So I may have started yet another silly forum topic, but here goes anyway
I’m pretty serious about converting to full-on veganism.. Anybody else on here a vegan? I did veg (ovo-lacto) for about 6 months quite (!) a while ago, now I’m back to the concept with even firmer convictions than before. My primary reason is to live a cruelty-free life, and health is a strong second. The food I think I’ll have the hardest time giving up? CHEESE!!!!! LOL So I’d like to open this forum up to anyone who goes the vegan route, all kinds of chatter invited, and especially suggestions about any naturalish vegan food that might satisfy that fermented dairy tang that I melt for (a little pun intended…) A bit more about my adventure: I’m already sold on almond milk, butter was a toughie because I love to bake (tho I think I’ve already found a solution), and tho I have ADORED the experience of filet of beef most rare, I think the actual giving up of meat will not vex me too much, as the face of animal exploitation is extremely easy to palpate, not to mention extremely upsetting. As for eggs in baking (and other egg needs), I’m thinking maybe tapioca will be my salvation. (I really don’t want to do egg replacer, because I’m also trying to stay as natural as possible.) Anybody wanna talk??
God-speed, Sister! I wonder for the sake of wondering, how this is going to affect you. My brother is a man who thrives on a diet of mostly red meat. I feel like he suffers from a lot of self inflicted stress as well. He also tells me that his most common dreams involve feelings of turmoil, overcoming of intense challenge and also deep personal problems. I differ greatly from him in personality and dreams as well as diet which is more nutritionally balanced. As the saying goes, you are what you eat, I wonder if one of the big differences in personality traits between state of mind and problem solving could somewhat stem from the difference in our diets.
I challenge you. Observe closely the science of yourself as you go through this possibly dramatic shift in lively hood. Examine who you are on all levels today and really try to feel the change over the next few months as you experience this change in diet.
Everybody’s body chemistry is different, so you may be doing yourself a huge favor by making this change and I myself and interested in how this change affects you, how going vegan affects anyone really. So if you feel comfortable enough, feel free to share that all that personal change: everything from physically; do you have more energy?; even to as broad as your spiritual progression; do you feel more enlightened, and how has this affected your dreams? You might even convert a few of us along the way!
Goodluck, stay strong to yourself and journey well!
I spent a month as a vegetarian back in 2010, and it was HUGEly beneficial - very energized, healthy, and even disciplined after that stint. Did it really only for the discipline and to try to live a different way. It was great, but I’m not sure I could ever go full-on vegan. Good luck to you!
Thanks, friends!! And Samtheman, thanks for the invite to post whatever I notice about myself on the way, I certainly will do that! Should help to keep me on track, too I’ll say this, so far: i’ve just had a few days without meat/eggs, and really minimal dairy (I still have some butter, cheese, and half and half in the fridge that I gotta use up, I hate to waste..), and I swear I’m already a bit leaner. Although I’m sure I must have eaten much less fat than usual, too, so maybe that’s the explanation. There are still a few portions of meat in my freezer that I plan to use up really soon, though, so I’m really not full-on yet. Like I said, it’d feel a sin to waste.. But I’ve been feasting out on olives, onion rye bread, pecans, walnuts, raisins, dried mangoes, vegetable broth with noodles, amy’s no cheese vegetable pizza, fried eggplant, stir-fried kale and tofu, popcorn, chips and salsa, vegetable lo-mein and veggie spring rolls, barley heated with almond milk and brown sugar, spaghetti with marinara sauce, lots of seltzer, and lots of tea! (among other things, LOL) I’ve also been trying to only eat when I feel hungry and only eat until I no longer feel hungry. The result has been that I’m basically “grazing” all day long, it’s a very unusual experience for me. Anyway, I’ll pay special attention to my mind and post updates as soon as I notice anything different!!
Well, I decided not to even wait to go full vegan. I’m going to give away whatever’s left in my kitchen that’s meat or dairy. I haven’t eaten either in a few days now, and precious little of either in the week or so prior. Physically, other than trimming down a bit almost immediately, the only thing I’ve noticed so far is that my glands seem a little swollen. I don’t know if it’s definitely related, but from what I’ve read about your early vegan days I think it certainly could be. I decided to start taking B-12 a few times a week, too. No other supplements, though—from what I read, B-12’s the only one that’s necessary, and I really don’t like to take any pharmaceuticals. (No vegans have responded here yet, but if anyone reads this and has an opinion on that, would you mind commenting? It’d be helpful to me ) Mentally, the only thing I think I could say at this point is that my drive to become vegan and cruelty-free has ramped itself up exponentially. Whatever’s at the root of that, I’m grateful My dreams have been a bit more interesting lately, and I’ve had a little easier time going lucid than I have had in the past few years, but I’m pretty sure that started before the process of eliminating meat and dairy from my diet. So I’d say it’s unrelated, unless it’s being heightened by the change. Anyway, that’s it for now!! Hug your kitties and puppies
Welp, I realize I might be writing more or less for myself here, but on the chance someone finds it inspiring/helpful/mildly interesting, here’s another update on my vegan trek:
So it’s been just a few days over a week since I’ve become completely meat and dairy-free. The most enduring aftereffect I’ve noticed to date has been, pardon the indelicateness, a bit of constipation and its, aherm, byproduct. But come on, we all go through that every now and again, right? I can probably credit some dull, lingering headaches to new veganism, too.. honestly, though, if it wasn’t that it would almost certainly be something else, anyway. Cravings for meats and cheeses do occasionally arise, but, armed with determination, I’m finding if I just eat SOMETHING vegan at those moments the craving dries up like a transplanted snowflake in a hot July. *Hey, is anyone on here from south of the equator??* In fact, today when I went to a favorite Mexican restaurant, I wistfully ordered fajitas without the meat and abracadabra ended up leaving fully, wholly satisfied. Like, for real. Not only that, but I felt a new version of “stuffed,” wherein I couldn’t have eaten another bite (even if I HAD left one on my plate) yet I wasn’t feeling the uncomfortable heaviness I’d have usually associated with the circumstance. And that somehow leads me to my other observation—I feel more and more convinced of making the right choice for myself every day that passes, mostly from a respect for life standpoint. Not that I wasn’t totally sure in the beginning! You know how you can already be at 100 percent with something, and even so, you somehow find a higher plateau? Yeah, I’ve leveled up multiple times already I don’t think I credit that to a new balance of minerals or neurotransmitters or whatever, I think I’ve gotta give that one up to some kind of essential divinity. On a third note, if anyone is curious about quickdraw weightloss and veganism, I am telling you, it is an incredibly expeditious perk I’m personally enjoying. Not that I am obese (so I couldn’t speak to that paradigm), but those stubborn spots of butterball that my typcial american body retains are disappearing faster than I could have reasonably imagined. And that’s with indulging myself daily with coconut milk ice cream, raw vegan macaroons, bags upon bags of air-popped popcorn, vegan chocolate, and etcetera, etcetera, (truly) etcetera. So, I guess to wrap thing up in a nice, cruelty-free nutshell, that’s where I’m at I’d love to hear back from anyone about anything, as always!!
Yeah much of that negative stuff is just standard detox. It can happen when you make the transition..it can actually take years sometimes to clean you’re system out- especially if you ate a standard american diet. Takes some tinkering and getting used to but in the end if you do it in a way that works well and is balanced you’ll feel better than ever and enjoy food more than ever as well.
I’ve been basically “raw vegan” for a few years now. I’m more fruitarian than anything but i try to avoid labels since they carry a lot of baggage in general..
Awesome, thanks for the feedback and the pointer to your thread, VALIS23! This is interesting reading and I am basically on the same track here, although I’m not yet sure how much the conjecture resonates with me that our self-awareness (or self-reflection, as it was stated, I guess) arose basically from what we ate.. But I’d like to think/read about that some more, it’s a very intriguing idea! And certainly as good a suspicion as any of the best of them, anyway The quote that DOES strike me is “..And culture, which we put on like an overcoat, is the collectivized consensus about what sort of neurotic behaviors are acceptable.” I feel like what I’m going through right now in my life is extracting myself from the “overcoat” (or perhaps extracting it from me would be more accurate). It’s amazing how veiled are the lives we typically lead, at least in a “civilized” country like mine. Speaking of, that sorta leads me to my point of the night: Why do some people have such a problem with a virtual stranger going vegan??! I guess it’s my own fault for even mentioning my new veganism to strangers, but for instance when someone won’t shutup about putting parmesan cheese in a dish I’m cooking the only way I can really get them to stop is to explain why I won’t. Only it doesn’t stop them. It seems a comment like that begs a tirade from someone who doesn’t even know me, and who isn’t really qualified to give absolute recommendations about anything in particular anyway. I said, with a smile, to this particular guy, “So you’re going to take a decision of mine that took years of deliberation and try to tear it down in five minutes?” His response? “Uh, no, I’m going to do it in about eight seconds..” BARF, dude. LOL Anyways, thanks again for the feedback, I’m gonna spend some time and read through your whole thread now
Just a quick update, in case someone else finds my progression notes useful during their own transition: Lately, I believe I’m experiencing some mild to mild-moderate depression as a result of cutting meat/dairy from my diet. It’s been three or four weeks since I became vegan.. I just feel a little sadder, a little lonelier, and a little less ambitious about daily life than usual. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that can happen early on, so I’m not worried that it won’t clear up eventually (and I’m no stranger to more serious depression anyway), but I figured I should at least document it here I still crave a burger now and then and maybe chicken soup, too, but mostly what I miss is cheese, as I predicted. I had sort of a nightmare about cheesy pizza the other night!!! LOL Anyway, hope everyone’s well, and please smile at a squirrel for me!
yeah make sure you’re getting enough calories and plenty of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids (think flax seed/hemp seed or their oils) and those cravings will start leaving. i would also get a lot of sun since vitamin D deficiency is common among vegans/vegetarians (and also meat eaters actually). But that helps a lot with mood. there can definitely be some odd feelings for a while and not everyone is able to make the jump right away..which is why its best and easiest to gradually get into it for most
yeah make sure you’re getting enough calories and plenty of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids (think flax seed/hemp seed or their oils) and those cravings will start leaving. i would also get a lot of sun since vitamin D deficiency is common among vegans/vegetarians (and also meat eaters actually). But that helps a lot with mood. there can definitely be some odd feelings for a while and not everyone is able to make the jump right away..which is why its best and easiest to gradually get into it for most
Too late for that! LOL, no, seriously I did sorta ramp up to it. So hopefully I’ll be able to continue without serious issue Thank you SO much for the advice!!! I’ve gotta be fine on calories, and I routinely have a bit of flax seed but I think I’ll get one of the oils like you say, I can still use the help. And, yeah, now that you say it, going outside and getting my vitamin D sounds like EXACTLY what I should be doing for my mood. I’ve heard 15 minutes in the sun a day is all it takes, but I probably haven’t even been doing THAT much. I’m gonna make a point of getting out there every day the rest of this week. Thanks!!!!
Whew, so I am FINALLY getting some energy and determination back!! That low point was kinda tricky.. But I’m happy to report that I joined my local gym this weekend (kicked it off with a really great yoga session) and also finally started stacking my cord of firewood that has been sitting in a pile for about a month I’m still battling those pesky pizza dreams (I’m telling you, Samtheman, they are really something!! LOL) but I’m starting to find my groove cooking vegan so I think things can only get better. Perhaps it’ll whet your palate to hear I’ve already made creole black eyed peas, a velvety cauliflower bisque, and gigantosaur homemade vegan reese’s-style peanut butter cups? Yomm, indeed! Tonight I attempt a chickpea and turnip curry in my “new” pressure cooker ($3.99 at Goodwill, scorrrrrre) and homemade naan, everybody wish me लक .... Psychologically, my dreams still haven’t really gotten any more interesting, I wonder if they’re ever really going to. Maybe they’ve gotten a little more pointed, though - last night’s noetic excursions touched on several themes from my current book of concerns. For example, I was pregnant at one point (I worry I never will be), and then later I was convinced I’d missed out on a $300k lottery prize because I’d left the building too early (I’ll keep those details to myself..) Anyway, happy early Halloween to anyone who enjoys that! It’s one of my two faves, right up there with New Year’s Eve. Stay spooky, ya’ll BOO!
OK, I just want to get these thoughts down before they leave me.. BTW, still vegan, still going pretty well I’d say, still struggling (successfully) with the feeling of restriction… blah, blah, blah. Anyways, I just started reading Embraced By the Light (by Eadie) in the bath tonight and it brought some thoughts to my foremind and clarified them. A good summary of some of these thoughts occurred as I was taking out and washing my contacts afterwards—it just put me in the frame of understanding that I was just “taking care” of this vehicle (my body), and that there are very definitively some acts that are “essential” to that end, and some that are not. (Not that I know of exhaustive lists for either..) That may not make much sense the way I’ve said it.. but those who have experienced moments of enlightenment can and should trust that it’s got validity, I would think, and sorry for being too lazy or tired at the moment to better express myself.. ANYWAYS, to get back to my point, I’ve sort of felt this sense of taking care before, and of some things being important to do and some not, but never as crystalline as I felt it tonight at the sink. And beyond that, I felt even that I am truly not this body, at all. That I am quite separate from my lovely gift of a vehicle. (Again, much more crystalline than ever before.) Was this all another blessing from veganism? I think it’s entirely possible. Really, I kinda think the two occur in tandem, arising from the same desires in my soul. LOL, all this from a bubble bath and a book, right? And I wanted to add one more note: it might seem to some that these ramblings of mine really aren’t Twisted material at all, but in defense of myself, a good portion of the Twisted catalog runs completely parallel to my own spirituality (I mean, like, mirrored to the nth degree, where n equals infinity), so to me everything I write here is totally Twisted. That said, sorry to those I may annoy anyway
That’s it, off to bed with me! and p.s., no, I have not been drinking tonight
well in relation to the theory i’ve been babbling about thats so mind blowing (dmt, psychedelics, plant/human symbiosis, evolution/devolution of the brain, etc)...
I’ve been meaning to post again, because I do finally seem to be growing spiritually (and I credit veganism, at least in part).. But first, to VALIS23: I confess I haven’t read/watched all that you’ve posted about yet (I still intend to..), but I am very intrigued by your mention of the DEvolution of the brain!! Can we talk more about that?? (I’ll understand if you much rather I just read/watch about it for myself..) And when I’m in my clearer mind (I’ve had a few glasses of wine just now) I’ll come up with a good post about where I’m at now in my truer self.
I’ll say this, so far: i’ve just had a few days without meat/eggs, and really minimal dairy (I still have some butter, cheese, and half and half in the fridge that I gotta use up, I hate to waste..), and I swear I’m already a bit leaner. Although I’m sure I must have eaten much less fat than usual, too, so maybe that’s the explanation. There are still a few portions of meat in my freezer that I plan to use up really soon, though, so I’m really not full-on yet. Like I said, it’d feel a sin to waste.. But I’ve been feasting out on olives, onion rye bread, pecans, walnuts, raisins, dried mangoes, vegetable broth with noodles, amy’s no cheese vegetable pizza, fried eggplant, stir-fried kale and tofu, popcorn, chips and salsa, vegetable lo-mein and veggie spring rolls, barley heated with almond milk and brown sugar, spaghetti with marinara sauce, lots of seltzer, and lots of tea! (among other things, LOL) I’ve also been trying to only eat when I feel hungry and only eat until I no longer feel hungry. The result has been that I’m basically “grazing” all day long, it’s a very unusual experience for me. Anyway, I’ll pay special attention to my mind and post updates as soon as I notice anything different!!
My dreams have been a bit more interesting lately, and I’ve had a little easier time going lucid than I have had in the past few years, but I’m pretty sure that started before the process of eliminating meat and dairy from my diet. So I’d say it’s unrelated, unless it’s being heightened by the change. Anyway, that’s it for now!! Hug your kitties and puppies 
I can probably credit some dull, lingering headaches to new veganism, too.. honestly, though, if it wasn’t that it would almost certainly be something else, anyway. Cravings for meats and cheeses do occasionally arise, but, armed with determination, I’m finding if I just eat SOMETHING vegan at those moments the craving dries up like a transplanted snowflake in a hot July. *Hey, is anyone on here from south of the equator??* In fact, today when I went to a favorite Mexican restaurant, I wistfully ordered fajitas without the meat and abracadabra ended up leaving fully, wholly satisfied. Like, for real. Not only that, but I felt a new version of “stuffed,” wherein I couldn’t have eaten another bite (even if I HAD left one on my plate) yet I wasn’t feeling the uncomfortable heaviness I’d have usually associated with the circumstance. And that somehow leads me to my other observation—I feel more and more convinced of making the right choice for myself every day that passes, mostly from a respect for life standpoint. Not that I wasn’t totally sure in the beginning! You know how you can already be at 100 percent with something, and even so, you somehow find a higher plateau? Yeah, I’ve leveled up multiple times already 
I don’t think I credit that to a new balance of minerals or neurotransmitters or whatever, I think I’ve gotta give that one up to some kind of essential divinity. On a third note, if anyone is curious about quickdraw weightloss and veganism, I am telling you, it is an incredibly expeditious perk I’m personally enjoying. Not that I am obese (so I couldn’t speak to that paradigm), but those stubborn spots of butterball that my typcial american body retains are disappearing faster than I could have reasonably imagined. And that’s with indulging myself daily with coconut milk ice cream, raw vegan macaroons, bags upon bags of air-popped popcorn, vegan chocolate, and etcetera, etcetera, (truly) etcetera. So, I guess to wrap thing up in a nice, cruelty-free nutshell, that’s where I’m at 
