Almost vegan by accident

[backtoblue]

For the past week I've been really watching what I eat and limiting my caloric intake.

I've always wanted to go vegan, but it never lasted more than a few months before I'd go out to a restaurant and eat meat. And I've always gone cold tofurky

This week, though, I've added tons of fresh fruits and veggies and almost completely cut out meat and dairy. I actually feel like I'm eating more food and I stay pretty full.

I do have cottage cheese with fruit every other morning, and two eggs on the others.

A single serving of mozzarella cheese for a snack on some days.

I've found that I love green tea and almond milk. I haven't had cow milk at all.

As far as meat goes, I portioned it so much that I actually like my beans better. Fish will probably be the last meat that I cut out.

I feel better already and have lost 9 pounds.

I am keeping a food journal and it's kinda fun.

Not beginning an exercise regimen until my body gets used to the changes. (Plus I'm down from a wreck, so not up for much anyhow)

Anyhow, taking my time with the changes. Thanks for letting me share!

[Iwasthere]

1. You will also live a longer more vibrant life

Your last years will most likely not be bedridden or in wheelchairs, while taking a multitude of prescribed pills. Your blood pressure will lower, your cholesterol will also go down. All your numbers will improve. We are a nation of doctor enthusiasts. My brother got two flu shots this year, just for good measure. I swear if the doc says, "you do not have cancer" he will say, well put me a strong chemo regimen to be safe doc". We treat our docs as Gods. They have no interest at all in your health, they only want you if you're sick. Most anyway.

[JudyM]

2. Any progress is worth the challenge.

Good going! Helping yourself and the planet ❤️

[mucifer]

3. Glad you feel better. If you do go full vegan please take your

Vitamin B12 it is essential. It's the one thing we vegan's don't get from foods unless the foods are fortified.

[athena]

4. Good work.

It can take several tries to successfully go vegan. The mistake most people make is they don't get enough calories. Try soy milk. It's delicious, and it's high in protein, which means it'll keep you full longer than almond milk. I especially love soy yogurt. Snack on nuts: pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts. Eat tofu. One of my favorite snacks is tofu with a little bit of soy sauce and some chopped scallion on top.

Eating animal products destroys one's taste buds. Fortunately, taste buds regenerate in about a week. So if you manage to be vegan for a week, you will find that vegetables suddenly taste much better than they ever did.

I would cut out the eggs if I were you. They're filled with cholesterol. Try having oatmeal instead. You can add two teaspoons of ground flax seed, which will give you omega-3 fatty acids and protect you from cancer. You can use maple syrup as sweetener. Look up "overnight oats" if you don't already know the recipe. Good luck!

[flvegan]

5. Please keep us updated!

[yewberry]

6. Glad it's going well for you.

Do what feels right for you. In general, if you are not eating vegan junk food, limiting calories sort of happens by itself.

One of the things I always have the hardest time explaining is the 'fullness' thing. That's a complaint I've often heard about about vegan food: "I never feel like I'm full." Once you stay off meat for a while, it's true, you don't often get that heavy full feeling. And soon, you don't miss it-- the next time you overdo food, it comes back and you realize that it's not actually a good feeling and it never really was, but you were used to it so it felt normal.

Please let us know if you want to expand your recipe catalog!