hi from (re)born again vegan

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priest
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Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:38 am
Diet: Vegan

hi from (re)born again vegan

Post by priest »

hey, just found this site through an Unnatural Vegan vid on YouTube. I originally became a vegan in 2003 and had a full carnist relapse in 2008, and only recently pulled the head out of my ass a few months ago. I originally went vegan for "health" reasons (health equaled weight loss back then) and bounced around from junk food to raw to fruitarian to a hodgepodge, and by the summer of '08 had not found the "Fountain of Fitness" and due to personal problems at the time (deeply depressed, could barely find a reason to care about myself and thus justified A) abandoning caring about the plight of farmed animals and B) giving in to my overeating addiction in the most decadent/ depraved ways imaginable) I decided to pull the plug on veganism at age 37. fast-forward to now, age 46, and having ballooned to 330 a couple years ago (6 feet tall, weight's been yo-yoing all my life to varying degrees) I got down to 230 through juice fasting, potato hacking, paleo, and intermittent fasting over the course of a year and stayed in that range since. my depression seems to have subsided to the point where I kind of feel like I'm out of the woods, not sure if it's the weight loss or just "outgrowing" the burden in some way. the weight loss came through both a concerted effort to be more nutritionally responsible to myself and to gain a modicum of control over my food addiction, and in June I watched Cowspiracy and went vegan on the spot for a whole new reason: I couldn't justify contributing to the planet's demise through my dietary choices. I have since refined my ongoing search for health and weight loss to roughly an 80/10/10 one meal a day paradigm at present. exercise is limited due to a partially-torn ACL, but I have plans to sign up for the surgery and look forward to running and playing recreational sports again. my weight loss goal is to get back to 160 (my lowest weight at age 20 when I ran 5 miles a day) and then from there find my ideal weight/ BMI.

I now feel that the strongest reason to become and live one's life as a vegan should be for ethical reasons, namely to refrain from causing unnecessary harm to sentient beings. however, I feel that due to the personal circumstances that brought me back coupled with my social experiences during my first stint, ethics is the least practical reason to go vegan. had it not been for that random viewing of Cowspiracy and realizing that we are literally going to destroy the planet if we don't end animal agriculture ASA*fucking*P, I'm sure I'd still be an omnivore right now. in my mind, if we are truly "on the clock" for the apocalyptic tipping point, then any argument other than The Environment has become moot and worldwide abolition of animal agriculture has to be instilled and militarily enforced. I realize how extreme this sounds and would LOVE to be able to be talked down off this ledge if possible, if only for my own peace of mind (if you are able to pull this off, I promise I'll remain vegan anyway :) ). however, with capitalistic fascism empowering CAFOs and their feed systems and mind-controlling the teeming and ever-multiplying masses of asses, and knowing dozens of (relatively highly educated) said asses personally, a large-scale shift to veganism simply ain't happening without some type(s) of force. I am qualified to make this assertion because I too was (and in many respects still am) an ass who's first and foremost motivated by self preservation, unfortunately rendering the morality of killing and using animals for food trivial at best under the current circumstances as I understand them.

so while I wait for the Hollywoodesque dream scenario of a team of scientists convincing the UN to magically enforce global vegan martial law, I'm here in an attempt to sharpen my ethical debate skills and learn how best to advocate for animal rights and convert carnists and vegetarians to vegans. I'm a couple months deep into binge watching YouTube vegans (my only vegan social media participation until this forum) and my top influences are Vegan Gains, Ask Yourself, and Think About This. I found this forum through researching AY's feud with UV, and became fascinated with the possible debunking of Name The Trait after skimming the "antagonizing" thread (I had heretofore considered it "undebunkable"). I can tell I'm in for a bumpy ride with this one, and I'd greatly appreciate a link to a primer (if even possible) on the basic tenets of whatever logical systems are involved in both NTT and its opposing viewpoints as I'm not versed in philosophy.

thanks for taking the time to read this, sorry for the long-winded intro, thanks for the opportunity to ask, learn, and possibly help others, and I look forward to interacting with everyone!

priest
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Jebus
Master of the Forum
Posts: 2379
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:08 pm
Diet: Vegan

Re: hi from (re)born again vegan

Post by Jebus »

Welcome Priest. I think you've come to the right place.

Indeed the problem with health based veganism is that it doesn't usually last. It's great that you've found another reason to pursue veganism.

We are about the same age and I became vegan in my mid 30s. The first few weeks I just did it as a test, not entirely sure that I would stick with it, but after a couple of months I knew I was vegan for life. I now have the "yuck factor" when it comes to non-vegan foods. I don't even think I could manage to keep a glass of milk or a piece of meat down. Just the thought and smell of these foods disgust me. My former food addictions are all gone.
How to become vegan in 4.5 hours:
1.Watch Forks over Knives (Health)
2.Watch Cowspiracy (Environment)
3. Watch Earthlings (Ethics)
Congratulations, unless you are a complete idiot you are now a vegan.
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priest
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Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:38 am
Diet: Vegan

Re: hi from (re)born again vegan

Post by priest »

thanks Jebus! I would love to be able to be disgusted by the sights and smells of cooked corpses, secretions, embryos, etc., but I honestly don't see that happening. if I was starving and meat was the only food available, I'd have no problem whatsoever eating meat. I suppose that's a good thing in that being in mixed company won't ruin my vegan meal. I'm not addicted to any particular foods, just to the excitement of whatever culinary delight is tickling my taste buds whenever I eat. so put me in front of any highly-palatable (now vegan-only) foods and like Louis CK said, the meal isn't over until I hate myself. I'm experimenting with forcing myself to limit portions lately, and so far the results are positive and I'm not going through any "painful" withdrawals. I just need to stick to the will-power protocol I easily employ during a prolonged fast and apply it to the Okinawan "80% full" theory of eating which thus far has been my Achilles' heel. that, and sticking to an 80% or more whole-foods menu will be the major challenge. and severely limiting oil and nuts
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brimstoneSalad
neither stone nor salad
Posts: 10273
Joined: Wed May 28, 2014 9:20 am
Diet: Vegan

Re: hi from (re)born again vegan

Post by brimstoneSalad »

Welcome, great intro!

While different diets can work for different people, something like 80/10/10 with a high proportion of carbohydrates is really only suitable for athletes who burn thousands of calories a day on running/biking/etc., not for weight loss.
A better plan for weight loss tends to be focusing not on starches, but on vegetables and beans, tofu, mock meats, and some nuts, avoiding overt carbohydrates in the form of grains and sweet fruit (which offer more calories than they do essential nutrients).
Most people in need of immediate weight loss will do better on something along the lines of Eco-Atkins (the vegan version of a low carb diet, which doesn't suffer the same cardiovascular pitfalls). The reason for this is because plant proteins and healthy plant fats are more satiating, as well as come with more nutrients (if your nutrition status is low, that could encourage over-eating more calories to make up for it).

Something to consider.
Take5
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Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2016 6:10 pm
Diet: Vegan

Re: hi from (re)born again vegan

Post by Take5 »

Hi Priest

Great to hear your story. I lost my belly fat by intermittent fasting, and I've maintained my ideal weight for 5 years now, by having a 24hr fast once a week and practicing 16:8 on (most) of the other days. Whilst 5:2ing I would make a big veg curry most fast days - even with potato wedges or a portion of rice it never came to more than about 300 cals. I also made chillis/pizzas/omelettes - if you'd like some 5:2 recipes, just PM me. I've never felt deprived in any way whilst IFing.

ATB!
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