14 day cleanse before becoming a Vegan *UPDATE PG 5: PICS and MyPyramid.gov calorie calculator*

[ljlukelj]

Originally Posted by SiMPLYDiMPLY

Originally Posted by daboyprince23

I have a question for my fellow vegans, isn't it awkward to try and take a chick out being your vegetarian and she most likely loves meat lol

try a thai restaurant. they general have a lot of meat and vegetarian options. she can get her meat (

) and you can choose something vegetarian. win-win

And then after, she can get her Meat.

 

[elnino4530]

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

Originally Posted by Crank Lucas

nah I'll pass, just make a thread here saying your a proud vegetarian http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19 and prepare to get eaten alive. You will get hit up with nutrional facts from all angles
Eating meat within your diet and hitting the gym = healthy
Eating leaves and hitting the gym = lacking

Stick to making funny gifs.

 

[elnino4530]

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

Originally Posted by Crank Lucas

nah I'll pass, just make a thread here saying your a proud vegetarian http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19 and prepare to get eaten alive. You will get hit up with nutrional facts from all angles
Eating meat within your diet and hitting the gym = healthy
Eating leaves and hitting the gym = lacking

Stick to making funny gifs.

 

[shapeshiftah]

Originally Posted by daboyprince23

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Originally Posted by daboyprince23

I have a question for my fellow vegans, isn't it awkward to try and take a chick out being your vegetarian and she most likely loves meat lol

Be you and be proud of yourself. She will admire and respect that more than she will lose respect for you since you don't eat meat.

yeh i hear ya its like u gotta convince these chicks to try it out lol alot of chicks dig it but my thing is i love spanish women,,,spanish women love rice, beans and you know it meat..lol sometimes its hard to decide where to go on a date

I am vegan, and have the good fortune of dating a vegan chick.  I also know instances where some of my homeboys who were vegan or vegetarian actually slowly converted their girls to veganism or vegetarianism.  Not by pressure, but through setting an example.  Chicks dig dudes who are not afraid to make compassionate and healthy life decisions.

Oh and for those who say that vegans are frail.. Professional arm wrestler Rob Bigwood is vegan.

 

[shapeshiftah]

Originally Posted by daboyprince23

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Originally Posted by daboyprince23

I have a question for my fellow vegans, isn't it awkward to try and take a chick out being your vegetarian and she most likely loves meat lol

Be you and be proud of yourself. She will admire and respect that more than she will lose respect for you since you don't eat meat.

yeh i hear ya its like u gotta convince these chicks to try it out lol alot of chicks dig it but my thing is i love spanish women,,,spanish women love rice, beans and you know it meat..lol sometimes its hard to decide where to go on a date

I am vegan, and have the good fortune of dating a vegan chick.  I also know instances where some of my homeboys who were vegan or vegetarian actually slowly converted their girls to veganism or vegetarianism.  Not by pressure, but through setting an example.  Chicks dig dudes who are not afraid to make compassionate and healthy life decisions.

Oh and for those who say that vegans are frail.. Professional arm wrestler Rob Bigwood is vegan.

 

[crank lucas]

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

Originally Posted by Crank Lucas

nah I'll pass, just make a thread here saying your a proud vegetarian http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19 and prepare to get eaten alive. You will get hit up with nutrional facts from all angles
Eating meat within your diet and hitting the gym = healthy
Eating leaves and hitting the gym = lacking

Stick to making funny gifs.

you mad your out of shape while I've been following a strict diet regime since summer and now cutting to be aesthetically ripped by next summer?
you irate?

 

[crank lucas]

Originally Posted by Mangudai954

Originally Posted by Crank Lucas

nah I'll pass, just make a thread here saying your a proud vegetarian http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19 and prepare to get eaten alive. You will get hit up with nutrional facts from all angles
Eating meat within your diet and hitting the gym = healthy
Eating leaves and hitting the gym = lacking

Stick to making funny gifs.

you mad your out of shape while I've been following a strict diet regime since summer and now cutting to be aesthetically ripped by next summer?
you irate?

 

[Methodical Management]

I have a question for my fellow vegans, isn't it awkward to try and take a chick out being your vegetarian and she most likely loves meat lol
Obviously it's a lot easier if you're involved with someone who shares your values and understands your commitment in that regard.  In the long run, it'll make things like traveling together a lot less stressful, because your needs will be less likely to conflict.  (Needing something to eat now vs. finding a veg*an friendly restaurant, etc.)  Hanging out with a vegan once a week shouldn't be an issue for anyone, but living with one could be a real trial for a non-vegan.  
If you're just spending an evening getting to know someone, I really don't see the problem.  Finding vegan-friendly restaurants in most communities these days just takes a little research and most of them are set to accommodate those with food allergies, so everyone should be able to find something they can eat there.  It's not like they're actually gonna serve you a plate full of dandelion leaves.  Every omnivore, whether friend or family, I've ever taken to a vegan or vegan friendly restaurant has enjoyed the food.  Friends I spent college playing basketball with 5 nights a week, guys who lived on pizza, chicken, and burgers, have found themselves genuinely enjoying some of the meat substitutes.  I was with some friends at a vegan friendly pizza place in Portland who were actually so jealous of my vegan slice that they went back up to the counter after they'd finished to order one for themselves.  You just have to share it with people and the stereotypes erase themselves.  
Just make your commitments clear up front so there will be no confusion.  At this point, my friends all know that if it's vegan I'm probably buying - but I'm never going to pay for a meal that includes animal products.  

Some people will consider it a pain that you can't go to "normal" restaurants with them (or, at least, that you won't order anything if you do) and honestly that can strain some friendships.  

Personally, I'd rather let some friendships fall by the wayside than compromise my beliefs just so I'll be better-liked.  

At the end of the day, I don't think you'll find too many women who consider spinelessness attractive.  You can demonstrate self-respect without disrespecting anyone else.  

  I also know instances where some of my homeboys who were vegan or vegetarian actually slowly converted their girls to veganism or vegetarianism.  Not by pressure, but through setting an example.

Yeah, one of my vegan friends managed to slowly convert her boyfriend to vegetarianism.  First he dropped red meat, then poultry, then fish.  Now they just have to wean him off dairy (no pun intended) and they're set.  It was more a matter of her setting the example (she loves to cook, which helps) than pushing him to change.  If you're really passionate about something, it can become infectious and a good couple will find ways to grow closer together over time.  A shared cause, like animal rights, environmentalism, or a common interest in athletics and healthy living can be really powerful in that regard. 

When you make changes in your life to become healthier, the benefits are often so rewarding that they cause you to reinvest in the cycle by finding ways to further improve your health.  Someone who starts running once a week, loses weight, and feels better inside and out as a result will be far more likely to take up weight training, cut junk food out of their diet, learn more about nutrition, etc.  

Sometimes it's just about helping someone take that first step or that next step.  

The main reason that I noticed when looking into veganism that individuals choose the route is because of ethical reasons. Those that felt that the meat industry was greedy and mistreats the livestock. However, they usually don't know about "humane farming" and grass-fed, pastured, free-range, etc. products

If you're vegan for ethical reasons, honestly I don't think the "boutique farm" industry is really up your alley - and the more people know about them the less likely they tend to consider their products preferable to veganism.  Free range standards are an absolute joke and, at the end of the day, almost all livestock are sent to the same slaughterhouses.  If the thought of a cow or pig having his or her throat slit and hanging from a meat hook while still conscious or surviving a blow from a captive bolt pistol strikes you as unconscionable, it's important to realize that such occurrences are routine.

It's kind of like the old rationalization for bull-fighting.  "Oh, but you don't understand, those bulls are PAMPERED.  They live really great lives... until they're brutally murdered."  

*edit i just realized you said vegan. not sure how many vegan options thai restaurants have sorry 
Yeah, Thai can be challenging since so many use fish/oyster sauce even in tofu dishes.  It's always much easier if you know going in that the staff understand what veganism is, otherwise you're taking a risk.  Sometimes the people in the kitchen will know what you're talking about, but the wait staff won't or vice versa.  Like nealraj said, Indian cuisine can be very vegetarian friendly - but if you're a vegan you need to be careful, as many Indian restaurants use a lot of butter in their dishes.

You asked for my opinion and you got it kiddo.  If you don't like it then don't ask for it, or try being a man.  Your pick.  I updated my quote that you took time out of your day to find so that it is more current.  I stand by what I said and still consider it to be very good advice, but I finally found a good one.  Only took 27 years.  I'm dating a vegan because I could care less what the diet of my partner is as long as it's fairly healthy.  She could be vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, or carnivore for all I care.  I care about who the person is, not what they eat.  For the record I don't hate vegans or vegetarians.  I hate pretentious +*$@*+%%, which a good number of vegans and vegetarians that I know happen to be.
I mainly just wanted to know where all the hate comes from.  Unfortunately, rather than actually articulating what, exactly, you find so objectionable you just decided to throw out a nebulous grab-bag of labels and cross out at whim whatever statements managed to hurt your feelings.  
Your sensitivity in that regard is pretty ironic, really.  Here you are all bent out of shape over how you feel my posts sound, yet you've shown zero consideration for how you come across online.  
You have this standard for how you feel people should treat one another online so as to show respect to others, yet how respectful have you been to me or, really, to anyone here?  You're enraged over perceived condescension, but you see fit to address me as "kiddo" and question my manhood.  

If you'd like to practice what you preach, perhaps you should try contributing something positive to the discussion rather than constantly popping off with snarky little comments and smiley faces.  It's getting old.

Yea man you need to just keep that saved in a word document and paste it in every Veg thread. 
I know, right?  I actually did that a couple of years back with some posts on race, since a lot of topics tend to cover the same ground.  Now that Yuku's fairly stable I've been relying on the search engine to retrieve old topics I can link to as needed instead, but you never know when a backup can come in handy.  

 

[Methodical Management]

I have a question for my fellow vegans, isn't it awkward to try and take a chick out being your vegetarian and she most likely loves meat lol
Obviously it's a lot easier if you're involved with someone who shares your values and understands your commitment in that regard.  In the long run, it'll make things like traveling together a lot less stressful, because your needs will be less likely to conflict.  (Needing something to eat now vs. finding a veg*an friendly restaurant, etc.)  Hanging out with a vegan once a week shouldn't be an issue for anyone, but living with one could be a real trial for a non-vegan.  
If you're just spending an evening getting to know someone, I really don't see the problem.  Finding vegan-friendly restaurants in most communities these days just takes a little research and most of them are set to accommodate those with food allergies, so everyone should be able to find something they can eat there.  It's not like they're actually gonna serve you a plate full of dandelion leaves.  Every omnivore, whether friend or family, I've ever taken to a vegan or vegan friendly restaurant has enjoyed the food.  Friends I spent college playing basketball with 5 nights a week, guys who lived on pizza, chicken, and burgers, have found themselves genuinely enjoying some of the meat substitutes.  I was with some friends at a vegan friendly pizza place in Portland who were actually so jealous of my vegan slice that they went back up to the counter after they'd finished to order one for themselves.  You just have to share it with people and the stereotypes erase themselves.  
Just make your commitments clear up front so there will be no confusion.  At this point, my friends all know that if it's vegan I'm probably buying - but I'm never going to pay for a meal that includes animal products.  

Some people will consider it a pain that you can't go to "normal" restaurants with them (or, at least, that you won't order anything if you do) and honestly that can strain some friendships.  

Personally, I'd rather let some friendships fall by the wayside than compromise my beliefs just so I'll be better-liked.  

At the end of the day, I don't think you'll find too many women who consider spinelessness attractive.  You can demonstrate self-respect without disrespecting anyone else.  

  I also know instances where some of my homeboys who were vegan or vegetarian actually slowly converted their girls to veganism or vegetarianism.  Not by pressure, but through setting an example.

Yeah, one of my vegan friends managed to slowly convert her boyfriend to vegetarianism.  First he dropped red meat, then poultry, then fish.  Now they just have to wean him off dairy (no pun intended) and they're set.  It was more a matter of her setting the example (she loves to cook, which helps) than pushing him to change.  If you're really passionate about something, it can become infectious and a good couple will find ways to grow closer together over time.  A shared cause, like animal rights, environmentalism, or a common interest in athletics and healthy living can be really powerful in that regard. 

When you make changes in your life to become healthier, the benefits are often so rewarding that they cause you to reinvest in the cycle by finding ways to further improve your health.  Someone who starts running once a week, loses weight, and feels better inside and out as a result will be far more likely to take up weight training, cut junk food out of their diet, learn more about nutrition, etc.  

Sometimes it's just about helping someone take that first step or that next step.  

The main reason that I noticed when looking into veganism that individuals choose the route is because of ethical reasons. Those that felt that the meat industry was greedy and mistreats the livestock. However, they usually don't know about "humane farming" and grass-fed, pastured, free-range, etc. products

If you're vegan for ethical reasons, honestly I don't think the "boutique farm" industry is really up your alley - and the more people know about them the less likely they tend to consider their products preferable to veganism.  Free range standards are an absolute joke and, at the end of the day, almost all livestock are sent to the same slaughterhouses.  If the thought of a cow or pig having his or her throat slit and hanging from a meat hook while still conscious or surviving a blow from a captive bolt pistol strikes you as unconscionable, it's important to realize that such occurrences are routine.

It's kind of like the old rationalization for bull-fighting.  "Oh, but you don't understand, those bulls are PAMPERED.  They live really great lives... until they're brutally murdered."  

*edit i just realized you said vegan. not sure how many vegan options thai restaurants have sorry 
Yeah, Thai can be challenging since so many use fish/oyster sauce even in tofu dishes.  It's always much easier if you know going in that the staff understand what veganism is, otherwise you're taking a risk.  Sometimes the people in the kitchen will know what you're talking about, but the wait staff won't or vice versa.  Like nealraj said, Indian cuisine can be very vegetarian friendly - but if you're a vegan you need to be careful, as many Indian restaurants use a lot of butter in their dishes.

You asked for my opinion and you got it kiddo.  If you don't like it then don't ask for it, or try being a man.  Your pick.  I updated my quote that you took time out of your day to find so that it is more current.  I stand by what I said and still consider it to be very good advice, but I finally found a good one.  Only took 27 years.  I'm dating a vegan because I could care less what the diet of my partner is as long as it's fairly healthy.  She could be vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, or carnivore for all I care.  I care about who the person is, not what they eat.  For the record I don't hate vegans or vegetarians.  I hate pretentious +*$@*+%%, which a good number of vegans and vegetarians that I know happen to be.
I mainly just wanted to know where all the hate comes from.  Unfortunately, rather than actually articulating what, exactly, you find so objectionable you just decided to throw out a nebulous grab-bag of labels and cross out at whim whatever statements managed to hurt your feelings.  
Your sensitivity in that regard is pretty ironic, really.  Here you are all bent out of shape over how you feel my posts sound, yet you've shown zero consideration for how you come across online.  
You have this standard for how you feel people should treat one another online so as to show respect to others, yet how respectful have you been to me or, really, to anyone here?  You're enraged over perceived condescension, but you see fit to address me as "kiddo" and question my manhood.  

If you'd like to practice what you preach, perhaps you should try contributing something positive to the discussion rather than constantly popping off with snarky little comments and smiley faces.  It's getting old.

Yea man you need to just keep that saved in a word document and paste it in every Veg thread. 
I know, right?  I actually did that a couple of years back with some posts on race, since a lot of topics tend to cover the same ground.  Now that Yuku's fairly stable I've been relying on the search engine to retrieve old topics I can link to as needed instead, but you never know when a backup can come in handy.  

 

[in yo nostril]

i feel that true vegans dont have this pretentiousness that the "trendy" ones do. i know a few people that liked to throw their vegan lifestyle in peoples faces and constantly felt the need to bring it up. i also figured these people wouldnt really last and that they were just doing it for the attention or other ridiculous reasons. they all eat meat now. i loved hearing their excuses for transitioning away from it. anyway, i've found that the people that do it for genuine reasons are some of the nicest people ive met. always down to help out and share knowledge.

 

[in yo nostril]

i feel that true vegans dont have this pretentiousness that the "trendy" ones do. i know a few people that liked to throw their vegan lifestyle in peoples faces and constantly felt the need to bring it up. i also figured these people wouldnt really last and that they were just doing it for the attention or other ridiculous reasons. they all eat meat now. i loved hearing their excuses for transitioning away from it. anyway, i've found that the people that do it for genuine reasons are some of the nicest people ive met. always down to help out and share knowledge.

 

[nealraj006]

Method Man wrote:

The main reason that I noticed when looking into veganism that individuals choose the route is because of ethical reasons. Those that felt that the meat industry was greedy and mistreats the livestock. However, they usually don't know about "humane farming" and grass-fed, pastured, free-range, etc. products

If you're vegan for ethical reasons, honestly I don't think the "boutique farm" industry is really up your alley - and the more people know about them the less likely they tend to consider their products preferable to veganism.  Free range standards are an absolute joke and, at the end of the day, almost all livestock are sent to the same slaughterhouses.  If the thought of a cow or pig having his or her throat slit and hanging from a meat hook while still conscious or surviving a blow from a captive bolt pistol strikes you as unconscionable, it's important to realize that such occurrences are routine.

It's kind of like the old rationalization for bull-fighting.  "Oh, but you don't understand, those bulls are PAMPERED.  They live really great lives... until they're brutally murdered."  

The "boutique farms" you speak of can often be visited by customers to find out how the animals are being handled. Just because free-range is loosely regulated by the government doesn't mean that you can't take action as a consumer. Your dollar is the best vote you can give. Many free-range farms are small, family-owned farms that only sell their products locally. Supporting a small, family-owned farm that supplies local meat/milk/eggs is far different from stopping by Whole Foods or Trader Joes and buying grass-fed meat from Brazil. There is also big business involved in grass-fed meats, milk, etc., but people who tend to buy grass-fed/free-range/pastured, tend to be more concerned with how their food is obtained and who they're buying from.

 

[nealraj006]

Method Man wrote:

The main reason that I noticed when looking into veganism that individuals choose the route is because of ethical reasons. Those that felt that the meat industry was greedy and mistreats the livestock. However, they usually don't know about "humane farming" and grass-fed, pastured, free-range, etc. products

If you're vegan for ethical reasons, honestly I don't think the "boutique farm" industry is really up your alley - and the more people know about them the less likely they tend to consider their products preferable to veganism.  Free range standards are an absolute joke and, at the end of the day, almost all livestock are sent to the same slaughterhouses.  If the thought of a cow or pig having his or her throat slit and hanging from a meat hook while still conscious or surviving a blow from a captive bolt pistol strikes you as unconscionable, it's important to realize that such occurrences are routine.

It's kind of like the old rationalization for bull-fighting.  "Oh, but you don't understand, those bulls are PAMPERED.  They live really great lives... until they're brutally murdered."  

The "boutique farms" you speak of can often be visited by customers to find out how the animals are being handled. Just because free-range is loosely regulated by the government doesn't mean that you can't take action as a consumer. Your dollar is the best vote you can give. Many free-range farms are small, family-owned farms that only sell their products locally. Supporting a small, family-owned farm that supplies local meat/milk/eggs is far different from stopping by Whole Foods or Trader Joes and buying grass-fed meat from Brazil. There is also big business involved in grass-fed meats, milk, etc., but people who tend to buy grass-fed/free-range/pastured, tend to be more concerned with how their food is obtained and who they're buying from.

 

[ttbeezy]

I do want to start eating healthier but i also want to gain. 6'0 157 Nope H No i dont gain man its hard

 

[ttbeezy]

I do want to start eating healthier but i also want to gain. 6'0 157 Nope H No i dont gain man its hard

 

[Methodical Management]

The "boutique farms" you speak of can often be visited by customers to find out how the animals are being handled. Just because free-range is loosely regulated by the government doesn't mean that you can't take action as a consumer. Your dollar is the best vote you can give. Many free-range farms are small, family-owned farms that only sell their products locally. Supporting a small, family-owned farm that supplies local meat/milk/eggs is far different from stopping by Whole Foods or Trader Joes and buying grass-fed meat from Brazil. There is also big business involved in grass-fed meats, milk, etc., but people who tend to buy grass-fed/free-range/pastured, tend to be more concerned with how their food is obtained and who they're buying from. 

I completely agree that consumers need to take action and vote with their wallets, and that, to me, is a large part of why I went vegan.  It's because the market has grown that so many additional products and restaurants now cater to those of us who wish to live a vegan lifestyle.  

Buying local etc. is certainly preferable for environmental reasons, but the amount of fresh water required to produce beef, the associated methane release, etc. ensure that abstention from meat is far more environmentally friendly.  

Even if you're satisfied with the way livestock are treated at a small farm, the fact remains that most such farms contract the same slaughterhouses as everyone else.  It's a little like buying Reeboks instead of Nikes because you're worried about sweatshop labor without realizing that multiple sneaker companies were contracting the same factories.  

Killing is apparently a volume business, so although there's room for a boutique farm to sell designer meat it's far more difficult for a small scale slaughterhouse, which takes more time per kill and attempts to be "more humane" about the whole thing, to stay afloat.  So, with that said, I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that people who become vegan for ethical reasons only do so because they're "unaware" of designer meat products. 

If you're interested in getting an inside look at some grass-fed free-range organic livestock farms, you may want to check out Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer if you haven't already.  

 

[Methodical Management]

The "boutique farms" you speak of can often be visited by customers to find out how the animals are being handled. Just because free-range is loosely regulated by the government doesn't mean that you can't take action as a consumer. Your dollar is the best vote you can give. Many free-range farms are small, family-owned farms that only sell their products locally. Supporting a small, family-owned farm that supplies local meat/milk/eggs is far different from stopping by Whole Foods or Trader Joes and buying grass-fed meat from Brazil. There is also big business involved in grass-fed meats, milk, etc., but people who tend to buy grass-fed/free-range/pastured, tend to be more concerned with how their food is obtained and who they're buying from. 

I completely agree that consumers need to take action and vote with their wallets, and that, to me, is a large part of why I went vegan.  It's because the market has grown that so many additional products and restaurants now cater to those of us who wish to live a vegan lifestyle.  

Buying local etc. is certainly preferable for environmental reasons, but the amount of fresh water required to produce beef, the associated methane release, etc. ensure that abstention from meat is far more environmentally friendly.  

Even if you're satisfied with the way livestock are treated at a small farm, the fact remains that most such farms contract the same slaughterhouses as everyone else.  It's a little like buying Reeboks instead of Nikes because you're worried about sweatshop labor without realizing that multiple sneaker companies were contracting the same factories.  

Killing is apparently a volume business, so although there's room for a boutique farm to sell designer meat it's far more difficult for a small scale slaughterhouse, which takes more time per kill and attempts to be "more humane" about the whole thing, to stay afloat.  So, with that said, I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that people who become vegan for ethical reasons only do so because they're "unaware" of designer meat products. 

If you're interested in getting an inside look at some grass-fed free-range organic livestock farms, you may want to check out Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer if you haven't already.  

 

[eight2one]

I could never be a vegan, all my favorite foods have meat in them.

 

[eight2one]

I could never be a vegan, all my favorite foods have meat in them.