jakkrabbit

(Yes, I already posted about my sister who's gone vegetarian as a first step towards veganism, thanks everyone for your suggestion, she's getting her hunger and bloating issues under control now...) My brother really believes in animal rights and is hugely against factory farming, but he's in a dilemma, because he's recovering from cult starvation and is underweight for his height and has been for some time. At 6' he only weighs 143 lbs. (Yes, we know there are some very slim/wiry vegans out there, but for his frame and build, this is an unnatural weight. Other men in the family who are similar height/build, slim, eat healthy, and are very active weigh at least 180 lbs.) He needs to gain muscle to be at a healthy physique, and so he's been holding off on going vegan because he believes he needs the meat and dairy to help him gain weight, and he's afraid if he goes vegan he'll lose weight or not gain or at least have a very difficult time gaining. What's everyone's thoughts on this? Can he gain muscle at a good rate without having to rely on meat and dairy? He really wants to transition but he's afraid to at this point due to the weight issue.

My 16 yr old sister is huge into animal rights and wants to become a vegan. Whereas I became vegan cold turkey in literally one day, I told her it might be a little smarter for her to do it gradually to allow her body time to adjust. I thought we could just follow a progression of flexitarian to ovo to lacto-ovo to vegan, and then to raw if she wants. So basically cut out red meat first, then poultry and fish, then eggs, then dairy products. She naturally eats a lot of raw fruits and vegetables because she just likes them. We've been working on making suppers that use healthier carbs like quinoa or whole wheat pasta, and instead of using milk/cheese sauce, use olive oil with herbs and spices, and replace meat with chopped nuts or crumbled tofu for protein, and then of course add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, cucumber, bell pepper, etc. So I'm trying to help her incorporate at least one vegetarian or completely vegan meal into her day. The problem is, she's finding that she's constantly hungry, even though we're making sure to include lots of fiber, protein, and good fats. She'll eat something and feel satisfied and ten minutes later be ravenous again. She's super hungry at night too and it annoys her because she's constantly having to get up to make herself more to eat. So today she broke down and had sliced steak in her pasta because she finds steak more satisfying to her hunger. She doesn't know what to do because she wants to become vegan but without meat she's hungry all the time no matter how much she eats. I don't know how much she's ACTUALLY eating; maybe it's just not really enough. Maybe we need to keep a food log. I also told her she needs to look at incorporating beans into her diet, whether in the form of bean stews or beans and rice or hummus or whatever, because I know they can help make things more filling. But does anyone have any tips? I'm not sure what we're doing wrong - it's not like she's just eating carrot sticks and lettuce leaves. She's eating raw veggies, fruits, cooked grains, cereals, and starches, nuts, tofu, and since she's just transitioning at this point, she's still incorporating dairy in the form of milk and plain yogurt. Why is she so hungry without meat?