Any vegans here?

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I’m trying to go vegan, partially for animal welfare reasons, but mostly in hopes that it will help me lose weight and be healthier. I go back and forth between vegetarian and pescetarian. I usually eat at least one vegan meal a day.

Any suggestions for how to make the transition easier and stick with it? I love to cook, so that’s not an issue.

Well... I'm an almost vegan. For me there is only one reason: animal welfare/welfare for all sentient beings. Right now, I only eat high grade free-range eggs which are not vegan. When my life is a bit more stable, I want to try to go fully vegan. My suggestions are:
- do it gradually;
- do a lot of reading/research regarding going vegan;
- enjoy the vegan life style!

I think veganism is the best lifestyle because you consume from nature instead of animals which should be left alone.

I'm sort of pescetarian, I don't eat farm animals, inc farmed fish which basically leaves sea fish like tins of sardines.

Luckily I like tinned fish Mostly this is because of animal welfare. Shopping was getting too stressful. Lentles are

so much easier. I have organic eggs because the chickens have the most room. I can't get organic lactose free

whole milk though. Before when I eat very little meat I ended up with iron deficiency, this time I'm doing more

research into nutrients. I think vegans do need some supplements so it's prob best to look on the vegan website.

During my short stint with veganism (i reverted because i can't cook all means myself), one thing that really helped me was to stock up the fridge with vegan options like tofu, avocado, oil rather than cheese, and then the usual basic cooking things- one ends up cooking up something for the meal and this makes the transition effective. Also, highly agree with the comments which suggested research and even a body check up to ensure that you are healthy to make the transition.

My partner and I have been vegan for 5 years and were vegetarian for 9 years before that. We eat quite a lot of vegan substitute foods (like 'fake' burgers, cheese, etc.), because I don't really cook and my partner doesn't always have time to make meals 'from scratch'. I think it really helps not to expect things like vegan cheese substitutes to taste exactly like the dairy versions. Some are really close in taste and texture, but if you can learn to enjoy vegan foods on their own merits rather than constantly comparing them with non-vegan foods it makes it easier We started by swapping out parts of meals, so for example having vegan sausages with mash and veg, making sure the gravy we used was vegan, etc. Eating out can be a challenge sometimes, but most places are happy to omit things from a menu item if you ask them.

My partner is very careful to include all food groups when he cooks and we naturally eat a low fat diet due to excluding meat, dairy and eggs. We eat a lot of protein, although you can guarantee that the one thing non-vegans will always say to you is "how do you get your protein?" ! However, we do also take a vegan vitamin and mineral supplement and add things like ground linseed to breakfast cereals to make sure we're not missing out on any vital nutrients.

We do use beans in cooking, but also things like soya mince for chilli, bolognese and cottage pie. Tinned beans are useful to have in the cupboard because you can add them to salads, pasta, chilli, etc. My partner uses mushrooms a lot in pasta and curries, and we use meat substitutes like 'fake chicken' chunks in those types of meals too. He doesn't add nuts to meals because I don't like them hot, but we do snack on almonds and other nuts. Also, we use almond milk on breakfast cereals and as a drink.

We basically eat as much protein as we did when we were vegetarian and probably also when we ate meat all those years ago, too!