Community post

I'm a vegetarian and I'm in my first month of TTC. I'm actually 95% vegan. I don't buy cheese, milk, eggs or butter but sometimes I eat foods that may contain some of these foods, that's why I say only 95% vegan rather than just vegan.

I've been vegetarian for almost 6 years and there's absoultely no way I will start eating meat when I become pregnant. I can get everything we need by eating a plant based diet.

I don't get many people asking me about my diet anymore (I guess everyone knows and has asked all their questions). But what I say is from plant foods. Then I go on to say how lots of different plant foods actually have lots of protein. My nephew who is 11 is also a vegetarian and that's his answer when people ask him where he gets his protein from.

My husband and I are veggie and we are raising our son veg too. I got the "protein" question so many times when I was pg and now...our son is a big healthy boy. Our ped says she has no concerns about our sons health (I ask all the time). He loves tofu and all kinds of veggies...he is a picky eater so I do stress about what he eats but overall I know his diet is much better than my friends kids that do eat meat.

I'm paleo, which means I don't consume any grains, dairy or processed foods, the diet basically only allows foods that would have been consumed by Paleolithic peoples before the advent of agriculture,(grass fed meats, fruits, veg, berries and nuts) the theory being that the diet provides the ideal balance of nutrients. *dairy is debated in the paleo community, but I'm alergic, so that solves that dilemma.

The idea of not eating processed and prepackaged foods is so foreign to most people and they always ask me if its safe. I point out that humans thrived on diets just like it for thousands of years (some primitive cultures still do) and it wasn't until processing and mass production that we developed the diseases of affluence. I'm also constantly asked how I get my calcium, I always reply the same way cows do, from greens:)

People all over the world have subsisted on varying combinations of food for ever and have thrived on everything from almost entirely meat based diets (inuit) to entirely plant based diets (hindu) and just about any combination between. The great thing about being human is that we are quite hardy and have a digestive system well adapted to digesting and assimilating nutrients from just about anything (as can be seen by the ability to consume mcdonalds and frozen dinners, lol) the studies are pretty clear, what food groups you consume most actually have little baring on your overall health and longevity, the only food that has been shown to have a dramatic impact on health and life span is the food that has been processed, and chemically altered by man.

I'm vegan, and have been for almost 6 years now and definitely plan to stay that way throughout my entire pregnancy. There are so many great vegan pregnancy books & resources - and other vegan women who have had healthy successful pregnancies- that I don't feel as if I have anything to worry about..

My boyfriend eats a mostly vegan diet ( except for chicken and eggs) so we plan to raise our kid vegetarian - though since we both don't eat dairy, I'm sure she/he will wind up mostly vegan too. Then we she/he is old enough, they can decide for themselves :)

I honestly don't think anyone (that is close to me at least) will question my decision sine they've seen how much happier and healthier I've become since changing my diet.