and recipes.
As for other weight loss tips.......
Remember to drink plenty of water! This is good for You no matter what You eat. Staying properly hydrated is my #1 rule for optimal health.
Keep moving! Getting into a regular exercise routine is always good (check with Your doctor before starting any new routine, blahblahblah), but remember to stay active no matter what You do. Take the stairs instead of elevators, walk or bike instead of driving whenever You can, etc.
Do stretches and deep breathing exercises, too....that makes exercising and pretty much all other physical activity more beneficial and much easier on Your body. Yoga is a really easy type of exercise to get into, no matter what Your experience, and there are free videos all over the internet to help You.
VegWeb is an excellent resource for good vegan recipes and helpful advice. Please feel free to browse and post about in Our Health & Wellness board, join some Food and Cooking discussions, and use the search function to find recipes and board topics on whatever You need!
just wanted to say to you (and any lurkers who are vegans), that I am sorry I used the word vegan to describe myself. I will stick to veganish or whatever.
Giving up eating out at t bell and such would require some more thought on my part.
to humboldt honey; thanks for your offer of help with the recipes. So far the recipes that I am eating are McDougall -like. I have been eating oatmeal and soymilk for breakfast, potato and vegetable recipes for lunch, and rice and beans with barbecue flavor for dinner. I know that this may seem like a monotonous diet but it suits me because it is simple (and I have been cooking for one so I always have leftovers.) I am wondering how to use the Beef Not! strips that I have on hand and also how to make my daily coffee taste good without milk. (soymilk doesn't seem to work here unless it is the bought kind). I am also allergic to gluten.
to carrot_wench; thanks for the suggestion to keep moving. I already get a lot of exercise.
crazycarat
Thanks, crazycarat. :)
That whole label issue isn't like, the most important aspect of the veg*n lifestyle.... but as HH said, it's more for the benefit other people in distinguishing what's vegan and what's not.
Your menu choices sound pretty good to me. Sometimes simple is best.
As far as coffee goes, not all milk substitutes are created equal. To me, Silk brand soymilk tastes weird in coffee, but I've had good luck with Pacific Natural Foods soymilk. I've also enjoyed Almond Breeze almond milk (both original and vanilla) in coffee, and that's my preferred brand of "milk" for all uses.
There are also recipes on here for making Your own milk substitute, which can use all kinds of different ingredients. Just play around to see what You like...
It's great that You already exercise... getting started is the hardest part!
Oh! And I just saw this on Yahoo! news:
6 Weird Diet Tricks That Really Work
....they're pretty good suggestions, and it's mostly stuff that not many people would think of doing.
Hi! Welcome!
What they said!
For coffee... this is embarrassing, b/c I'm pretty sure there are good reasons people avoid it... I've heard some interesting arguments (not in the good way) against consuming carageenan (a binder, made from seaweed) and Silk (company with apparently troublesome business practices)... but... I'll just confess anyway: just like I can't break my Earth Balance addiction despite the environmental problems with palm oil... I struggle to avoid the seductive allure of Silk brand soy creamer-- especially the 'vanilla' flavor... mmmmmm.... from a taste perspective, that stuff is *better* than the cow squeezin's, to me, when it comes to java!
There! I said it. We all have our weaknesses... no judging! ;)
If you're struggling with avoiding milk just for coffee, it might be worth trying... I'll leave it to others to point out why not. Maybe someone can convince me too?!
haha, anyway: welcome to VW!
you can still eat at tbell!!! just eliminate the meat, sour cream, and cheese from just about any dish (or sub meat for beans) and you have an amazing vegan meal! i love subway too and quiznos apparently has vegan options... also, when i eat out and don't have time to read up and prepare, i just eat things minus the meat and dairy and don't sweat the small stuff, it's just unrealistic sometimes
Right on, AML... also, re:chain restaurants... Quizno's rocks! Even better than Subway, imo... their bread's vegan, their balsamic vinaigrette is vegan (if you avoid industrial-or-all honey, get balsamic vs red wine vin. there), and veggie sandwich has *guacamole* (WHY don't other sandwich restaurants know how to make guacamole? why??!! it's actually quite simple!)... mmmm... drool... yum!
I don't do fast food a lot, but Tac Bel is ok as long as you make 'em give you DOUBLE beans when you leave off the meat, EXTRA guac instead of sour cream, etc... otherwise they can be a little chintzy, imo. Here's some more discussion of vegan fast food (tho I have to agree w/ above advice: fast food ISN'T prob'ly the best way to go when it comes to weight loss, or even regular eating!): http://www.vegcooking.com/VegFastFood.asp.
:)
Have you seen this site? -> Accidentally Vegan
My suggestion is to make something and freeze it in individual portions. I'm not a fan of plastic. I keep it out of my life, mostly, but the snack size zip locks come in handy here because they hold about a cup of food. If you make something, put leftovers in the snack baggies and freeze them. They lay flat on each other and it really cuts out the space required by other forms of storage. You can even make soup, but don't add all the water, so it's creamy. I freeze cooked whole wheat pasta, beans, bean mush (aka overcooked beans), grains, everything. Then, when I want a meal, I decide which of the ingredients I want to combine. With only a four or so frozen cooked things and a selection of frozen veggies, I have a variety of mix-and-match options that won't go bad. Mix in some refrigerator ingredients, like greens and fruit, and you're eating a wide variety of healthy whole foods.
I have no idea how to use the beef strips. They might work well with this recipe, if you cut them down a bit -> Bean and "Bacon" Soup
I eat out with my co-workers for lunch. We end up at a lot of mom-and-pop "fast food" places where the people are fine with substituting ingredients. I like mom-and-pops because they're more kitschy than chain places.
thanks to all for making me feel so welcome. :)
there are always vegan options. yes, even at fast food. places. i've heard of vegans at taco bell get a burrito with beans, rice, veggies, just everything that isnt meat or dairy. it's pretty simple. but like others have said, eating fast food is not very conducive to losing weight.
I'm not vegan, but I'll sure get some taco bell "no meat add rice"! It's alright for when I've drank too much and have the drunk munchies. I've stopped eating things like soups out, as with food stuffs of that nature, it can be difficult to notice yourself what might be in it, by sight and smell, and typically servers don't know, and don't care what's in it.
Shape your diet as you see best fit to your better natures and how you'd like to eat in the future. I've given a ton of thought to going vegan, I do however, get a tad drunk and tend to stuff random breads and cheese in my face.
Welcome. Best of luck to you!
the fresco bean burrito at taco bell is vegan :)>>> so good
When eating out, lets not forget Chipotle where you can have an amazing black bean salad topped with corn and salsa for $6. :) And I second the member who recommends almond milks for use, for me its much tastier than soy.
Keep moving! Getting into a regular exercise routine is always good (check with Your doctor before starting any new routine, blahblahblah), but remember to stay active no matter what You do.
Hi! Obviously amazing VegWebbers are already making you feel at home! Please let me know if I can ever be of any help, and enjoy the site!
ok so the all vegetarians are skinny/healthy is soo false. I have a 350 pound vegetarian uncle. I have a gut too if you can't tell. It's all based on what you eat and your lifestyle. I discovered those frozen prepackaged thingamabobs like burgers and stuff and I was like omg I don't have to make these from scratch anymore! So now I'm trying to lose that (I'm a life long veg btw). I think I'm doing pretty good thanks not only to this website but getting into the mindset and remembering my childhood. Seriously! I remember my grandparents always telling me to stay away from white flours, there was one start, then I remembered the good ol days when I'd rather snak on a carrot than chocolate (in my defense I didn't even know what chocolate was till I was 16). And It really helps. Just remember it's what you put in that counts animal or not ooh and scenic bike routes