Vegetarianism and Health

[creationlover]

Hi,

I am new to this site and trying to learn how to navigate. Anyhow, I was a vegetarian for about 5 years and then stopped due to lot of issues in my life. I have now returned and have been on the diet 5 months.
The biggest nuisance I find is eating out. I want to be a vegan, but find it hard to eat out (thoughts, anyone?) I find if I live out the silent "witness" of being vegetarian, most admire it and try to even follow it. As far as health, the more raw food the better for me. I feel great if I have a day where I eat about 75% raw fruits and veggies and the rest cooked vegan.

[4elise]

Originally Posted by creationlover

Hi,

I am new to this site and trying to learn how to navigate. Anyhow, I was a vegetarian for about 5 years and then stopped due to lot of issues in my life. I have now returned and have been on the diet 5 months.
The biggest nuisance I find is eating out. I want to be a vegan, but find it hard to eat out (thoughts, anyone?) I find if I live out the silent "witness" of being vegetarian, most admire it and try to even follow it. As far as health, the more raw food the better for me. I feel great if I have a day where I eat about 75% raw fruits and veggies and the rest cooked vegan.

EATING OUT....

http://www.happycow.net/

This web site will help you find veggie options all over the place... but when eating out at other places there are often options that just take asking for things to be left out....

For example - an omelet bar - get a veggie omelet without the eggs - basically stir fried veges and put it on a bagel - yummy

lunches - lots of places now have veggie burgers - and of course the obvious subs are salads, and many good soups - my favorite black bean burger is at Chili's

Dinners - going ethnic - usually easy with Asian - and you can get most Mexican restaurants to do something like vegetable fajatias, and of course beans and tortillas - but caution on the rice, many use chicken broth in the rice.



i.e.

[raw vegan girl]

Hi creationlover, welcome to the group! You may also want to check this out since you eat most of your food raw:

http://www.thebestdayever.com/index....tid=2&Itemid=0

This article might also help:

http://www.theskinnyonraw.com/articles2.html

[catholicDoktora]

Hi everyone,

I came across this thread, very timely for me. I am not vegetarian nor vegan now but would love to be again because of health reasons. I was vegetarian for 2 years 6 years ago but I found it difficult to continue because I am surrounded by a family of meat-eaters. Now that I want to restart but for some reason find it more challenging to do so. Any tips on how to make this journey a little bit easier?

Thanks!!

[creationlover]

Originally Posted by catholicDoktora

Hi everyone,

I came across this thread, very timely for me. I am not vegetarian nor vegan now but would love to be again because of health reasons. I was vegetarian for 2 years 6 years ago but I found it difficult to continue because I am surrounded by a family of meat-eaters. Now that I want to restart but for some reason find it more challenging to do so. Any tips on how to make this journey a little bit easier?

Thanks!!

My family is mostly vegetarian, so I imagine it must be a battle. I found that most people are attracted to a really luscious looking salad (I think it is because we naturally crave fruits and veggies..); in other words, try to find the most delicious veggies foods you can find to eat when with those who eat meat and a few might start trying to mimic you.

Also, I find that the more healthy I eat, the less I crave meat and unhealthy foods. If I do go back to eat something unhealthy, I feel terrible after eating it. I was vegan for about 5 years, then over time stopped, and now I am vegetarian making my way back to being a vegan. Sometimes I find it to be sheer grinding discipline, but my body is thankful later on. You may have developed a few addictions that are hard to break, but as you know, they can be broken. Stay in the battle and be gentle with yourself if you slip here and there.

[catholicDoktora]

thanks creation lover,

will keep that in mind. now i need a "quit date." i'll be working on it

[benny_f]

Originally Posted by raw vegan girl

Hi gang, I was just wondering if we can share some of the benefits we experienced after switching to a pescetarian/vegetarian/vegan diet, and some of the "nuisances" that we temporarily went through when we first got into these diets. This way we can offer support and encouragement to others who wish to improve their health and life.

I'll post my experience later. I have to do my laundry first. Of course, with an all-natural coconut-based herbal detergent soap.

Hope makamoimoi isn't so sleepy anymore on the vegan diet.

Benefits: I don't get menstruation cramps anymore, my skin is clearer, my constipation of seven years cleared up (my digestive system is terrible), my psoriasis doesn't inflame as much and I feel way fuller after eating a vegetarian meal.

The Switch: My parents thought I would die without meat, I love spicy chicken, I felt tired constantly (not eating the right foods) and I got sick at least twice but now I'm super healthy so it was worth it!

[lynnvinc]

I'm now a strict vegan again. Went off the wagon during vacation, and when I came back, the doc called me into for another breast cancer test, and the comments the ultrasound lady made scared me straight. Anyway a week later the test came back clear and negative, so I'm off the hook on that one for now (1 in 5 women get breast cancer).

But I figure I might as well stay on my anti-cancer diet -- total vegan, lots of uncooked produce, complex carbohydrates, wheatgrass juice, etc.

It's also a great guard against heart problems, diabetes, and a plethora of other diseases. And I feel much more healthy and energetic.

So the vegan diet is all around the best thing:
SOCIAL JUSTICE -- 7 vegans can live of the same land/resources used to feed one meat-eater.
ANIMAL RIGHTS -- sparing the lives and horrid living conditions of livestock
GLOBAL WARMING -- reducing my carbon footprint, and also many other environmental harms
ECONOMY -- saves money, both at the store, and in medical bills.
and HEALTH

And I know that meat tastes good, but so do veggies if done right

[Ann1231]

seriously considering this.

I have hypoglycemia and have, since 1996, eating a low carb diet. I have a serious autoimmune disease though and now my P.A. says I should eat fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. That's it. My husband is a total carnivore so this will be a tough cooking issue.

I had a breast cancer scare this last year and a mild heart attack in May. I better be doing something NOW. I'm all for a low carb diet but I think I need to figure out how to do it as a vegetarian and/or vegan.

Suggestions?
thank you!!

[creationlover]

Originally Posted by Ann1231

seriously considering this.

I have hypoglycemia and have, since 1996, eating a low carb diet. I have a serious autoimmune disease though and now my P.A. says I should eat fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. That's it. My husband is a total carnivore so this will be a tough cooking issue.

I had a breast cancer scare this last year and a mild heart attack in May. I better be doing something NOW. I'm all for a low carb diet but I think I need to figure out how to do it as a vegetarian and/or vegan.

Suggestions?
thank you!!

I suggest ordering the rave diet DVD and book, watching it (and reading it) with your husband if he is open, and going from there. You can obtain it at www.ravediet.com. I can't type a lot right now, I have to run an errand, but I wanted to give you something to start with. The DVD should cost around $30; it is worth the investment, believe me.

[Ann1231]

thank you! I'll definitely look into it.