Hello

[Kellyr]

Hi everyone

Decided to start an account here as my other usual go-to "health" forum tends to lean heavily on LCHF / Keto discussion (and it's rarely every a veg-version of LCHF). Let's say I'm just tired of hearing about how bacon and lard are superior diets for optimal health and how meat is necessary or you're going to disintegrate (tell that to the millions of vegans all over the world - that they're just unhealthy...)

I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian for the past 12 years, but at the beginning of this year I took the step to a vegan diet. Lifestyle-wise, I'm not there yet. It's going to be a transition for me, for sure (getting rid of leather items I already own, buying vegan-friendly cosmetics, etc). I can say having been vegetarian for so long has made the dietary-aspect of this transition pretty painless, at least. I was so paranoid about giving up eggs and dairy (despite my knowing the horrors that go on in those industries.) I've been pretty pleasantly surprised to see how simple those things were to give up in the long run.

On top of the vegan diet I'm also doing my best to eliminate added sugars from my daily menu. I do okay with natural sugars from fruit, but I'm choosing to steer clear of typical high-processed-sugar items like cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, etc. (I do make banana "nice cream", though - YUM!)

Really, all-in-all, I try to stay away from junk food, period. My body feels much better when I do.

Looking forward to getting to know a new group of people. Thanks for having me.

 

[Nicky]

Hello and welcome, Kelly

Congratulations on your transition! It sounds like our diets are quite similar - I think my carb intake is high (and I haven't done enough reading on keto to know where I stand on it), but I avoid sugar and processed food as much as I can. I've chosen not to get rid of my leather items and to use them until they wear out, but I can totally understand not wanting them around, too.

Have you had much luck finding vegan cosmetics? Not something that I use a lot, but it's nice to know what's out there.

xx

 

[Veganite]

I'll second that welcome!

 

[Kellyr]

Thank you both.

Nicky, I'm probably going to transition any leather products similarly. It would be crazy expensive for me to throw out all my shoes, for example. The plan is when something needs to be replaced, I'll be looking for vegan options.

Same with cosmetics. I haven't gone that route just yet. Nothing's requiring replacement just yet, but I'll be starting that research as I move forward.

She's either loved or hated by the vegan community, but I enjoy watching Unnatural Vegan on YouTube, and I believe she had a video up fairly recently about some good vegan-friendly cosmetics.

Thanks again for the welcome.

 

[Nekodaiden]

Welcome to the forum, Kellyr!

Congrats on transitioning to Vegan. Health wise it's a step forward for anyone, but vegan diets can be heavily processed and induce health problems, primarily from processed foods and oils. Forum is Vegan as a base, which doesn't necessarily mean healthier, just without the ill-health effects of animal products.

 

[hopeful]

Welcome to the site!

 

[Maurice]

Hello and welcome.

 

[Nicky]

Thank you both.

Nicky, I'm probably going to transition any leather products similarly. It would be crazy expensive for me to throw out all my shoes, for example. The plan is when something needs to be replaced, I'll be looking for vegan options.

Same with cosmetics. I haven't gone that route just yet. Nothing's requiring replacement just yet, but I'll be starting that research as I move forward.

She's either loved or hated by the vegan community, but I enjoy watching Unnatural Vegan on YouTube, and I believe she had a video up fairly recently about some good vegan-friendly cosmetics.

Thanks again for the welcome.

Yes that's the best plan I think - I'm actually going to learn to make my own vegan sandals in August (though I doubt I'll be good enough to take on shoes any time soon!)

Thanks for the tip - I've only seen a few of her videos but she seems quite reasonable to me! I'll check out the cosmetics one

 

[Jekyll40]

I'm all at sea on this leather problem. Are animals bred especially for leather, or is it a mere by-product of the food industry?
I'm now looking at my feet which are encased in sheepskin slippers (a Christmas present). Did a sheep suffer more for these than it did anyway for it's meat? Also, I like wool. Does shearing cause suffering?
In my defence, I have very little heating in my apartment, and my old bones get cold!