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Do You Ever Cheat?


veggieprincess
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I agree. I have never intentionally cheated over the past 12 years. I don't have non-vegan cravings that I'm able to recognize.

 

That is just the way it is for me.

 

Yep, same here (except it's been three years for me ).

 

It's not food to me. I'd just as soon eat bird droppings as I would animal products that most people consider food.

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i'm with offense on avoiding labeling myself too much but people who know me know that i'm a vegan. that said i do the best i can without being a pain in the ass, like at restaurants sometimes maybe theres gonna be milk in the bread or something. but in the past 5 years ive had a few moments where i'll freak out about protein and eat an egg and feel like shit physically and mentally. i would never claim to be perfect about it. veganism is something i take a day at a time just like i do anything else.

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I don't have non-vegan cravings that I'm able to recognize.

Same for me.

Actually it's the other way around, I'm put of by the smell of animal products, some are worse then others.

Thinking of the consistency of cheese, just thinking about it is ing to me. The smell is just as bad.

A piece of meat looks just as tasty as some roadkill to me.

And eggs, my god, how foul is that! It smells like what it is, something that came out of someone's ass.

I never liked the smell of fish, even before I was veg the smell made me feel sick.

 

I'd just as soon eat bird droppings as I would animal products that most people consider food.

I say that sometimes when people ask me if I don't miss any animal products.

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I sometimes crave non-vegan foods.

 

My reasoning for this is that it's just what I grew up with and have put in my body for the longest time, so my first cravings are things I've spent most of my life eating, and am familiar with. That doesn't necessarily mean I want those things, It just means I'm hungry, and it's the first thing I think of.

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Veggieprincess, what is your vegweb name??? This was just a topic on there!!!

 

So I don't call myself a vegan because I "cheat" very often. I consider myself a vegitarian who trys to avoid all animal products as much as possible. Times when I might eat a little dairy/egg in something are when I go out to eat, either restaruant or relative/friend's house. Or if someone comes to my house & brings something to share.

 

 

ummmmm

 

OK, Maybe I am more vegan than I realized! I just don't call myself one because I'm so new to all this and I don't feel like I do a good enough job of avoiding eggs & milk & honey hidden in things.

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This is the problem with veganism for selfish health reasons. As an ethical vegan there can be no such thing as cheating. Remember if you cheat you are not just cheating on yourself by giving in to weakness but also cheating on the planet and animals that will be abused to provide you with a craving.

 

-David

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This is why I don't really think being a vegan is a dietary choice. If you don't eat any animal products for health your a true vegetarian...not a vegan. A hunter can be a vegetarian so long as he or she doesn't eat what he or she kills. As for people that drink milk or eat eggs...those things aren't vegetables and therefore shouldn't be part of a vegetarians diet. I wouldn't call an animal who ate all vegetables but also eggs to be a vegetarian...or better yet an egg eating snake that only eats eggs...they are not vegetarians.

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I agree. I have never intentionally cheated over the past 12 years. I don't have non-vegan cravings that I'm able to recognize.

 

That is just the way it is for me.

 

Agreed. I've only been vegan for a year, but I can honestly say I crave no non-vegan foods and I think my diet is much more diverse now than it was. I know I have accidentally consumed non-vegan items a few times. I ate some granola that had honey in it and bread that had whey... but when I realized it I threw the items out and didn't eat them again.

 

I love being vegan and I don't find it difficult to remain vegan in the least. I'm always a little like, "huh?" when people tell me they'd be vegan but it's "so hard!" I just don't get that. Even in the smallest towns there are vegan options these days. Of course, I can choose veganism for anyone but me, but as a vegan I do not ever cheat. In fact I don't like the word "cheat" because that words brings with it a lot of baggage. Being vegan is my lifestyle and it is permanent, so the idea of "cheating" makes it seem like its a game whereby I may want to skirt the "rules" for some reason or other. I guess in my point of view you are either committed to being vegan or not... and it's no skin off my back what someone else chooses, but as for me, my choice is set in stone.

 

That said, I do own a leather belt and a wool sweater than I've owned for years and years. I didn't throw them out... I couldn't see the purpose in doing that. But when it comes to food, I don't put any animal products or byproducts into my mouth... ever.

 

Also, I have yet to find a non-vegan food that I cannot replicate with a vegan version or that I have been unable to find a suitable and very enjoyable substitute for.

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Case in point:

 

Tonight after posting that, Michelle and I went out, and we got some chips. Every product I've ever bought from this brand was vegan, and I looked at another bag, and didn't even bother looking at the ingredients. 6 - 8 chips later I looked at the bag and saw that there was cheese in the chips. I spit them out of my mouth, and 15 - 20 minutes later my stomach was KILLING ME!

 

There's a difference between cheating and accidents, yes, however my point is that there's no point in even cheating if I'm going to feel like I want to die shortly afterwards.

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I've had a few close calls similar to that. I've purchased things after reading them...only to read them again right before I want to eat them...then I see it. This crap isn't vegan...luckily I've been able to take things back before opening.

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I've had a few close calls similar to that. I've purchased things after reading them...only to read them again right before I want to eat them...then I see it. This crap isn't vegan...luckily I've been able to take things back before opening.

 

I couldn't take it back, but I'd much rather pay the $2.50 than deal with the pains and cramps I'm feeling.

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If you're intentionally cheating, you're not vegan yet. Accidents are one thing - sometimes you get caught, sometimes restaurants aren't totally honest. The ramifications of cheating for the cheater, are health - which is your choice. When a cheater cheats, he or she is supporting the abusive life and inhumane death of animals and this is simply outside the definition of vegan. It is not a loose definition as far as I'm concerned. I have not intentionally cheated even once since the day I became vegan. The thought of knowingly consuming meat or dairy or eggs makes me feel sick to my stomach now. It's just not food to me.

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I agree Trev, but the word vegan... i dunno. Everybody does what they can. Noone is a saint and everybody can find theirselves in difficult situations. A vegan friend of mine ate dairy once, as he had depression. He told me that he felt like doing something wrong or forbidden. I've found myself in such situations too and afterwards i felt so guilty about me cheating. i'm not trying to excuse cheating because of depression or whatever. I just wish sometimes i was stronger in character..

 

but if we take the word vegan literally, very few people are true vegans. It's not only the food, but the leather belts, shoes and jackets that many have in their closets. Even car tires have animal substances...

 

I think we're on a journey towards veganism... with its ups and its downs

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Case in point:

 

Tonight after posting that, Michelle and I went out, and we got some chips. Every product I've ever bought from this brand was vegan, and I looked at another bag, and didn't even bother looking at the ingredients. 6 - 8 chips later I looked at the bag and saw that there was cheese in the chips. I spit them out of my mouth, and 15 - 20 minutes later my stomach was KILLING ME!

 

There's a difference between cheating and accidents, yes, however my point is that there's no point in even cheating if I'm going to feel like I want to die shortly afterwards.

 

Same thing happened to me. I bought some bread...oh oh honey. Never again. Heck I'm going raw just to avoid ingridients. I even read ingridients if I have read them before. I'm obsessed.

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I think we're on a journey towards veganism... with its ups and its downs

 

You know, being fairly new to this forum, one thing I truly like about it is that people are not afraid to debate.

 

I am glad you posted this Health Freak, because I agree with you, and I disagree with some of these posts.

 

Lisaandini said she won't call herself a Vegan because she "cheats" once in awhile, or in other words, she isn't as diligent about reading every single label that she feels she should. I think she should still be able to call herself "vegan", because it should be about what you do more often than not.

 

Case in point..... lets say that I eat 6 meals a day every day and in 2 1/2 weeks I find myself at the gym and I forgot to pack a meal and their snack bar has a selection of 15 meal replacement bars and I find one that has some Whey listed at the 14th ingredient, which is better than all the rest which all have some form of animal but it is listed near the top of the ingredients, and I take it because I'm really hungry and want to stay on track with my fitness goals. And lets say this is my 102nd meal in a 17 day period, so 99.9% of my meals in the past 17 days have been Vegan but this one meal I am taking in 1/18 of a teaspoon of animal product in the form of Casein or Whey.... I am suddenly not allowed to call myself Vegan?

 

Shouldn't it be about living up to a standard as often as possible but allowing some room for error?

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Lisaandini said she won't call herself a Vegan because she "cheats" once in awhile, or in other words, she isn't as diligent about reading every single label that she feels she should. I think she should still be able to call herself "vegan", because it should be about what you do more often than not.

 

 

What are you doing when you don't pay attention to whether it's vegan food or not?

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Hehe, you guys have all the zeal of the newly converted. I've had my ups and downs over 20 years as a vegetarian including 8 non-consecutive years as a vegan. I'm three years in to my third and final commitment to veganism. Even still, I have had the occassional "non-dairy" coffee creamer mishap to support my caffeine addiction. But I've learned to take my addiction black now, so that isn't much of an issue any more. I've also got a pair of leather shoes and wool socks I had before going vegan.

 

So, am I not vegan? What are the rules? How many hours, days, weeks or months pass before you are vegan again? I think Lisaandini is more the norm among the relatively silent majority of vegans out there. I think we should allow people to claim the term vegan and strive for its ideals.

 

I see it all the time in organizing the 140 members of the Pittsburgh vegan meetup group. Only a small percentage of our members are strictly vegan 100% of the time. Of course, not all of them claim the term "vegan", but I encourage everyone who does. I'd much rather live in a world where there are more people striving toward the ultimate goals of veganism, whatever those goals ultimately end up being.

 

Until you only travel on foot and sweep in front of you with a little broom like the Jain monks to make sure you don't step on any insects, then maybe you too aren't vegan.

 

Before the flames start flying, remember I love all of you.

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I agree. Heck I have some friends that eat potato chips and pretzels more than anything else. Years before I was vegan I was eating 8-12000 calories a day...most of it was vegan food but I wasn't even close to being a vegan. Being vegan isn't thinking about something most of the time just like being a virgin isn't avoiding sex most of the time.

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Lisaandini said she won't call herself a Vegan because she "cheats" once in awhile, or in other words, she isn't as diligent about reading every single label that she feels she should. I think she should still be able to call herself "vegan", because it should be about what you do more often than not.

 

 

What are you doing when you don't pay attention to whether it's vegan food or not?

 

I'm out somewhere that someone else prepared the food. I don't want to be rude and I'm not comfortable drawing attention to myself that way, I hate the idea of being a pain to others. I am usually good about picking something that is possibly vegan, but I don't grill the server or party hostess on whether or not the pasta was made with eggs, the bread with milk, the veggies have butter, etc.

 

Plus once in awhile I have a dessert that is obviously not vegan (like cake). Thanks for making me realize that I shouldn't do that for more reasons than just my own health. I just now decided I'm going to stop with the desserts, it's dumb and I don't need them. It's very easy to say no thank you, I'm full at that point in a meal anyway.

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