Vegan Diet

[lovalotz]

Okay..Some of you girls may think i'm crazy, but I'm thinking of adopting this diet. Not for weight loss purposes, but for environmental reasons. This isn't the first time that I have thought about becoming a vegetarian, I guess i was always too unsure about it. (Meat IS good, I'll give you that!)
So here are my questions:
Is it safe for a growing girl to do this? (I'm 15)
Is anyone else a vegetarian? Any words of wisdom?
What can i do to mantain a balanced diet?

Please and Thank you's

 

[Lady_MAC]

Well, I've been a vegetarian since grade 5 (and from birth to the age of 4 prior to that). At the time it was more for animal rights, and while it still is I'm more in it for environmental reasons as well.

Health wise, you'll be fine as long at you get your proper nutrients. I think you'd be best off talking to your doctor. Mine is on my arse about my diet, and I get frequent blood tests to monitor my vitamin intake. Your doc will likely give you a list of what you should be eating daily. Mine negotiates with me .

My favourite site is veg.ca. Check under "Living", it's gives a ton of information about nutrition.

Hooray for your veggie lifestyle! Good luck!

 

[valley]

I became a vegan this year, because of health reasons. Def make sure you talk to a docter, I had a B12 defiency before I even went into it so I take a couple (prescribed) supplements. I havent had any problems, and besides missing my all time fav, skim milk, it hasnt been that difficult.

Talk to a health care professional and be careful would be my only advice.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovalotz Okay..Some of you girls may think i'm crazy, but I'm thinking of adopting this diet. Not for weight loss purposes, but for environmental reasons. This isn't the first time that I have thought about becoming a vegetarian, I guess i was always too unsure about it. (Meat IS good, I'll give you that!) So here are my questions: Is it safe for a growing girl to do this? (I'm 15) Is anyone else a vegetarian? Any words of wisdom? What can i do to mantain a balanced diet? Please and Thank you's

Being Veggie, and Vegan are two different things, just a FYI

Veggie's just dont eat meat, but are still allowed to eat basically anything else. And use anyting else.

Vegans dont consumn or use ANYTHING thats is a animal product (or tested on animals) at all. So no leather products, no eggs, no this no that hehe...

In addition, you'll have to start learning how to read a label. There are many, many grain products (like breads) and other processed foods that have animal products in them. Like Eggs for example. And you can't eat those eigther. So all those cookies, and snacky foods out there are usually off limits, unless you get a "Vegan Cookie." Vegan Cookies are actually pretty good LOL.

Anyways... Just a little clarification on the whole Vegan/Veggie thing, since it's very, very different. Being Vegan is an entire change of lifestyle, not just ordering pasta (and it can't be an egg noodle hehe) for dinner instead of steak, and getting ice cream for desert (they have Soy ice cream though, and thats pretty YUMMY hehe ).

Oh and another thing... Learn how to COOK!

Since the majority of places dont always have a Vegan Menu, and your server isn't going to know if a meal contans animal products unless it's obvious, you end up cooking for yourself a lot.

But there are a lot of really yummy Vegan meals. They have a bazillion Soy meat substitutes products that taste as good if not better than the meats they are replacing. And you can get everything from burger and hot dogs, to deli slices (soy mayo wasn't my fav though LOL). So it's not like your JUST eating salads. Start eating mixed nuts too (preferably lightly to unsalted kinds heh) those make a great snack and are healthy for yah.

I bought a whole bunch of Vegan Cookbooks while I was doing the Vegan thing and had a lot of fun being creative with what we were eating. You'd be amazed how much oliveoil you end up using LOL.

I made the most AMAZING Vegan lasagna last year. Homemade sauce, spinache, tofu, and some other things. No cheese on top obviously

 

[Wattage]

Being a vegan can be a rewarding experience, though it is very time consuming and challenging.

I wrote a quick blurb about it here:

http://specktra.net/showthread.php?t=52471

Personally, at 15 I wouldn't recommend it, solely because your bones are in a crucially important stage right now where the ends that have been growing become hard and calcify. Lack of calcium at this point in your life could be detrimental in the future.

Either way, I recommend seeing a registered dietician and discussing your ideas. Make sure you do a lot of reading and know what you are getting into.

Best of luck! Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have other questions

 

[ohhhhhthehorror]

I started being vegetarian when I was 12 and vegan when I was 18. It's a serious commitment and takes a lot of getting used to. As much as I love it, there are some definite cons.
1.PRICE. Wow, I have never had to spend so much on food before. Everything that is imitation meat, cheese, milk, etc is more expensive than it's regular counterpart.
2.RESTAURANTS. There are practically no places that cater to a vegan diet and everyone's idea of what vegan is can be different so it's a pain to have to ask the waitress/aiter to investigate every single ingredient in every single aspect of your meal.
3.FRIENDS. I find that a lot of the time friends/family/whoever can feel a burden by the vegan diet. We can never eat the same things, munch out on junk food, go out to eat, etc.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohhhhhthehorror I started being vegetarian when I was 12 and vegan when I was 18. It's a serious commitment and takes a lot of getting used to. As much as I love it, there are some definite cons. 1.PRICE. Wow, I have never had to spend so much on food before. Everything that is imitation meat, cheese, milk, etc is more expensive than it's regular counterpart. 2.RESTAURANTS. There are practically no places that cater to a vegan diet and everyone's idea of what vegan is can be different so it's a pain to have to ask the waitress/aiter to investigate every single ingredient in every single aspect of your meal. 3.FRIENDS. I find that a lot of the time friends/family/whoever can feel a burden by the vegan diet. We can never eat the same things, munch out on junk food, go out to eat, etc.

Heh, i'll agree with the above... I remember going out to dinner with family, and them always giving me a hassle because I was just ordering salads, because I couldn't eat anything else on the menu.

I'm not a practising Vegan anymore, although I do limit my meats to only chicken and fish, and only on occasion (defeneteley no red meats). Most of my meals are meatless anyways, just because of cost, and my need to save money. It's amazing how little you can spend on food if you dont mind eating the same stuff all the time hehe...

Regardless, remember to take your vitamins of your going to do anything like this. Since you'll prolly need a little help on that part.

 

[ohhhhhthehorror]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae It's amazing how little you can spend on food if you dont mind eating the same stuff all the time hehe...

Hahaha so true!
I could eat pasta, pizza, salad and fruit everyday and be happy.

 

[YvetteJeannine]

I am an Ovo Lacto Veg. leaning toward being Vegan. I don't eat ANY fish, poultry, pork, OR anything that had meat in it, was processed w/ anything to do w/ meat or meat fats, etc. I started when I was 13, and I'm very healthy. There are SO many foods now that cater to Vegetarians/Vegans BUT they can get pretty expensive. I would say the smart thing to do would be to first go Vegetarian...If you're doing well w/ that, and you are healthy then you can think about going strictly Vegan. I will be very hard at first...friends and family will question your beliefs and habits, you'll have a hard time dining out, and you'll have to research your food items and recipies.

There's a difference between you and me; when I stopped eating meat, I was SO grossed out by it, simply 'cause it came from an animal..and I was sickened by eating anything from a formerly living being. I would've gone Veg. years earlier if my Father (a big meat eater, and believer in the "You can only get protien/other valuable nutrients from meat" school of thought) had let me. YOU on the other hand, say you enjoy meat...so it may be more of a challenge for you.

There are SO many good resources out there now (tons more than when I went Veg...there wasn't a widespread/accessible internet back then) for you to learn from...Just Googling "Vegan" or "Vegetarian" will bring you to endless amts. of them.

Whatever your choice, I applaud

you for your conscientiousness. Good luck..let us know what you decide!

 

[Raerae]

OMG isn't that so true...

I remember when i moved to my new place, and the people nextdoor invited me over for a haloween party, and they had hotdogs (GROSS OMG LOL). And i politeley declined, on the premise that I'm Vegan (I think that can have a lot to do with it too, if you tell people your Vegan, vs. just declining). And like everyone i was sitting with was like, "you dont eat meat?" And I was like, "Nope." And there like, " :whattha: "

Sometimes you have to tell people though, especially when they start offering you things. Or your family when their cooking, so they dont plop down a plate with a steak on it in front of you LOL. Red meats gross me out when they are cooking. I hate the smell. And the Blood all over my plate. EWWWWWW LOL

Fish i stay away from mostly due to Mercury. Although I <3 Sushi on occasion heh, or a late night can on tuna. And chicken i'll get when i order out. But I haven't cooked ANY meats in my hosue for months. Makes your house stinky.

But yeh, i would suggest starting Veggie, and getting the hang of how creative or bland you can be with meals, and if you can tolerate it. Since you'll be cooking a lot of your own meals.

And get started LOVING Tofu =P Tofu is so yummy though. Pan friend with a little olive oil and some spices, yum yum. It's also really yummy over Salads, and as a meat substitue in a sammch. And it's chaep! LOL.

 

[lovalotz]

Wow that's alot of info guys! Thanks so much!
Sorry i wasn't too clear..i'm thinking of becoming a vegetarian..not a vegan. It'll be waay less complicated and I don't think I could make that huge of a commitment.
Meh..meat is kinda gross now that I think about it. It's a good thing that I already LOVE tofu..
LOL isn't that the last thing you would expect to hear from a teenager?
I'll see if i can schedual an appointment with my family doctor first.

 

[Raerae]

I'd suggest getting on a multi-vitamin (everyone should really be on one anyways), and maybe having your parents get you a protein shake mix. Thats usually the most difficult aspect of veggi type diets is the less abundance of easy access proteins.

Tofu is amazing for protein btw, so are any soy based meat substitutes.

If your still drinking Milk, you should be OK on the calcium department. Thats one part you dont wanna slack on, be it from pills or your diet when your growing. Since Osteiperosis can be an issue later in life (soda is bad for this too, it depleates your calcium).

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

I saw a mercedes on the 101 a few weeks ago license plate read "BE VEGAN".. I hope she was comfortable in her leather seats.

 

[Raerae]

maybe she had upholstery put in heh, or like my car, it has Faux leather.

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

naw It was definitly leather, not cloth or "Faux leather" aka Vinyl.

 

[lovalotz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae I'd suggest getting on a multi-vitamin (everyone should really be on one anyways), and maybe having your parents get you a protein shake mix. Thats usually the most difficult aspect of veggi type diets is the less abundance of easy access proteins. Tofu is amazing for protein btw, so are any soy based meat substitutes. If your still drinking Milk, you should be OK on the calcium department. Thats one part you dont wanna slack on, be it from pills or your diet when your growing. Since Osteiperosis can be an issue later in life (soda is bad for this too, it depleates your calcium).

Yup i've already told my mom about the multi-vitamin. And also i'm planning on drinking soy milk rather than regular.

 

[Raerae]

You can drink regular milk, and use eggs, and any other dairy product if your going to be Veggie. Soymilk is yummy though, i like the Silk brand myself.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MxAxC-_ATTACK naw It was definitly leather, not cloth or "Faux leather" aka Vinyl.

Vinyl doesn't sound as hoity-toity =P

 

[Lady_MAC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MxAxC-_ATTACK I saw a mercedes on the 101 a few weeks ago license plate read "BE VEGAN".. I hope she was comfortable in her leather seats.

Sweet hypocrisy..

My father would be a vegan if he'd give up his one pair of leather shoes. He won't and makes sure to correct those who call him a vegan, based on those shoes.

 

[Raerae]

I dunno, I think being Vegan doesn't mean you have to give up everything you previously owned, just because it had an animal product in it. I think it has more to do with a conchious choice from the moment you adopt the Vagan lifestyle to not support Animal Testing, Animal products, etc...

Granted I dont own a ton of animal products, maybe a few pairs of shoes that I bought b4 I was a practising Vegan, but I dont think that disqualified me from being Vegan.

Throwing them out would just be wasteful.