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Vegan Aspirant

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  1. Slight update: Haven't worked out for about 4 weeks due to domestic circumstances. Weight is consistent at 80-85 kg. It appears I've lost some muscle mass in my upper body area and I'm pretty sure strength too. I'm still vegetarian, almost 4 months into it. Have been bumps on the road and moral setbacks, but have as of yet not ingested meat of any kind. Still eat dairy and eggs but in total makes up a very small part of my diet and I practically never drink milk or eat dairy/eggs on their own.
  2. I don't know why you would say that or why you would refer to posts made in a private section for members only- in a public thread. The rest of your post did however consist of completely valid points, so thanks for that- gave me food for thought. Anyway I will be taking a break from this forum. Thanks to all of those contributed positively, not just in this thread but in all other threads as well.
  3. Well obviously those are not the only things I eat but I like to have the freedom to eat tasty unhealthy stuff and when I go without those treats for too long, I start twitching and eventually end up compensating heavily (and gaining weight in the process). If I could find vegan alternatives (other than falafel engulfed in meat fat or shitty subway sandwiches), i.e. vegan junk in my local area, I'd chose those over non vegan junk in a heart beat. Another thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the extreme price difference in vegan junk vs non vegan junk. You'd think veggies were cheaper than meat and dairy, but vegan junk is up to 7 times as expensive and at least 4 times as expensive as non vegan junk. Unfortunately I don't have an unrestricted budget, so I have to count that in as well when needing to comfort eat. Well one can eat unhealthy and still be well nourished, just a matter of how many cheat meals you have in addition to the healthy food you eat. And I "recanted" from veganism... Not vegetarianism. There's still a huge leap from vegetarianism to omnivorism. Had I not cared (sufficiently) about animals I probably would be eating grilled steak, chicken breast, turkey and tuna right now. I would be eating leaner and taking in more protein, that's for sure - not so much because it is lean, but because I naturally love the taste of the aforementioned meats and used to eat quite a lot of chicken breast whether on cut or bulk. But the thought of going back to eating meat is so demoralising that if I did it, I think I might end up with some kind of depression... So I'd rather not test my emotional health for the time being, my life is pretty hectic as it is... Anyway I was tempted quite a lot today, but twice managed to steer away from non vegan food and ended up burning some money on vegan junk instead (was down town). I think I'll just take it one day at a time and try to appreciate the moment. I still have veganism as an ideal. Hopefully, once I have a functional fridge and my kitchen is fully done up, I can buy unprocessed food and store it properly as well as prepare my own food in the oven. If I start whining after that, then I'd indeed be dishonest to my vegan ideals. In my case I'd say it is equivalent to quitting smoking. Some people smoke weed, drink, sleep around or whatever to alleviate stress... I "just" eat, seeing as I'm too much of a "prude" to engage in anything more severe than that, not to mention I hate the taste of alcohol... Wish I could think away my Asthma and maybe develop a liking for weed to take off the edge instead of food lol. You know you're right. I mean mental distaste for meat is the reason I've "degenerated" to vegetarianism as opposed to omnivorism. And to be honest I have a mental distaste for dairy as well and even more so for eggs, it's just that it is not sufficiently heinous (in comparison to eating animal carcasses) for me to mentally recant from and often a time the other ingredients in a given food/sweet will numb the taste of eggs or butter, that I can sort of block it out, if that makes sense? Can't say the same for cheese though, I like the pure taste of cheese, which is weird because up until I was a young teenager I actually despised it unless it was on pizza. You are right though, this is most likely due to a fundamental lack of self-care... I should care more, or rather care sufficiently about the well being of my body to be eating better and more clean. Sometimes I brag about how I eat for 3 people but work out for 4 (really it's just a defence mechanism) and a regular at the gym said something that really made me think... He told me I'm abusing my body and should instead just be eating and working out for 1 person. I guess moderation is the key for me... As far as eggs/dairy products go, I have to - somehow- enlist them on my "no-go-whatever-the-case" mental scheme. As a kid, visualising eggs coming out of a hen's beep, would do the trick... Perhaps Is should go back to my infantile imaginations
  4. That's rather judgemental and unfair. I haven't been dishonest, in fact I've openly admitted my cravings and difficulties on this diet. I've also been honest about my current life circumstances and yes external factors do affect my will power. This hasn't been an easy adjustment by any means, but having low mental energy definitely only exacerbates matter. With all of this in mind, veganism ends up becoming an austere way of life...for me. This may not make sense to you, which just means you have a very strong willpower and don't let external or internal factors affect you and that's good for you. I'm just not there yet. That is not the same as being dishonest.
  5. I don't know I guess it's just the combination of a hectic home situation, nomadic life-style exam prep and coming to find out who your friends are in tough situations, that have made me seek comfort in ease and food/sweets I've always loved. Chocolate, cake, pizza and all that, don't talk back.. don't give you crap or ambiguous promises, it's solace on mostly hectic/shitty days. I do this to the detriment of my body, so ity's not completely consequence free and I've gained a lot of weight too... Fuck I just need to join a convent... Postmodern life is fucked up and so are postmodern people. Now if only there existed monasteries for non-religious non-theistic people
  6. @ Vegan Essentials... I think we're very much on the same page... After a couple of years of working out and give or take 6 months in bodybuilding, I've realised I'm too greedy to just want aesthetics... I want strength as well which is why I might very likely sign up in a power lifting gym. I've also come to accept that I might become a little smaller, which is something I've really been apprehensive about, because I like the bulky muscular look (just wish it didn't come with 25% fat lol). but yeah the more you want, the more patient you have to be.
  7. Muchidna, the categories you've put forth sound very well. I'd add nuts to that as well as vegetable oils/fats. If you could plot in date for each of those categories, that'd be awesome. right now I'm swamped in practical things that need to be done at home and am training for an exam as well.
  8. Veganism isn't easy... In fact it's quite difficult.... I can't be with friends for longer periods of time because I eventually get hungry and need something to eat and can't just live off of cucumbers and apples or other raw veggies/fruits.... I can't live off of nuts and bread either and up a fatso. and that's if the grocery shops/convenient stores are even open at the time I get hungry when I'm out chillin with friends. I want FOOD... Real food that makes me feel full, and vegetables don't... Not in their raw un-spiced off-the-grocery-shelf state. Not that vegan food can't taste good, it can taste fucking awesome, but all of this requires time, planning ahead and bringing with you your own food wherever you go, especially if you're out with friends all day/evening/night. OR that there are vegan restaurants/take away places, which there aren't where I live... And falafels/subway sandwiches are just so damn demotivating and in no way nutritional, if anything I just end up becoming hungrier, because it cardboard food. I can't live like this, it's depressing... It's weakening (because I'm malnutritioned). So yeah I've fallen back to vegetarianism with my crappy eggs and crappy cheese/dairy products (which I'm intolerant to). This feels like such a failure morally and health wise. But the city I live in just isn't cut out for vegans, at best maybe vegetarians and even then it's difficult. I've even considered going back to meat. Fortunately I'm too disgusted by the thought of meat that I'll hopefully never cross the bridge again but I'm feeling really weak at the moment, so I can't for sure say that it won't happen (although I truly hope it doesn't). Given my situation and circumstances I find that vegetarianism is manageable, but veganism is asceticism and I'm not an ascetic. I love the idea of veganism... I guess that's the problem... It's an ideal for me... Not a viable practise.... I hate this set back. I don't know why I'm writing this here... Eventually it all falls back to myself...
  9. Had to share this deliciously groovy dancehall beat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiuRiJsByGk
  10. Muchidna- I definitely think that having a few years (in your case maybe a decade +) in the luggage as a veggie helps keep the urges in check, so I'm hoping with time that these cravings will become more and more weak. For the time being though it is difficult for me. I'm having all these dreams where I wake up the next morning *still* tasting meat! I think I'm at the point where *morally* I'm way pass wanting to eat meat again but like with any (ab)user I'm suffering from withdrawals (cravings). And while I realise that it started the other way around for a lot (i.e. distaste for meat followed by moral conviction not to consume slaughtered living beings), for me it started with moral disgust - hopefully the physical disgust will follow soon enough.
  11. It just occurred to me all of this info should be gathered into a mini type of Vegan handbook. If we could just get a spreadsheet for grains, nuts and veggie fats as well, then it could all be compiled into a very useful guide
  12. That's a very valid question I unfortunately forgot to address in my original post. I have classified the protein richness of a given vegetable, by looking at the amount (grams) of protein per 100 grams in relation to a given items total kcal. One could also classify it by looking at the amount of protein calories per 100 grams of food in relation to the amount of kcal, but the reason I did it the other way is because in my original cut diet, I chose to focus on how many grams of protein I nee/day (170 grams) and adjusted my total calorie intake/day in accord with my physical needs and not any kind of desired weight (I don't have a desired weight, I have a desired fat percent). That's awesome Muchidna, you rock! You're absolutely right, I noticed this as well and corrected a few items (which is why I inserted the cross reference link) but didn't do a complete check, because I didn't have time. Also the thing about nutrition values is that they are never completely correct but only approximates, so there will always be an error variance, but 10 % is still a lot The ones I corrected deviated by 30-40 % which is why I felt obliged to correct the most atrocious error variances (they were too clear for me to ignore lol). And yes you're right carbs= 4 kcal/g, same thing for protein and fat= 9 kcal/g. So just to be sure we're on the same page you've derived the protein percentage by calculating the amount of protein calories in relation to a given items total calories, no? Not at all, I this *should* be a collective research, the more brains, the more (structured) info, the more manageable grocery shopping, the easier life is as a vegan lol. Please do add Not bad at all, I actually love them.... My stomach doesn't thought, not always anyway. And yeah high carbs too lol. I noticed quite a few in here have a hard time digesting legumes, so hopefully they'll benefit from this as well. Thank you Fallen, that's very useful, I was about to embark on a similar project, but you just saved me a couple of hours I can use for back day later this afternoon haha
  13. I doubt that Asp You look like a 20 kilo'er easy I wholeheartedly agree, but come on... All that juice and iron muscle and you're crying for doing (drop sets) with 10 kg?!! Man I'd even mock myself at that weight lol
  14. Hey Beans, looking really lean there! Nice going, keep up the good work!
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