Comments on: 3 quick tips for getting started as a vegan

By: Jerry Critter

Jerry Critter — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:31:15 +0000

Erin,
Just keep doingwhat you are doing and cut out the dairy

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:47:06 +0000

my name is erin. i have been a vegetarian for 6 years and i want to try to be vegan if anyone has any suggestions about making the transition please send me a an email @ liveandletdieax@aim.com

By: brian

brian — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:57:17 +0000

For me I've often taken the approach, if I don't know what's in it I don't put it in my mouth. Every single time I've gone against this principle I've been burned. If this means I don't eat, then I don't eat. But that hasn't happened much. I tell my two vegan children, “Forage, there's usually always something to eat”. I also tell them to ALWAYS pocket something when you go out to eat, either to a restaurant or someone's house. A small jar of nuts or a vegan health bar will usually be enough to tide you over until you get home.

By: Weakness on a vegan diet: 2 traps to avoid

Weakness on a vegan diet: 2 traps to avoid — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:51:11 +0000

[...] to get yourself on whole foods as soon as possible. As I suggested in 3 quick tips for getting started as a vegan, you only really need four good recipes to get things going, and you’ll find yourself feeling [...]

By: jasondoucette

jasondoucette — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:33:37 +0000

Thanks Jack, I think “it just became too much” has been the epitaph for far too many vegan attempts, and you've just reminded me of something I'll be talking about later this week, so thanks and stay tuned!

By: jackbennett

jackbennett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:37:43 +0000

Great advice. For myself, my first “vegan experiment” went off the rails because it was also an extremely low fat, minimal junk food diet and it just became too much.

During my second attempt, I took the tip of “Figure out your biggest problem” and decided that I would not count fat grams or calories, and instead just prioritize the vegan diet. As a result, I wound up reducing my weight by 45 lbs and was able to continue the vegan diet until now (almost 1.5 years).

By: jasondoucette

jasondoucette — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:55:21 +0000

Great suggestions, thanks! I don't think I've been burned on an ingredients change yet, but it's something I wonder about (and check) from time to time.

By: Al_Nowatzki

Al_Nowatzki — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:46:55 +0000

I think the best thing you can do as a new vegan is to know WHY you are a vegan. Seek out blogs by vegan activists (I suggest Gary Francione as a starting point). Watch the horrible videos of animal exploitation (I suggest Earthlings). Buy books about animal rights and veganism (I suggest Introduction to Animal Rights by Gary Francione and Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism by Melanie Joy).

Once you have a firm grasp of the arguments FOR veganism and AGAINST speciesism, then not being vegan will be harder than being vegan.

As far as food goes, always read the ingredients. Even if something is marked vegan, read the ingredients. This will remind you of all the stuff that IS vegan and will also help you in your own cooking (knowing what kind of spices go in what kind of food and all).

Also, do an ingredient check of your regulars every once in a while. I used to buy these great little frozen diced potatoes that I'd make skillet dishes with and one day I looked at the ingredients and BAM: Casein. Casein! On diced potatoes! It didn't used to be there, but some time between 2002 and 2009, they changed the ingredients on me.