I've been completely vegan for around a month and a half (I know not long)in a house full of meat eaters (dh and 2 kids). So far things are working out ok. My goal is not just to be vegan but to be vegan with a lot less oil. I bake my own bread (I have a machine)with some recipes tha include milk or butter or oil in only small amounts. Also I don't do tofu because it seems the only way to make it taste is to fry it in olive oil and what is the point in that. Other wise at dinner I cook what is normal for us to eat, meat, pasta, rice, veggies and I just don't eat the meat. We rarely ate meat mixed in with other things since no one here really likes their food mixed (like casseroles an exception would be mexican food) so I just make a bigger portion of vegetables and substitute them for the meat I used to eat. All in all I think this is working out for me right now. I am not tempted by the meat at all since I picture all of the fat in it. Since starting this topic I have heard from other vegans who say they are overweight but they are all eating lots of things like dairy and poptarts and that sort of thing. I am trying to make my life more healthy all around so I avoid all that boxed stuff.

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Yeah, I want to stay away from oil, I do not have oil in the house I use fat free cooking spray to cook with and I do not eat egg products and try to stay away from dairy as much as possible. I want to try rice milk, have you tried it? I do not eat cheese, or cottage cheese. I do not htink I eat that much dairy. My butter is lactose free, and fat free.

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catch a falling star and put it in your pocket ... save it for a rainy day ..

Hey you guys!

As you probably know, people who say they eat dairy are not vegans, rather they are lacto-vegetarians. Egg-eating veggies are ovo-vegetarians. I'm more of a lacto-ovo.

My hubby is also a Pop Tarts addict -- I stay away from those things -- besides when I was a kid, I preferred Toastems myself!

Rice milk - try Rice Dream - that's a good one. Trader Joes' usually has it at a good price - I'd start with the Vanilla flavor (tastes good on cereal too). Imagine Foods, the manufacturers of Rice Dream also makes vegan puddings and frozen desserts that are good too (however, don't ask me about the calorie count...I'm not sure as it has been awhile!)

MrsJim
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justaveggie- it sounds like you might not be getting enough protein. Try substituting beans for the meat occaisionally, as opposed to just eating around it. Beans are tasty, low-fat, and full of fiber. And as a college student, I find their most attractive feature to be that they are cheap, cheap, cheap!

Cat

Angelina- I use rice milk. I prefer the plain to the vanilla though. Not sure why except sometimes the vanilla is just a little too sweet I think
Moonbeam-Actually I do make a concious effort to eat some sort of protien every day weather it is beans in soup or a burrito or some great soy protein products. Something that I did worry about is calcium but I am using a supplement so I think i'm ok there. Anyone come up with other things I might be missing in my diet post away!!!! Are you a vegan moonbeam??? If so any tips you might have would be great.

Just A veg - you would be totally amazed at how many veggies have calcium in them! If you haven't already done so, I would highly recommend John Robbins' book "Diet for a New America". It's not a diet in the sense of losing weight - more for better health. This is the book I read in 1992 that made me decide to live a vegetarian lifestyle!

MrsJim
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Thanks, I'll put it on my library list. I know that there are lots of foods that contain calcium but that is a nutrient that I worry about since the women on both sides of my family are all really stooped over.

Hi,
I've been veggie for about 11 years (that sounds such a long time when you put it that way!), and I have always struggled with my weight. I thought that becoming veggie would help it to come off, but it didn't quite happen that way...
Never mind, it's never too late to do something about it!
The Italian diet sounds like a good idea - giving up all dairy etc for lent. I think that I might try it, but I don't know if I will be able to steer clear of cheese for that long...
Good luck to you all, sounds like you are doing really well and have lots of good ideas.
Gypsy Rosex

Gypsey- Do you think you struggle with your weight because of dairy? I think that for me a huge problem was the dairy I was eating in the form of ice creams, cheeses and that sort of thing. I just could never stop with a little and found that if I had any that I would just crave more. That is why I am eliminating them from my diet.

Hey Veg -

My husband has cut way back on his dairy, but not for weight loss (typical guy- doesn't think too much about it!). He has a deviated septum, so his sinuses are always bugging him, that along with his seasonal allergies. He's found that cutting back on his dairy has helped his sinuses a lot! (he says NO WAY is he getting the surgery after finding out what it entails.)

Most of our daily dairy comes from the skim milk we use on our cereal and I also buy a lot of light sugar free yogurt as well.

MrsJim
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Mrs.Jim- Skim milk is great in the states, no fat and all that but over here the milk they sell in the commissary is 1% I think but they call it skim so you are still getting that fat in it. As for shopping on the German economy for milk well they don't drink the same sort of thing. There's is like a shelf milk deal. Plus the whole cow thing has me a bit freaked. There is just too much unknown about what the heck is going on.

This is a great message board. I really like vegatarian lifestyles, but have trouble being vegan. On the one hand I 'm tired of meat and the quality I see in stores on the other hand I used to be on the McDougall Plan but I was always hungry. I know dairy definately has an effect on weight. One time I had some pretty bad allergies and was forced to cut out dairy and I lost 30lbs in one month. After having gone back I'm now 225 and feel really depressed about my weight. I would love to find some decent soy cheeses, but they all have milk in them. Do vegans have alot of hunger or does that subside over time?

As far as feeling hungry, I never felt really any more hungry on a vegan diet than I have experienced on a low cal/low fat plan. If anything I feel more like I am able to go ahead and have a little more to eat if I am feeling hungry. I am trying not to eat crackers or other starchy foods when I am eating extra, I stick to veggies or fruits.

Hello everyone, what an interesting thread. I have been ovo-vegetarian since I was 12 years old (20 years, ugh) but need to lose about 43 pounds. I have been struggling with losing 43 pounds for about a year, after having lost nearly 70. Someone told me to cut out cheese and that would help but I love cheese and view it as a valuable source of protein.

food for thought - I was amazed that you had lost 30 pounds in one month by cutting out dairy.

Does anyone else have any experience of kick starting a weight loss by cutting out dairy products, or more specifically cheese? I only eat eggs occasionally and have very little milk, just some skim on cereal a few days a week.

Phoebe