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I wish I had the mental strength to forego one of the few pleasures of life without looking back. It's amazing to me how someone can (almost) exclusively eat v

I wish I had the mental strength to forego one of the few pleasures of life without looking back. It's amazing to me how someone can (almost) exclusively eat vegetables and enjoy it. Is it all about habits? Genes? Everyone says that taste is unique for each individual. For me, no amount of good seasoning on a vegetable will ever beat the taste of a steak. I cannot even fathom doing that FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. I guess if I had no option other than dying, that would change my priorities. But aside from that, it feels like you're trading so much to look a little bit better (I know everyone says it's always about health, but let's face it, that's not true a lot of times).

tidepod12 7y ago
Speaking personally, it's very easy to me to be able to completely separate the thought of food from having to be enjoyable. I don't drink water because it tastes good, I drink water because I know I need to drink water. I don't eat a plain sandwich at lunch because it tastes good, I eat that sandwich at lunch because I am hungry and know I need to eat. I don't need my food to taste good for me to eat it. If that has to do with habits or genes, I have no idea. And that doesn't mean I don't get enjoyment from eating. I certainly enjoy an occasional nice steak or a few slices of cake every now and then, but I don't eat meat every meal despite it tasting enjoyable, just like I imagine you don't eat cake every meal despite it tasting wonderful,
artimaeis 7y ago
From my perspective it's about balance. I was completely vegan for about 2 years, and now I'd call myself a mostly-vegetarian. I'm not dogmatic about it, I just think that if we eat less meat it's probably better -- for us, for the environment, and for the horrible treatment of most factory-farmed animals. Back to what I was saying about balance -- you're right: steak is fairly tasty, but so are lots of other things that I probably don't need to eat all that often. If I ate exclusively things that are as tasty as possible I'd enjoy them less. So now if I'm in a special situation I'll maybe order something with some meat -- but it's the exception rather than the rule.
icu 7y ago
I found that my body started to crave vegetables. It is really weird because I used to get sugar cravings, and now my body has completely flipped to vegetable cravings! My experience is that I felt more in tune with my body, and I could 'hear' what it wants, or doesn't like. Another thing I didn't put into the original post is that I struggled with a blocked/stuffy nose since I was a little kid. Two weeks into my diet change, the life-long symptoms were gone (and continue to be gone). "I can now breathe through my nose" might not seem very miraculous to most people, but it is to me. Having had a life-long diet of meat and processed food, I don't really miss it so much as I now actually love healthy food and I can 'smell the roses'.
PerfectElement 7y ago
> It's amazing to me how someone can (almost) exclusively eat vegetables and enjoy it. I think this is a common misconception. Vegans don't eat only vegetables, they eat every type of food, except animal products. It's very likely that most of the dishes you enjoy have a vegan version that tastes great. If you live near a big city, try out some of the vegan restaurants to see what chefs are able to do nowadays. Also, tastebuds change and you'll eventually get the same steak dopamine hit by eating something else. I, for instance, used to hate Indian food, and now Chana Masala is one of my favourite dishes. > I cannot even fathom doing that FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. That's not a logical way to think about things. When I go out for a run, I don't think "I have to run every day for the rest of my life otherwise it's worth going". I don't think anyone would ever exercise if they followed that logic.
- Draiken 7y ago
  > try out some of the vegan restaurants to see what chefs are able to do nowadays. Well, can't hurt, right? :) > That's not a logical way to think about things. When I go out for a run, I don't think "I have to run every day for the rest of my life otherwise it's worth going". I don't think anyone would ever exercise if they followed that logic. I was being hyperbolic but when it comes to eating habits, if you stop the change, you will sooner or later get back to square zero. If it's a time bound diet, it only works for the short term. That, for me, is the biggest issue of all. The thought of having to fully commit to a change like this if you want to actually get lasting results. It's not like exercises where you get to a state where you are healthy and as long as you don't completely stop, you're fine. With food if you go back to bad habits you lose everything you achieved in the blink of an eye. At least that has been my experience with multiple types of diets.
jandrewrogers 7y ago
An important factor often overlooked is taste preferences. I have many friends who are lifelong vegans, and tried vegan myself for a while before deciding I couldn't do it, and in my experience healthy vegan food (i.e. not French fries) is overwhelmingly on the sweet or sour side to my taste. I actively dislike both sweet and sour flavors, you'll never see me eating desserts or fruits, which greatly reduces the spectrum of palatable vegan cuisine. I imagine anyone with similar taste preferences as myself would have similar issues with a vegan diet. Vegetarian cuisine, by contrast, has a more balanced spectrum of flavor profiles in my opinion. I experimented with many diets to find my own optimal tradeoff between great tasting food and healthy diet. I landed at low-carb diet where I am de facto vegetarian multiple days per week, but still eat a modest amount of meat and I don't feel like I am sacrificing anything because I built up a large repertoire of vegetarian (and even vegan) dishes that I happen to love that are also low carb. I think it could be properly characterized as a vegetable-heavy ketogenic diet, but I am not that formal about it -- these are guidelines for good living, not rules. Both Indian and Mexican cuisines are good starting points for low-carb vegetarian fare that is rich and satisfying. You can adopt a vegetable-heavy diet that is tasty and satisfying even to an unrepentant carnivore, but it requires doing a lot of work, exploration, and experimentation to find vegetable-centric dishes that you actually love and find delicious. I think the big gap for many people is that low-carb, salt-forward flavors, a common preference for meat eaters, is poorly represented in popular vegetarian cuisine. Even though I eat vegetarian much of the time and live in a vegetarian friendly town, I won't eat most vegetarian restaurant food.
hombre_fatal 7y ago
Suggesting people are vegan just to look better is very unfair. If they're vegan for ethical reasons, it's like suggesting that people choose not to rape, despite how good pussy feels, just to look better. Because you couldn't event fathom going without raping for the rest of your life, so those people must need extra benefits like vanity.
- Draiken 7y ago
  Nobody said that. You're projecting. I only added that side-note because I believe the majority of our SOCIETY wants to LOSE WEIGHT (nothing to do with veganism) to look better under the guise of healthiness. Which is fine, I guess. I just hate the pretending.
ntlk 7y ago
I eat a plant based diet but mostly cook myself and only eat out at places that know how to work with vegetables. It all comes down to seasoning and knowing how to cook, but all the mind blowing flavours still exist and can be invoked at every meal.

tidepod12 7y ago

Speaking personally, it's very easy to me to be able to completely separate the thought of food from having to be enjoyable. I don't drink water because it tastes good, I drink water because I know I need to drink water. I don't eat a plain sandwich at lunch because it tastes good, I eat that sandwich at lunch because I am hungry and know I need to eat. I don't need my food to taste good for me to eat it. If that has to do with habits or genes, I have no idea. And that doesn't mean I don't get enjoyment from eating. I certainly enjoy an occasional nice steak or a few slices of cake every now and then, but I don't eat meat every meal despite it tasting enjoyable, just like I imagine you don't eat cake every meal despite it tasting wonderful,

artimaeis 7y ago

From my perspective it's about balance. I was completely vegan for about 2 years, and now I'd call myself a mostly-vegetarian. I'm not dogmatic about it, I just think that if we eat less meat it's probably better -- for us, for the environment, and for the horrible treatment of most factory-farmed animals. Back to what I was saying about balance -- you're right: steak is fairly tasty, but so are lots of other things that I probably don't need to eat all that often. If I ate exclusively things that are as tasty as possible I'd enjoy them less. So now if I'm in a special situation I'll maybe order something with some meat -- but it's the exception rather than the rule.

icu 7y ago

I found that my body started to crave vegetables. It is really weird because I used to get sugar cravings, and now my body has completely flipped to vegetable cravings! My experience is that I felt more in tune with my body, and I could 'hear' what it wants, or doesn't like. Another thing I didn't put into the original post is that I struggled with a blocked/stuffy nose since I was a little kid. Two weeks into my diet change, the life-long symptoms were gone (and continue to be gone). "I can now breathe through my nose" might not seem very miraculous to most people, but it is to me. Having had a life-long diet of meat and processed food, I don't really miss it so much as I now actually love healthy food and I can 'smell the roses'.

PerfectElement 7y ago

> It's amazing to me how someone can (almost) exclusively eat vegetables and enjoy it. I think this is a common misconception. Vegans don't eat only vegetables, they eat every type of food, except animal products. It's very likely that most of the dishes you enjoy have a vegan version that tastes great. If you live near a big city, try out some of the vegan restaurants to see what chefs are able to do nowadays. Also, tastebuds change and you'll eventually get the same steak dopamine hit by eating something else. I, for instance, used to hate Indian food, and now Chana Masala is one of my favourite dishes. > I cannot even fathom doing that FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. That's not a logical way to think about things. When I go out for a run, I don't think "I have to run every day for the rest of my life otherwise it's worth going". I don't think anyone would ever exercise if they followed that logic.

Draiken 7y ago
> try out some of the vegan restaurants to see what chefs are able to do nowadays. Well, can't hurt, right? :) > That's not a logical way to think about things. When I go out for a run, I don't think "I have to run every day for the rest of my life otherwise it's worth going". I don't think anyone would ever exercise if they followed that logic. I was being hyperbolic but when it comes to eating habits, if you stop the change, you will sooner or later get back to square zero. If it's a time bound diet, it only works for the short term. That, for me, is the biggest issue of all. The thought of having to fully commit to a change like this if you want to actually get lasting results. It's not like exercises where you get to a state where you are healthy and as long as you don't completely stop, you're fine. With food if you go back to bad habits you lose everything you achieved in the blink of an eye. At least that has been my experience with multiple types of diets.

jandrewrogers 7y ago

An important factor often overlooked is taste preferences. I have many friends who are lifelong vegans, and tried vegan myself for a while before deciding I couldn't do it, and in my experience healthy vegan food (i.e. not French fries) is overwhelmingly on the sweet or sour side to my taste. I actively dislike both sweet and sour flavors, you'll never see me eating desserts or fruits, which greatly reduces the spectrum of palatable vegan cuisine. I imagine anyone with similar taste preferences as myself would have similar issues with a vegan diet. Vegetarian cuisine, by contrast, has a more balanced spectrum of flavor profiles in my opinion. I experimented with many diets to find my own optimal tradeoff between great tasting food and healthy diet. I landed at low-carb diet where I am de facto vegetarian multiple days per week, but still eat a modest amount of meat and I don't feel like I am sacrificing anything because I built up a large repertoire of vegetarian (and even vegan) dishes that I happen to love that are also low carb. I think it could be properly characterized as a vegetable-heavy ketogenic diet, but I am not that formal about it -- these are guidelines for good living, not rules. Both Indian and Mexican cuisines are good starting points for low-carb vegetarian fare that is rich and satisfying. You can adopt a vegetable-heavy diet that is tasty and satisfying even to an unrepentant carnivore, but it requires doing a lot of work, exploration, and experimentation to find vegetable-centric dishes that you actually love and find delicious. I think the big gap for many people is that low-carb, salt-forward flavors, a common preference for meat eaters, is poorly represented in popular vegetarian cuisine. Even though I eat vegetarian much of the time and live in a vegetarian friendly town, I won't eat most vegetarian restaurant food.

hombre_fatal 7y ago

Suggesting people are vegan just to look better is very unfair. If they're vegan for ethical reasons, it's like suggesting that people choose not to rape, despite how good pussy feels, just to look better. Because you couldn't event fathom going without raping for the rest of your life, so those people must need extra benefits like vanity.

Draiken 7y ago
Nobody said that. You're projecting. I only added that side-note because I believe the majority of our SOCIETY wants to LOSE WEIGHT (nothing to do with veganism) to look better under the guise of healthiness. Which is fine, I guess. I just hate the pretending.

ntlk 7y ago

I eat a plant based diet but mostly cook myself and only eat out at places that know how to work with vegetables. It all comes down to seasoning and knowing how to cook, but all the mind blowing flavours still exist and can be invoked at every meal.