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cryptomancer
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I found this site a few months a go and I just realized there was a forum. Awesome place for information.

 

People always make the general assumption that vegans and vegetarians are skinny sickly and weak individuals, people never believe I'm a vegetarian, they say I don't look it. Now, when I encounter someone with such misconception I refer them to this site.

 

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Ed, I'm 25, Engineering student, I live in Los Angeles, work as a computer geek sometimes, sometimes I work in security. I have been a vegetarian for only 3 years and currently becoming a full on vegan. I've had the ethical dilemma of eating meat since I was 16 but due to fears of loosing size or strength I kept eating meat for a long time. About two years ago I couldn't take it anymore so I said screw my training and became a vegetarian. I tried to give up milk products and eggs but my chaotic schedule would not allow me to devote myself to a healthy diet so it became herd to give these up. Now I've given up most milk products and eggs but I'm having problems with cheese and regular milk. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions on how to help the transition, it would really be appreciated.

 

One of the main reasons why I come here is to try and find good info on diet, supplements and other foods that will help me maintain muscle mass and over all strength.

 

Its really good to be here, I hope to check in on a regular basis.

 

Ed.

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Hey, Ed. Welcome! I think it's funny that you refer people to this site to prove vegetarians aren't scrawny wimps - I've done the same. But I'm working on becoming a living example of that myself.

 

As far as veganism, I just did it 'cold turkey' - for lack of better phrase, heh - and that seemed to work pretty well. I'm sure you've read a lot about it, but if you haven't getting a book or watching a video like Meet Your Meat might help you stay the course.

 

Glad to have you here! It's a fantastic community.

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Hey Ed,

 

Welcome to our group! I'm just heading to bed so I'll write more later but noticed you were our newest member and I wanted to make sure I left a greeting for you.

 

Glad to hear you've been coming to this site for a few months now. We have great people that will help you go full on VEGAN!

 

Have a great week and thanks so much for joining us!

 

Robert

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  • 3 months later...

Hey sirdle, sorry it took a while to respond, haven't checked this post in a while.

 

I'm doing the electrical engineer thing, my main thing is alternate forms of energy, doing some cool stuff with solar cells. I hope to be done by summer and then transfer to do my post grad work, but I'm getting kinda old so I'll have to re-think about that.

 

As far as letting go milk, its just that I was raised with milk as a major part of my diet. However, since I first started posting in here I've made the switch to soy milk and even though I'm not likeing it that much, I think I'm done with milk for the most part, I'm not as strict about it just yet but I think I'm close to calling myself a full on vegan. Anyway, it might not seam like a big deal to some but its being hard for me.

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Welcome cryptomancer!

 

You will find lots of help going vegan here. Cheese was my last beast to tame when going vegan & from what I've read here & other places, that is very common. Check your health food store for "Follow Your Heart" vegan cheese -- same people who make Vegenaise. It's good & I think comes in four flavors. Then head over the the recipes forum & check out VeganMadres pizza recipe. It rocks!

 

Glad to have you on the board.

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I like the name "Cryptomancer" I would say "welcome" but it appears you've been here longer than I have. Oh well, welcome anyway.

 

As far as letting go milk, its just that I was raised with milk as a major part of my diet. However, since I first started posting in here I've made the switch to soy milk and even though I'm not likeing it that much, I think I'm done with milk for the most part, I'm not as strict about it just yet but I think I'm close to calling myself a full on vegan. Anyway, it might not seam like a big deal to some but its being hard for me.

 

I was also raised with milk and dairy products as a major part of my diet. As a teenager in Vermont, we had three small family-owned (and likely organic) dairy farms within a mile radius of our home and a milkman that delivered super-fresh milk once a week. It was so yummy and I was a hardcore milk drinker. I kinda thought sometimes that drinking something intended for a baby cow was stupid, but usually what I'd been taught about the importance of the "milk group" prevailed. When I moved far away to Atlanta 8 years ago, all the milk there tasted like crap and made my stomach hurt too, so I just quit drinking it. That was easy enough.

 

Cheese has proven to be much more difficult to give up, though. It's probably like 100x or more harder to give up than meat was, for me. Giving up cheese and everything else "cold turkey" wasn't working for me, so gave up everything else and have given myself a realistic amount of time (until the end of this year or until the 1/2lb block of raw cheddar in my fridge is gone, whichever happens first) to gradually transition the cheese out of my diet, too. I had never realized how many of my favorite comfort foods (like lasagne and pizza) were all about cheese, but I'm weaning myself and learning to modify the recipes. I'm also learning which of my favorite restaurants I can still eat at, since 90% of the meat-free appetizers and entrees seem to be based upon cheese.

 

This might sound weird, but what's helped me the most in this transition is to read vegan forums (here, on myspace, etc) online at least once every day. Surrounding oneself with fellow vegans would probably work better, but since I don't have any local vegan friends yet, this works for me. I'm sure there's some speculation at this point that I'm stalking some member here because I'm logged in so much, but actually I'm just trying to brainwash my brain to think "vegan" instead of think the "standard american diet" it's been conditioned to think for the past 35 years. It is working.

 

If all else fails, move to Atlanta for a while. All their milk tastes like crap, I have proof.

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Hey if you dont like soy milk (i dont really like it) you should try almond breeze, almond milk. They have 3 flavors, regular, vanilla, and chocolate. They have them at Trader Joes and whole food store, and probably other places. Good luck.

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