s/o vegan diets

[Peaceful Isle]

I have been researching this for a while now.

 

I would love to hear testimonies of those who went on a vegan diet and felt a ton better. I'm not really talking about weight lose here, even though it would be a great benefit. I'm talking about feeling better, waking up having energy , getting a better night sleep, more clarity in your mind...those types of things.

 

I have successfully lost weight on Atkins, but there are a few problems. I always feel so tired and out of breath, and sick really. I eat plenty of protein and drink water.

 

The last few days I have been eating a healthy vegan ( not junk food) diet, and I am starting to see a little energy come back. My teenage daughter is trying it with me, because she has suffered from chronic mono for the last three years, and we are desperate for her to feel better and heal her body.

 

What experiences have you had with a vegan diet?

Edited September 27, 2016 by Peacefulisle

[waa510]

Things that my family has experienced (coming up on one yr vegan next month): no more constant sniffles, when we get sick we recover in 3-4 days instead of 2+weeks, hair and nails grow very quickly, cuts or bruises heal much more quickly. I'm not sure if it's just my consistently taking B12 now that I'm vegan or the actual diet but I'm feeling like it's easier to deal with early mornings. I don't feel like it's helped my sleeping on a daily basis but I don't have issues with insomnia as much. My husband's blood-work improved a lot from the previous year. My little Dd grew a ton over the past year ( about 6 inches. No, I'm not kidding) to the point that people back home didn't recognize her when we returned from overseas a year later. 

 

That's all I can think of for now. We haven't been vegan for a long time but it's been fairly easy with the help of TJ's and WFs. :)

[Bluegoat]

I'd just give a word of warning - it is so typical with any new diet plan for people to feel much better after they start it, but often it has little to do with the plan itself.  A good portion seems to be psychological, but also it means that people are taking an interest in their diet so it may be better than what they had.  Maybe they are eating less junk or being careful about good quality ingredients.

 

 

[Jyhwkmama]

I have many fewer headaches and my skin is better. Be sure you are eating plenty of veggies and greens. I like Dr. Furman's videos.

 

There is an independent filmmaker that is making a documentary about people who have changed there lives using a plant based diet. He has a FB page with in depth interviews: https://www.facebook.com/bigchangethefilm/

 

[happi duck]

When I stick to a vegan diet I sleep better and have less pain and anxiety.

 

I like the book The Lean by Kathy Freston to help ease into a vegan diet.

[MercyA]

When I was on a mostly vegan diet (I ate eggs) for several years, my endometriosis pain decreased markedly. I no longer needed huge amounts of ibuprofen, and I could actually function on the first day of my period rather than staying curled up in a fetal position with a heating pad or in the shower. It was really glorious. I am no longer mostly-vegan, but I have found that just cutting out or cutting down on dairy is very helpful in decreasing my endo pain.

 

I am also a kidney stone former (25+ stones in my life), and I had no stones at all while I was mostly-vegan. 

 

I easily maintained a thin figure.

 

However, I think the diet did make me feel a bit more spacy and more apt to be sleepy during the day. I might have avoided that by taking iron.

[Peaceful Isle]

Great stories, thank you!

[AmandaVT]

I'm mostly plant based - I have no problem with honey and such and try to eat whole foods - with a bit of dairy and an occasional bacon lapse. I've noticed better sleep, less getting sick and more energy in general. I also always felt really fuzzy when I did low carb. I really think some bodies do better with certain eating patterns. Some people do amazingly with low carb, I'm just not one of them. 

[DawnM]

I went raw vegan for 6 months. I felt the best I have ever felt! My energy level was high, my pain (joints) subsided. My allergies were better.

 

But it was hard to stick to. I was doing some fancy stuff and I couldn't eat out easily, etc.....

 

I am back to Vegan (a week or so ago) but won't do only Raw again.

[ktgrok]

I was vegan for 2 years (in the midst of a 10 year vegetarian stint) and honestly...didn't really notice a difference. But I also didn't eat any more or less healthy, etc. I will say the best vegan butter alternative was earth balance. Other than that...no real words of advice. Good luck!

[eternalsummer]

I like the Earth Balance olive oil version.  

 

I find that a high carb diet makes it easier for my brain to function.  I can think more clearly and have better memory and faster processing.

 

But after say 2 weeks of no red meat, I really super crave it.  One hamburger (or equivalent) every week or two seems to do the trick.

[awo]

Hello ,

going vegan is a realistic choise for everyone.

It seems hard, because you have to change the way you eat everyday.

But there are huge benefits for health and even for the enviroment.

A good guide for going vegan is this one to read: 

http://animal-welfare.org/vegan/

 

Edited December 13, 2016 by awo

[hornblower]

I think we need to be careful here because vegan =/= healthy.  They're not the same thing. 

I know a lot of junk food vegans. Oreos are vegan! many pringle flavours are vegan! Tons of junk food is accidentlaly vegan.  

And there are now companies making vegan processed foods which are very  yummy but they're calorie bombs. 

I know vegans who are very unhealthy. I know fat vegans (who are not trying to lose weight, kwim?) with high blood pressure and nutritionally affected prediabetes. 


That said, we've been vegan for almost 5 yrs. I did lose weight & have been maintaining. I sleep fine. My mood is fine (except, yanno, politics LOL)


I'm not having huge issues with my peri-menopause. All my metrics (bp, cholesterol, blood sugars etc) are all in excellent range. 


But we've been a bit busy and lazy lately and relying too much on processed/prepared vegan foods & I'm noticing it. I'm actually doing a reset right over the holidays - back to making more of our meals from scratch and ditching many of the unhealthy options from our menus. 

I'm digging into the Forks Over Knives recipes,  and the Minimalist Bakers new cookbook http://minimalistbaker.com/everyday-cooking/

for inspiration and setting up cooking & menu plans. 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2016 by hornblower

[hornblower]

I do believe though that  a plant based diet which is low in processed foods & contains small amounts of healthy plant fats IS a demonstrably healthy choice. 

http://nutritionfacts.org/


 

Edited December 13, 2016 by hornblower

[mamaraby]

I'm ending my second year as a vegan. I lose weight easier as a vegan. My biometrics are all markedly improved.

 

For me it's probably the carbs. Low-carb diets make me nauseous and the extra fat intake that goes along with it gives me the worst gi distress. And I'm not meaning short term either. I did six months or so a couple of times each and it lasted the whole time. All the extra fiber also helps (and probably my running).

 

Dh has a messed up GI system in general and going vegan for him is the difference between pain and rushing to the bathroom and not.

 

As for the clearer thoughts/more energy? I don't know that I've noticed one way or another. I think that's somewhat subjective. I know getting enough sleep does it for me. And the running. Have I mentioned the running? ;)

[milovany]

Just because it's good to look at things from all sides (and because you can find support on the internet for any diet, as well as in real life), I actually just read a testimony that said the opposite.  A man and his wife went vegan many years ago but he became overweight and his IBS got worse and worse.  He switched to a high fat, protein rich, low carb diet (lots of meat, fat, eggs) and has seen numerous health improvements including his IBS going away and losing his excess weight. 

[Guest]

Must you go vegan? Or can you so ovo-lacto vegetarian or pescatarian? Many people find that can be a very sustainable combo if they don't have moral/ethical reasons for refusing animal products.

[Jen in NY]

We have been vegan for about a year, and coincidentally began just after we had had our yearly insurance co bloodwork done, so I had biostats to compare.

 

Initially, I lost about 15 Lbs, but eventually I leveled off... better than before, but I didn't get 'skinny.' I am not trying too hard, though. IOW, I haven't started any kind of regular exercise or anything... but that's next. :)

 

We eat almost no junk food, and are mostly WFPB. We haven't entirely cut out oil... I still use it to cook sometimes.

 

All of my biomarkers improved - blood pressure down, good cholesterol up, bad cholesterol down, total cholesterol down, triglycerides down, etc, etc.

 

I am sleeping much better, but at the same time I went vegan I ditched coffee... because what good is it without the cream and sugar? So I can't say which caused the improvement.

 

Overall it's been a good change for us...

 

Edited to add: Some unexpected benefits for us: Our grocery bill plummeted. Our garbage never smells bad anymore, and in fact, we have so little garbage (less than one kitchen garbage bag a week...) that we are thinking about ditching garbage service altogether and just taking our stuff to the dump once in a while. We got much more adventurous with food and tried things we have never eaten before. Most dishes were yummy!

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by Jen in NY