Going Vegan...

[tiggerblue10]

...for a month to see if it makes a difference in how I feel mood and health wise.

I use almond milk anyway but I've bought loads of dairy free alternatives and I like most meat free burgers, sausages etc. Some supermarkets do packets of grains and pulses with different flavourings such as Mexican which I quite like but it's all making me feel quite bloated.

This is my 2nd day and I would really like to keep going but I'm having trouble with the bloatedness.

Any advice on where I'm going wrong and what I should be doing? Will it settle down eventually?

[ummmm]

What is your fruit and veg intake like? How much fluids are you consuming?

[tiggerblue10]

I know I should get fruit and make my own fruit salads but I eat a pot of prepared fruit salad (strawberries, mangoes, other berries etc) each day.

I have salad leaves, toms, cucumber etc with my lunch and dinner.

[woofgang]

Our digestions adjust to what they are given to digest and you may be making too big a change all at once. Try reverting to your usual diet and adding the new foods in more gradually.

[tiggerblue10]

Oh and I'm getting through nearly a litre of water per day as well.

[ummmm]

What about water intake?

[ummmm]

Maybe add some more fibre to you diet. I don't know much about vegan diets but it sounds like hard work.

[tiggerblue10]

I may reintroduce fish and seafood back into my diet after a month but still stick to dairy free.

[tiggerblue10]

I drink loads of water.

It is hard work but luckily there is a load of free from, meat free and dairy free foods available these days which make it easier. Only problem is that they contain loads of sugar and other additives which kind of makes it worse.

[237SJ]

We were having a conversation about this at work last night. My colleague said tha soya products give him terrible wind and bloating and he can't tolerate them. Maybe it's that.

[Buenchico]

>>> I'm getting through nearly a litre of water per day as well

The kidney consultant who helped care for me earlier this year said that everyone (not just kidney patients) should be aiming to drink three to four litres of water per day. I now start my day with a pint of squash, followed by a mug of tea. I try to ensure that I have another mug of tea within an hour and carry on in much the same way throughout the day, aiming at a target of 7 pints (= 4 litres) every day.

So perhaps you need to increase your fluid intake?

Possibly relevant links though:
https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips-nutrition/tips-for-going-vegan-cutting-meat-no-one-tells-you

https://poweredbymangos.com/2017/12/03/how-to-beat-the-struggle-of-bloating-as-a-new-vegan/

https://myvega.com/blogs/content/top-5-recipes-beat-bloating

https://www.22daysnutrition.com/blog/7-plant-based-foods-to-fight-belly-bloat

[tiggerblue10]

I've been eating tofu pieces with the grains and pulses. Maybe not a good combo! Lol

[Baldric]

Just one question, why on Earth would you, Mankind are carnivores>

[tiggerblue10]

Cheers Chris, I'll have a read of those :o)

[Theland]

I only eat animals that have been fed on plants.
Does that count?

[tiggerblue10]

I met up with a friend I hadn't seen for many years and she said that she went vegan 6 months ago and feels so much better physically and mentally. So I thought I'd give it a go, SJ. Just for a month and see how I feel.

[237SJ]

I remember doing a boring residential course at work many years ago and one of the meals was a so called shepherds pie made with textured vegetable protein instead of meat. It went through me like a dose of salts. I reasoned that it couldn't be any good for me if it did that to my intestines. I also can't eat a lot of veg - I`m not used to it and my system doesn't really like being bombarded and it reacts. Nothing wrong with having a go at a new eating regime. I would imagine it would take a while for your digestive system to adapt.

[ummmm]

I was a pescatarian for years. I'm not sure I felt any health benefits.

[gingejbee]

Going wrong?....it needed to be done gradually over a few weeks. Any change of this nature shouldn't be "instant".

[mushroom25]

it's not food - it's what food eats......

[New Judge]

If God had meant us not to eat animals he wouldn't have made them out of meat, would he?

And another thing - why do vegan and vegetarian dishes have to resemble dishes that are traditionally made from meat? Why "vegan mince"? Why a vegan "Shepherds' Pie"? Why vegetarian "sausages" or vegetarian burgers? I saw a programme on the TV last night explaining some developments in vegan food. The whole industry seems obsessed with developing products that look, taste and feel like meat. I understand and respect people deciding not to eat meat on ethical grounds (and wish the more radical of them would respect my choice to do the opposite). But why would they want to eat vegetables that have been processed to resemble meat? I just don't get it. I see the EU is trying to restore some sanity to the marketplace:

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-04-23/proposal-to-ban-terms-burger-and-sausage-for-vegan-products-challenged/

"If the proposal is voted into effect next month, vegan and veggie burgers could become 'discs' and sausages 'tubes'."


[The proposal] would cause "confusion and time wasting". The Vegan Society said the proposal to ban names like 'burger' and 'sausage' for vegan and vegetarian food products would cause "confusion and time wasting".

I would think quite the opposite was true. Burgers are made of meat. If somebody wants to market a disk made of compressed vegetables they should call it something else.

Why are you trying a vegan diet, tigger?