# Veganism Help!!



## 16198 (Feb 20, 2006)

Although I haven't "officially" been diagnosed with IBS (I'm scared of the doctor), my step-mum alternative therapist / nurse has made me up a diet plan which is essentially vegan. She's also put me on vitamins and digestive enzymes. It's been really, really helping, but I find it so difficult to stick to! I'm lazy, and it's so much easier to just buy fish & chips on the way home from University than it is to come home and steam myself a plateful of mung beans. I really do like a large percentage of vegan food but even though it's tasty and helps relieve my symptoms I just can't stick with it! Am I really so self-destructive? How does everyone else cope with strict diet plans, and how does it affect your day to day life?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I don't think anyone ever does really well sticking to a strict diet plan even when we know it helps the symptoms.It is a common complaint around here. the "why do I do this to myself and eat that" sort of thing.I don't know if there is a good way to get around it, especially since humans in general tend to crave anything we are told we can't eat ever again. Some people find making foods OK, but special treats in their mind helps rather than thinking "I can't have that ever again". That was something we worked on when I did some nutritional counseling for high cholesterol. Nothing is forbidden but some things are special treats, so save them up for special occasions.Try not to beat yourself up or label yourself as self-destructive for being a normal, standard-issue human being. You don't have to be perfect, just keep doing the best you can for right now and let that be good enough.K.


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## 13853 (May 2, 2005)

It's impossible to just stop everything at once but you can remind yourself and try to make the better choice the next time. Kathleen sounds like my doctor. I tried to radically change everything at once primarily due to cholesterol. I did well for awhile but slipped back to old habits. You must allow yourself to cheat sometimes.You may be like me and the more tired you get, the easier it is to just say what the heck. I always keep plenty of varied snack foods around to help when I get those cravings. If I see 6 or 7 alternatives, maybe I'll skip the fried fat. They're odd alternatives for me - apples (MUST be Fuji), spinach, no-fat pretzels (we won't discuss the salt issue), oat-bran banana loaf, carrots and mushrooms. They sound odd but I can usually satisfy my craving of the moment whether it's salty, sweet or just filling.


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

hello and welcome jupiter


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## 22032 (Aug 10, 2006)

I try to base my diet around all the foods I know that are helpful (oatmeal, whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes/pototoes, natural PB, olive oil, fruits and veggies, etc.) but at the same time I still allow myself to cheat. I even eat things that I know are bad for my IBS-C (chocolate, pies, high-fat, etc.), as long as I mostly eat the things that are good for me. I love to eat...I am an absolute food nut...so sometimes I am willing to put myself in a little bit of pain so I can just have a few moments of pleasure eating the foods I have loved my whole life. But only _sometimes_. So eat the mostly Vegan diet if it helps (I myself benefit from a mostly vegetarian diet...and prefer to eat vegetarian _most_ of the week...but I will never give up my steak!), but have that fish and chips every now and then if that is what you love...just don't make it a habit.


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## 17374 (Jan 28, 2007)

Over time it gets easier. I am almost to a Vegan diet myself (over a year now). The best thing is to make friends with the local health food store and buy "bad for me" foods that don't contain the trigger foods. This way, when I want to grab a bad-for-me thing there is something there.Also, I pack OK snacks and take them with me wherever I go so that I can munch on those. My work constantly has a supply of cakes that are loaded with whipped cream so I got myself dairy-free shake boxes. I suck down one of those just because it may not be perfect but I don't feel like I'm deprived. You can get sugar free too.... Stevia is a pretty OK sweatener.


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## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

I am vegetarian well on the way to being vegan. A good place for some easy recipes is www.vegweb.com. Another good thing to do is buy some of the ready made frozen meals/things that you can get and keep them in the freezer for those can't be bothered days. Finally I'll spend a day on the weekend occasionally and cook up a few big batches of lentil burger patties and other meals and freeze them in individual portions so if I'm running late I can just grab them out and zap them in the microwave. It's a bit harder than grabbing fish and chips and you have to WANT to do it in order to actually do it. That being said don't worry too much if you have the odd day where you just can't be bothered and grab something you shouldn't. We all do that one (my vice is chocolate!!!! Yowch







)


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## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

Errrm just noticed this is a really old thread!!!


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