Brett

Yeah my diet is very poor and unorganized. I've been very incompetant with it. I'm low on money so when I go to the grocery store I buy the simplest of items to save, and I know that this shouldn't be the case because you can a lot of good vegan food at a low cost. I'm still in the mindset of a rookie. I've been making tofu sandwiches with onions and tomatoes. I eat a lot of rice and beans, drink water and organic juice. I eat burritos or go out and get plates of green veg. I eat a lot of oranges, bananas, and apples for fruit. I need to organize a meal plan like most of you in here do. I still have to browse through that part of the forum. I get intimidated when I see everyone posting more complicated things they pick up at the grocery store to make. I'm so used to the simple mindset of just picking up BASIC fruits, vegetables, condiments, and bread.

Does anyone know any good solutions to combating fatigue? I've been having really bad problems with this for awhile. My energy levels are always very low and when I don't have to work or do anything I tend to lay in bed allll day and just mess around on my laptop. This has been going on with me for almost a year and a half. Some problems I've been able to think of that are probably causing this are that my diet is very poor and unplanned, i'm underweight, I think about politics and serious issues way too much, and I also tend to be very depressed and angry a lot of the time. I'm also a poor college student.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I'm trying to get myself organized. Not only to start eating the right foods, but also increase my calories A LOT because I'm trying to put on at least 15-20 pounds. I've been asking around for help, but still not quite there. Can you help me add to it? It's not quite finished yet, but let me see what you think. Breakfast 7AM Organic cereal/granola with Rice or Soy Milk or waffles/bagel, maybe with vegan sausage also 2 slices of toast (sprouted whole multi-grain bread) with either strawberry JAM or Earth Balance banana or orange 16oz juice Snack 10AM grapes shake:vegan ice cream, some soy milk, some protein powder, peanut butter, banana, canola oil in a blender/depending on what i use CLIF bar or pbj juice or water Lunch 1PM Mock Meat Meal Seitan sandwiches/veggie burger/veggie ham sand/or pbj or bean and rice burrito with veggies Bowl of potatoes, broccoli & carrots and/or choice of either avocado or apple, and carrots and/or hummus with crackers 24oz water Snack 4PM Mixed raw nuts, unsalted (cashews, walnuts, almonds) or pumpkin seeds maybe fruit 16oz water Dinner 7PM Tofu/vegetable stir-fry (variety of veggies) alternatives:tofu/seitan/tempeh(some soy sauce and rice) veg ideas: potatoes, grean beens, corn, side dish veggies or pasta dishes with low cooked veggies, eggplant and pasta or past sauce, STEAMED VEGGIES with spices, stuffed mushrooms and/or pasta and marinara sauce with vegan chicken strips or ravioli maybe another slice of toast 12oz chocolate soymilk 16oz water Snack 10PM fruit ??? other random ideas: For quick snacks there's Nutter Butters and Pop Tarts (Strawberry or Blueberry WITHOUT icing) peaches, nectarines What else do you usually eat? Anything I'm missing out on there? Is there a better way to arrange the order? What could I throw in for the 10pm snack? thanks!

Cool, what do you get from subway?

Sorry for the delay. I've been sick the past couple of days. I've weighed 125 for 5 years! I think I'm 5ft 7

Thanks a lot guys. I will continue reading. The first book I read that inspired me to go from vegetarian to vegan was called becoming vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. That argues everything very well.

The main reason why I'm vegan is because I'm convinced that eating vegan is OVERWHELMINGLY the healthiest thing you can do as a human being if planned out properly. I'm starting to wonder if that is full of shit.

I feel like I'm being lied to. I've studied veganism well in depth before, but I haven't read up on it in awhile. I'm doing more research but I have a question. Does anyone know of any great websites or sources where I can study vegan health without the "bias" of animal rights. I've been vegan for a year, and ethical reasons alone are still reason enough for me to be vegan, but I feel like most vegans are full of it when it comes to health. I just don't trust a lot of vegans when they start talking about health because a lot of them do it simply because of ethical reasons. I feel like there is a possibility that a lot of them could be bullshiting to persuade people to their ideology. Ethical reasons alone is completely fine, but I'm a skeptical person and I want to know the facts. I find that arguing ethics isn't enough to try and help someone out with their diet. Most people love animals, but if they aren't convinced to eat healthier ethics will have no effect.

Thanks a lot!

I'm starting to take action on my diet. I've been vegan for a year and I'm unorganized. I'm really underweight and trying to put on at least 15-20 pounds. I read up on veganism a year ago, but got lazy when I needed to start planning out my meals. As a result, I'm unorganized and I eat the same crap (mostly unhealthy) all of the time. I'm getting to the gym soon as well. So I've been reading through this forum and I'm starting to get this together. What I would really like is to be able to work with some people in here directly. I'm trying to organize a shopping list right now, and even a daily schedule for what times I will eat, and what I will eat. My goal is not only to intake a lot of calories, but actually start eating all of the foods I should have been eating a long time ago. I get really lost when I browse through suggestions on this forum. People say "eat more nuts, legumes, grains" and then when I go to the supermarket I'm clueless. I need help directly because I'm still a rookie. Here is what I have so far for a list: flax waffles(which have omegas in there), veg sausage, ice cream, juice, peanuts and cashews, hummus, seitan (for sandwiches with vegenayyoise), tofu, clif bars, granola ceral, and some fruit. I want to pick up some avocados but I'm not sure what I can do with them. I don't want to make guacamole. Should I just eat them raw? My diet is very pathetic. I usually don't make time to eat breakfast in the morning. I will usually drink a lot of soy milk sometimes. For lunch I get a pretty good big burrito with brown rice, black beans, salsa, guacamole, onions and olives. Other than that I don't eat much else during the day until dinner which will usually be a puny meal of spaghetti with veg chicken strips and mushrooms. Or I will make seitan sandwiches. If I am downtown I will get falafel, or chinese that has veg chicken with rice and veg. That's how weak my diet is right now. Doesn't consist of much. I'm unorganized and clueless on how to get it together. I already have spaghetti, sauce, and some veg for stir frys... Can anyone else suggest what else I add to the list with a meal in mind? I need to start eating 6 times a day instead of a puny 2-3. I need a lot of calories. I'll stay in touch on my progress. Thanks!

I'm posting another topic in health and nutrition if anyone would like to help me out.

I saw a nutritionist today and it was the biggest waste of time ever. It lasted no less than 10 minutes and she told me everything I could have figured out on my own. The worst part was that she was an idiot and tried to persuade me away from veganism. She knew nothing about it. Told me that my diet was "extreme" haha. I actually showed her that she was wrong on one thing. She told me that you can only get vitamin b12 from meat. I then pointed out that you can simply get it from soymilk, which has it fortified right in there. It upset me though. Killed some of my confidence in eating better. I've only been vegan for a year and I'm really underweight. I did all the research on why veganism is really healthy and ethical when I first did it, but then I got lazy when I started researching what to eat. As a result, I'm completely unorganized and I eat the same crap all of the time. She was trying to tell me that if you are a vegan you HAVE to take vitamins because it is not a healthy way of eating. I've read up on how full of garbage that is, but I don't have the facts on the tip of my tongue. Anyone else want to help me out?

Yeah, I think I'm just going to work on my diet. No need for pills. I finally just made a new vegan friend who cooks a lot and she is going to help me out a bit.

Yeah, but the others aren't really on religion as much as the god delusion. His others stick to evolutionary biology and whatnot. Yeah for real. When I first saw his root of all evil documentaries it was like "wow, it's about time someone said this." I definantly encourage you to read sam harris as well.

Ahh yes, great book. Not the best by Dawkins though. There are many other freethought books that blow that one away. The best book I've ever read is Atheism: The Case Against God by George Smith. That one is definantly a must read. Other than that Sam Harris' "A letter to a christian nation" is really good, and Dan Barker's "Losing faith in faith: from preacher to atheist." There is a great forum for discussion here at, www.rationalresponders.com Introduce yourself and learn more about the importance of critical thought.

Lazy in the sense that my diet is really weak. I only eat two main half ass meals a day with little snacks here and there. I'm probably getting nowhere near the amount of vitamins and nutrients my body needs to maintain a healthy diet. I'm going to post another thread on this soon because I'm trying to make new friends who can help me organize myself a little more as far as buying things on a low budget and eating better. That's why it seems like I should just go with the vitamins with the iron. I'm probably iron deficient. I have no knowledge of vitamins though. I'm not sure which ones would be best.

I'm a pretty lazy vegan though. Do you think I'll be fine?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/dn/multi.html thanks

Thanks a lot for helping me out. I'm excited about making the commitment. I've been eating so unhealthily the past year that it has made me miserable.

Yes, I'm moving to Eugene in 10 months. I'll be set on vegan food.

Thanks a lot.

Thanks, I will start researching and stay in touch on the forum.

Hi, I was really happy to discover this website and forum to find so many people that care. It really makes me happy to find people on here that spend so much time helping other people. It's great... Well, I'm 19 years old and have been vegan for almost a year now. I was vegetarian 2 years before that, but have always been a very unhealthy, skinny, and lazy eater. I've been getting ripped on for being skinny, and people always completely dismiss veganism when I bring it up because of how skinny I am. They automatically assume it is not good for you. So I finally decided that I want to make the commitment to eating healthy and gaining weight. I started buying all of my own food when I went vegan, and it is very difficult for me because I really don't have that much money to spend. This has been very hard, and I live in Buffalo with only like 5 places to eat with vegan options. I'm pretty desperate for help. I've read up on a lot, ethics and health, but I'm struggling on my own health. I've been living off a lot of junk food. I don't really cook that often. I only take the time to cook a stir fry with the same boring vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, black beans, artichokes, tofu, carrots) about every other week. I have no sense of direction as to what to eat, what recipes I should start trying, and how to budget my money. I only have about 80-120 dollars a week to play with. I really want to start cooking more, but don't even know where to begin. Is there anyone that would be interested in keeping in touch with me to help guide me? I noticed there is a lot of people on this board, but I can assure anyone that I'm dedicated to this. Any help would be great. I'm upset about the fact that there is a lot of information about the ethics of veganism, but no alternative left out for people that want to start eating healthy. I really want to educate myself on health and start helping others too. Thanks