Becoming a Vegan

After reading a book call The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, I am more than inspired to become a vegan. It's really hard right now, but I know I can do it. Any advice or suggestions?

just keep doing it one step at a time, I'm on same track...once you start it's not difficult.

I suggest starting off vegetarian to get a "feel for things," then go vegan. It's what I did! I was much much easier.

I agree, I went vegetarian first and now I'm working on vegan. Start slowly finding replacements for dairy products you use, learn vegan baking, look up lots of recipes. There are many milk substitutes, like almond milk, hemp milk, oat milk, etc. Find one that suits you. Like one of the first things I did was find a replacement for cream in my coffee. Look for where you use animal products in your life and find substitutes that you enjoy,

Cooking for yourself, using a lot of fresh produce is ideal. Try to stay away from meat substitutes. It is not necessary to eat these processed foods. I think slow process is the best way to make any dietary change. Makes it more permanent when you allow yourself time to get used to it.

Eating out is the hardest part for me. I live somewhere where this is not the normal way of eating so there are not many options. Your best bets will always be ethnic restaurants like greek, Thai, etc. There are so many good recipe sites online. Start googling! Good luck. It's a really rewarding way of eating.

to me the heart and soul of both vegetarian and vegan foods is
vegetables,fruits,whole grains,nuts,seeds,and water.converting to
veganism also takes research,research,research.

wikipedia has information on alternatives to dairy milk at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_milk
and on alternatives to dairy cheese at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_analogue

for healthy vegetarian and vegan recipes go to happy cow
at http://www.happycow.net/vegetarian-recipes.html

for vegan recipes use single words such as Breakfast,Fruit,Live,Raw,
Lunch,Sandwich,Snack,Broccoli,Cabbage,Greens,Protein,Dinner,Dessert,
and Smoothie in the search box of veg web at http://vegweb.com

for information on vegetarian and vegan options
at fast food restaurants go to:
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/FastFoodRest.htm

you could also go to http://local.yahoo.com and in their search
box to the left use single words such as Buffet,Grocery, Supermarket,Vegetarian,Walmart,and Wegmans or the name of the restaurant of choice.in the search box
next to it type the street address of where you live or work.

to find out if vegan and vegetarian restaurants exist
in and around the area where you live or work
type the street address of where you live or work in the
"Enter LOCATION" search box of happy cow at http://www.happycow.net
and the search box of veg guide at http://www.vegguide.org

My wife and I started the Engine2 Diet (Vegetarian Diet) after watching the documentary "Forks Over Knives". The China Study is the book that started this new interest in Vegan... we are loving it! Having to re-tool our eating habits...a learning curve on what to cook and what is good for you.

Thank you everyone for all your support and positive encouragement! I really appreciate it.

I've been a vegetarian for 17 years, the last 6 I have been mostly vegan. Here are some great movies and books to check out:

Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr (great info and recipes)
Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman (great info and recipes)
Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson (cook book)
Any book by Isa Chandra Maskowitz

Movies (inspiring):
Processed People
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
Fork over Knives

I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years (since I was 12 years old), and vegan for a little over 4 years now, and I am SUUUUPER passionate about it! I hear a lot of people say that they have a hard time eating out, but I don't find it all that difficult. Sure, some places have more options than others, but I am very rarely stuck with a side salad and nothing else. The internet is your best friend! Most major chain restaurants will have nutritional/ingredient information online, which is great when you want to plan ahead. Don't ever be afraid to ask tons of questions in a restaurant! The staff is required to know what goes into each dish because of food allergies. If you ask you waiter/waitress and they don't seem sure about what's in something, ask them politely if they can check with the chef. It's kind of a cheap trick, but if I feel like the restaurant isn't taking my questions seriously, I will absolutely tell a little white lie and say that I need to know because I have severe food allergies to milk and eggs (finding out if something is vegetarian is usually much more obvious than locating hidden butter or cheese). I try not to do this too often, but when you say 'allergy', they hear 'law suit' and are MUCH more careful about how accurate the information they are giving you is! haha

Some things to watch out for that you might not think of are:
- seemingly vegetable soups that are made with chicken/beef stock or cream
- fish sauce, bonito, and other hidden seafood elements in asian food (there's a thai restaurant near here that refuses to make their vegetable pad thai without fish sauce. so sad!)
- honey and milk in bread! this one drives me a little nuts. lol
- worcestershire sauce! it's usually made with anchovies. shows up in caesar dressing a lot.
- many soy cheeses are NOT vegan. they will be lactose free, but still contain casein, which is a milk protein.
- gelatin! in marshmallows, jello (of course), and lots of candy

If you have questions or need help or inspiration, I'd love to help in any way I can! kr.usilton@gmail.com

Best of luck!!! ^__^

Thank you for the book and movie recommendations! I'll definitely check them out and keep them as sources for inspiration

I agree with the suggestions to start out as vegetarian and then transition to veganism. Use google to find a ton of recipes. I also read vegan food blogs. These are some of my favorite: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/ http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com http://ohsheglows.com/ http://www.maplespice.com/ but there are a LOT more!

When I first started, I ate more meat substitutes, like boca burgers, but now usually get something like that once a month and rely on beans, nuts, and tofu for protein.

Speaking of protein, despite how many people tell you that you don't need to worry about protein on a vegan diet, I find it helpful to monitor how many grams I'm getting. I use http://www.theveganrd.com/2011/03/meeting-protein-needs-on-a-vegan-diet-the-calorie-connection.html as a guideline and try to be at about .45 grams per pound of my goal weight.

And definitely google your favorite restaurants with the word "vegan" to see if they have any vegan options. We don't have any vegan restaurants here and very little choice in general, but a google search of "What can I eat vegan at Chili's" came up with results. You may have to order off the menu- at Chili's I get a side of black beans with corn tortillas and guacamole- but you might be able to find something yummy. And eating random sides like this is cheaper and fewer calories than what I used to get before going vegan. Also, if you can't find any info, you can email the restaurant directly and they can often point you in the right direction.

Anyway, good luck and feel free to message me if you have any questions!

vegweb.com is a lifesaver for me. I've been vegan for quite awhile now. It's really not that hard but you have to be into it, like reserving time to cook/prepare/travel with snacks ect. Plan ahead. Enjoy your transition!