when to go vegan

Question

ive only been a lacto-ovo veg for a few weeks now and I'm eager to go full vegeatarian, but is it too soon? after all, many people take years to go full vegetarian.

treehugger · Answer

I guess you will know when the time is right and each of us is different. I gave up meat before giving up fish, I did it when it was right for me.
The next step for me is going vegan - but this is a descision not to be taken lightly.
Like all big descisions - be well read and prepared.
Good Luck.

Jera · Answer

Generally speaking it's best to do diet changes gradually. If you plan on giving up the dairy and eggs soon, my humble advise is to make sure you replace them with something of similar nutritional value and not just eliminate things from your diet. I agree with treehugger to read up on things while you're deciding.

scout · Answer

Well, if you're *eager* to go vegetarian, I think it's time!  :)  I was vegetarian most of my life before becoming vegan, but my husband went vegetarian for only a month or two before becoming vegan after eating an animal-based diet for most of his life.  We went from being lacto-ovo vegetarians to being vegan overnight.  At first, we ate a lot of specialty packaged vegan foods and tried to deconstruct them or adjust them to our taste in order to figure out what we liked and what we didn't like.  Now we've figured out how to make most of the things we like and we eat a mostly macrobiotic vegan diet.  Cookbooks such as Vegan With a Vengeance really help too.  Are you living near any vegan restaurants?  Do you live near a coop that offers any vegan dishes?  You might ask about the ingredients.  The Tidal Creek Coop near me in Wilmington actually offers cooking classes!  We bought so many of those heavily packaged Thai dishes and things like that while we learned how to make things ourselves.  The funny truth is that we eat more foods, better foods, a wider variety of flavors, and even *prettier* foods now that we're vegan than we did before.  I swear!  It sounds like a sales pitch but... it's honestly not.  I can't believe how interesting meals are now.  :)  Scout

Tatiana · Answer

I agree with scout.  If you feel it's time, go for it!  Also remember, Vegetarianism isn't a one way street.  If you go Vegan for a while then decide to go back to Lacto-Ovo for a while that's okay!

toxiegirll · Answer

I went from eating meat, cheese, milk, every animal product everyday to total vegan in one day! And have never went back so it really just depends on how much you want to be vegan. and it gets easier and better and better everyday. There is no reason why you can't go vegan right now it's all in your head and as soon as you realize that the happier you'll be.

Stevie · Answer

Hi there, The following may be of interest to you http://www.vegansociety.com In particular maybe http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/ Very best wishes, Stevie

Alexandra Morrison · Answer

I think if you know why you want to go vegan or vegetarian, and you know of the basics of how to do it healthily, then it's entirely up to how you feel. If you're gung-ho, go for it!

I was an ordinary omnivore until a friend lent me The Food Revolution by John Robbins. I read it in a weekend, and by the end, I was vegan. It took me three days, and after a year, I haven't looked back. 

I recommend getting a good cookbook, doing some basic research on the benefits of and reasons for a vegan-vegetarian lifestyles, and going from there. 

The Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer is my personal favorite cookbook. I agree with Scout, above, in that cooking and eating vegan is actually more interesting and delicious than any other! It's much easier to do than it seems.

Wish you the best!
Groovy.
Alexandra

peasonearth · Answer

In my opinion, you need to think about why you want to be a vegetarian.  I don't want to contribute to the torturing of animals, and I know that drinking milk and eating eggs is against my principles, so I don't eat/drink the stuff.  Once you have your reasons, you will have a reason not to eat animal products, and you will think of this and avoid these things.  Once I realized this, being a vegan was simple.

KellyVeganGirl · Answer

You can go vegan anytime you want since it's your choice.

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