I Can’t Believe I’m Still a Vegan

I am vegan for almost six years and last September I had my first PBJ in my whole life and never again afterwards. So, you see it's possible to eat something else ;)
Also, put some Earth Balance on a baked potatoe and you shouldn't miss butter at all.
Oh, and even I'm vegan, I am fat (5'3'', 140 lbs) but that's because of all the vegan cupcakes, pies, chocolate spreads, peanut sauce, cookies, brownies, banana bread,... I consume.

I, too, felt I was stuck with PBJs, until I decided not to be. I'm vegan and haven't had a PBJ in a very long time. Here are some ideas: http://expandingcircle.wordpress.com/lunch/

I never was a big meat eater, I could take it or leave it, and mostly, I left it. My parents always worried that I would get sick because I was such a "pickey" eater, but I was very seldom ill, and the rest of the family who ate meat were often sick, so guess I must have done something right. Good genes help, too. My most bothersome problem is allergies to pollen.

Thank you, David, for sharing your story. You have helped me so much. I too have become vegan recently. After going vegetarian last June after seeing factory farming videos, I gained weight. I'd been on Atkins before that (for me the all-pork-all-the-time diet). I had a physical in January and learned my cholesterol was 263. I didn't want to go back on Lipitor, so I finally made the leap I'd been wanting to make but feared I couldn't and became vegan in March. No bloodwork yet, and I haven't lost weight yet, but I'm learning how to eat and stay vegan no matter where I am. I have a blog at http://healthyeatinghealthyplanet.blogspot.com/ to keep folks posted on the process. Thanks to reading your article in March, I bought the "E-2 Diet "book and the day it came was the first day of my vegan lifestyle. Thank you!

Congrats on going vegetarian. Instead of butter on your baked potatoes, I highly recommend Earth Balance, which is an all-natural spread that tastes unbelievably like butter - but without the cholesterol.

David, congratulations on your decision to as you are now one month past the day of your article. I've been vegan 1 yr and 5 months but for me being vegan isn't about you and me. It is about people! Our society is one of "over consumption" and the health of the average American is in decline. Every day I'm reminded like you are about someone close to me with a disease such as diabetes, MS, cancer and many other ills that didn't exist 50 years ago. I think knowledge is power (hated to use that quote). I'm not promoting these websites but feel compelled to put them out there because they offer so much information. The first is the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine www.PCRM.org and the other is a podcast from Colleen Patrick Goudreau at www.compasionatecooks.com. Thank you for taking care of yourself and the planet. Humans and non-human animals will benefit from your decision. My own vegan journey started with reducing my cholesterol and then I became more aware of what factory farming does to our environment. You could publish a whole magazine on that topic. Then I found out what the animals endure. I can openly say that now I'm an ethical vegan. As humans we communicate with our voices and hear each other.I personally need to speak up for those non-human beings who are chained to a life of suffering. To quote Paul McCartney: "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we'd all be vegetarians." Thank You!

David, I'm impressed by a few things in reading your article. First, this statement is very telling: "...a flesh eater. (That's the term I use now to describe people who eat meat; annoying non-vegans, I have found, is one of the best things about being a vegan.)" You seem to have fallen into the trap of using a label (veganism) to define yourself. Suddenly you're part of a club, and that can feel good. One whopping month into almost-veganism (you're still eating butter, still using animal products in clothing, I would guess), you're feeling morally superior and unfortunately taking the oppositional attitude that turn so many off from vegetarianism and veganism. Those are people who could be encouraged to make a change, but you may be discouraging them from doing so by perpetuating the stereotype of a self-righteous, smug vegan.

I echo the thoughts of others below in that I don't think you've been doing this long enough to even *know* what you don't know. Your post is full of telling statements in this regard. Vegetarianism and veganism are much more than eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. To make this a lasting, successful, healthy commitment, you've got to expand well beyond the PB&J. Iin fact the comment about PB&J isn't true, and that shows that you don't know what you're doing, yet you've already self-labeled and are making proclamations. I'm frankly a bit embarrassed for you in reading this.

And as others have stated, veganism is ethics. I'm not hearing the ethics ringing loudly in your article. I'm hearing that you like identifying with the label and feeling superior to the "flesh-eaters." That's not enough for a change like veganism. Do you know that veganism is about an entire lifestyle of avoiding animal products, including those in clothing and personal products? Will you now not purchase anything with leather, wool, beeswax, or milk products in them? Without an ethical conscience as the reason for choosing veganism, I really don't think your venture into veganism will "stick." There's just not enough substance to what you're doing.

I do think it's great that you're trying to be vegetarian (you're not vegan, according to this article). It's lighter on the earth, kinder to the animals, etc. But let it be a journey, and a more humble one than the way you've started. You haven't reached your destination yet. Do it for yourself, the animals, and the earth, and stop letting others' opinion of your actions be such a contributing factor to your choice. Then you'll really find your place, possibly somewhere in vegetarianism, and actually learn some things and be able to influence others from a positive place rather than a negative one.

David, I'm impressed by a few things in reading your article. First, this statement is very telling: "...a flesh eater. (That's the term I use now to describe people who eat meat; annoying non-vegans, I have found, is one of the best things about being a vegan.)" You seem to have fallen into the trap of using a label (veganism) to define yourself. Suddenly you're part of a club, and that can feel good. One whopping month into almost-veganism (you're still eating butter, still using animal products in clothing, I would guess), you're feeling morally superior and unfortunately taking the oppositional attitude that turn so many off from vegetarianism and veganism. Those are people who could be encouraged to make a change, but you may be discouraging them from doing so by perpetuating the stereotype of a self-righteous, smug vegan.

I echo the thoughts of others below in that I don't think you've been doing this long enough to even *know* what you don't know. Your post is full of telling statements in this regard. Vegetarianism and veganism are much more than eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. To make this a lasting, successful, healthy commitment, you've got to expand well beyond the PB&J. Iin fact the comment about PB&J isn't true, and that shows that you don't know what you're doing, yet you've already self-labeled and are making proclamations. I'm frankly a bit embarrassed for you in reading this.

And as others have stated, veganism is ethics. I'm not hearing the ethics ringing loudly in your article. I'm hearing that you like identifying with the label and feeling superior to the "flesh-eaters." That's not enough for a change like veganism. Do you know that veganism is about an entire lifestyle of avoiding animal products, including those in clothing and personal products? Will you now not purchase anything with leather, wool, beeswax, or milk products in them? Without an ethical conscience as the reason for choosing veganism, I really don't think your venture into veganism will "stick." There's just not enough substance to what you're doing.

I do think it's great that you're trying to be vegetarian (you're not vegan, according to this article). It's lighter on the earth, kinder to the animals, etc. But let it be a journey, and a more humble one than the way you've started. You haven't reached your destination yet. Do it for yourself, the animals, and the earth, and stop letting others' opinion of your actions be such a contributing factor to your choice. Then you'll really find your place, possibly somewhere in vegetarianism, and actually learn some things and be able to influence others from a positive place rather than a negative one.

Hi Leah: better read up on the horse issue. Horses are now being abandoned or worse (shipped out of the country for hundreds of miles to be slaughtered) because it now costs a fortune to euthanize them; they are starving to death in people's backyards instead...check the humane society's website. Zoos also used to use horsemeat to feed their carnivores...big problem now. I'm not saying I love horse-slaughter but please read different opinions...

I do not care what reason he changed, that is between him and his food, but whatever one does it does help the animals of this earth to not suffer a horrible death at the slaughter plant. Today there are people who are trying to open horse slaughter plants to feed Europe and the high pocket people and for what? These horses of ours in the United States are not used for food and should not be used for food. Horses have been since history a working animal and they deserve a better death by the gentle hands of a vet with a loving owner.

gcveg, with all due respect, I can't fathom any reason why someone would go vegan for reasons other than ethical ones. Animal rights is the basis of veganism. It's a lifestyle, not just a diet. If one follows a plant based diet, that is simply one aspect of veganism and does not make one a 'vegan'. I encourage people to cut back on animal products in all aspects of their life and I applaud those who make any attempts (whether it's a meatless Monday once a month or following a plant based diet or full veganism). It's not about pushing people away from the lifestyle - it's about asking for people not to water down the term, but to use it correctly. It's like someone who eats no meat other than chicken calling themselves a vegetarian - what they're doing is a good step but that doesn't mean they are a vegetarian.

David: I applaud what you're doing and THANK YOU for writing abut a plant based diet in such a positive light :)

As a recent convert from the vegetarian boat to the vegan one, it's always nice to see "regular" folks becoming vegans--even if you're not doing it for ethical reasons. I think that the vegan culture can come off a little too strongly sometimes, which pushes people away from the lifestyle instead of encouraging them to cut back on meat and dairy products in their life. A vegan lifestyle is waistline-friendly, earth-friendly, and of course animal-friendly. Thanks for sharing your experience.

To the author: you are not really a vegan if you're eating butter. And veganism extends beyond diet - it's eliminating animals products from all aspects of your life as best you can (that means no leather no wool no silk no personal care products that contain animal ingredients or are tested on animals). Vegan implies you're doing it for animal rights reasons. Not to belittle what you're doing - I think it's FANTASTIC (yes seriously). But what you're doing isn't veganism, it's eating a (mostly) plant based diet.

Thanks, David, for highlighting the benefits of a vegan diet. A recommended alternative to butter that you might like to try on your baked potatoes is sunflower spread.

Thank you for using fat hatred to promote your friend's book. Of course being a vegan doesn't have anything to do with cruelty to animals and everything to do with fear of fat.

Vegans don't have a problem with protein. Americans consume way too much protein. Non-plant-eaters like to claim this. Non-vegans become defensive when a vegan discusses the positives of a plant-based diet. Flesh is not needed in the human diet. Studies upon studies have shown this. It is simply a matter of certain humans liking the taste of animal flesh.

It is also a case of huge profits from tax-payer subsidies for factory farms. The owners are more than happy to pump out as much flesh and bi-products that they can. They overuse anti-biotics and growth hormones, abuse the animals and exploit the slaughterhouse workers, land and water resources.

When you step back and look at the effects of flesh consumption, it really is quite a selfish, wasteful and completely unnecessary thing to do.

First of all I am glad to see so many comments on this issue, that shows that there is a lot of interest in Vegetarianism. I am trying to become one myself, was pretty good last year but slid back a little this year. Comment and question on those posting that say that you are going to be protein and other-deficient if you go vegan. I am from India, and it is a heavy vegetarian country. There are millions of people who have never tasted meat in their life and this has been going on for generations. Followers of the jain religion never eat meat. India is a country with each state with its own language and culture. There is a state called Gujarat, Mahatma Gnadhi hails from this state - that is heavily vegetarian. I had the chance to (god, what's with this font, it is so light I can barely see what I am typing) work in that state and we were shcoked to see entire villages and towns totally vegetarian! How come these people report no problems?.

Wait till you start eating everything in sight because your body is starved by a lack of proteins. You might even develop tofu madness and notice increased breast size as your body starts pumping out abnormal levels of estrogen.