I've been vegan for six years. My ex-girlfriend introduced the concept to me and, although she made no attempt to convert me from my previously omnivorous diet, I found her conviction admirable and decided to make the change to vegetarianism and then veganism.
I'd been slightly uncomfortable with the idea of using animals for food and had, in some small ways, decided to 'limit the damage' by omitting meat from certain meals but had always avoided really thinking about the ethical implications of eating meat and, by extension, consuming animal products.
It was only when I was encouraged to really think about it for myself that I made the decision to make a change. I'd been 'challenged' both directly and indirectly by vegetarians and vegans in the past but I've often found (and still do find) that the aggressive polemic of certain animal rights activists doesn't so much challenge other viewpoints as attack them and, when confronted with such an attack, my automatic reaction was to become defensive and then both parties in the discussion just end up getting angry at each other and nobody learns anything.
So for me, it was meeting someone who didn't care whether I was vegan or not, but honestly answered all of my questions about why they were that made me want to follow suit. I feel that ethics are a personal matter and, while I am certainly of the viewpoint that animal life is as important as human life, I do not judge or belittle people who don't share my views as I had held similar views for most of my life and don't think back on myself as a bad person.
So that's the 'why' part. The 'how' is tricky. My diet is far from perfect and I know I could definitely improve the way I eat to meet my health and strength goals but, at the moment, it's good enough and 'good enough' will do for me. Researching nutrition can be incredibly challenging, especially when you throw veganism into the mix, as the scientific studies on both sides of the 'plant-based v. animal-based' debate are riddled with confirmation bias and everyone is convinced that what they do is the single best way to do things and that everything else is nonsense. Annoyingly, the more I research nutrition, the more ignorant I feel about it.
My own approach to eating is essentially very basic:
- Include a source of protein in every meal: Most grains, legumes and vegetables will yield a greater amount of protein when consumed in conjunction with others that have complimentary amino acid profiles, although they don't need to be eaten at the same time.
- Eat something green with every meal: Generally good advice for everyone.
- Try not to overdo it with sugary and salty snacks: See above
- Eat big portions: Plant-based food is typically less calorie-dense than animal-based food so if you're going without meat, don't be afraid to really fill up your plate.
It's not very scientific and I know my own diet is fairly carbohydrate-heavy (I don't shy away from rice, bread and pasta, although I do stick to wholegrain for the most part), which won't work for some people, but I maintain healthy body composition and sport what I would call an 'athletic physique'.
As far as eating for significant hypertrophy is concerned, I personally know one or two vegans who have built very impressive bodies on plant food so I know it can be done. It's difficult, certainly, but then growing a body-builder's physique is difficult for everyone, otherwise we'd all be doing it.
The bodybuilder's maxim of "If you aren't sick of food yet, you're not eating enough," comes to mind: If you're lifting heavy at a high volume with abbreviated rest periods and consuming sufficient calories, you'll get bigger, meat or no meat. The physical volume of food may increase on a meatless diet, but the principle is the same.
Apologies for the length! I hope this is informative.
