Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I am curious about something.

I seem to be noticing that transsexuals are more into vegetarianism and veganism than non transsexuals.  I am curious why that is, or if I am just nuts to think it.  I have to say though, that since I started transitioning, I wanted to try being a vegetarian for health reasons.  Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Let me know.

i have no idea on the relationship of veg. and trans. but i used to be vegaterian. that was before i would allow myself to accept being trans.

There's a lot of introspection and rethinking of one's life during transition.  It's not surprising that many of us would become vegetarians or vegans out of newfound concern for our health.

Also, for MTFs, a vegan diet will help you lose muscle.  I'm planning on trying it myself, for a while.

I spend a lot of time being vegetarian as I won't eat meat if it's not Halal. :)

It's the superior diet not only for health concerns but also for dropped weight both in muscle and fat.  Fast.

Quote from: Annwyn on May 02, 2009, 04:38:20 PM
It's the superior diet not only for health concerns but also for dropped weight both in muscle and fat.  Fast.

I think this is big.

Quote from: Kaitlyn on May 02, 2009, 12:28:52 PM
There's a lot of introspection and rethinking of one's life during transition.  It's not surprising that many of us would become vegetarians or vegans out of newfound concern for our health.

Also, for MTFs, a vegan diet will help you lose muscle.  I'm planning on trying it myself, for a while.

This is the reason I am trying it.  I have to say though, that it is more expensive than a non vegetarian diet.  The food is fantastic though.

Thanks for the responses.

20 pound bag of rice: $20 or less.

20 pounds of frozen veggies from wal-mart: $30

5 pounds of Tofu: $20(tops)

Ranch/butter/soysauce/herbs/pastesandsauces: $30

Assorted fresh produce(tomatoes, peppers, onions): $30

That's $110 for an entire month's worth of food for a MtF, or rather what I use to feed my brother and myself, both of whom eat about $5000 cals a day.

Please cite something cheaper than that, besides pure ramen diet.  Anorexia does not count as a diet.

Ok, well, you've got me there.  I still feel like I am spending more money, although it might be in my head.  It might be due to the fact that I used to spend about $20 or so a week on food, and now I am spending about $100 - $110 for about a month.

I did spend about $100 about two days ago, and the food should last me about a month, maybe a little less.  Rice, Tofu, Veggies, Noodles, Sauces, Bread.

Quote from: Valerie Elizabeth on May 02, 2009, 05:27:46 PM
Ok, well, you've got me there.  I still feel like I am spending more money, although it might be in my head.  It might be due to the fact that I used to spend about $20 or so a week on food, and now I am spending about $100 - $110 for about a month.

I did spend about $100 about two days ago, and the food should last me about a month, maybe a little less.  Rice, Tofu, Veggies, Noodles, Sauces, Bread.

To feed myself for a month it would cost less than $50

I like steak.

But I guess I'm also lucky -- doesn't matter what I eat, I can't get over 140 even if I try.  I don't have much muscle mass, but that's probably less to do with diet and more to with me being lazy and not exercising.

Veggies are a LOT more common among the LGBT crowd, not sure why.

I myself find the idea ridiculous. Unless of course you're trying to lose muscle mass.

I am not currently a vegetarian but grew up as one. Anyway I can say that even as a meat eater the majority of my food budget goes to fruits and veggies. I think you Annwyns bill looks reasonable. I try and make sure I eat the veggies and fruit that are in season in order to save money. In the summer I can grow all the stuff I need for salads for a reasonable price, now that it's established and all I need is the plants every year.
Myles

I did the vegetarian bit for about 4 months years back to try to lose weight. Nope, no results. I think I actually gained. In the end, I went back to my old meat-loving self, and the best thing I've ever done for my weight was to cut out sugary soda. Did that about three months ago, and I've seen my body shrink faster than ever before on any number of calorie-restricting diets, etc.

Man (and woman) was made to be omnivorous. Who am I to question that?

SD

I was vegetarian for 20 years, and vegan for three of those years. A few years ago my metabolism changed, I now eat fish or poultry occasionally, and once in a while even meat. My diet is still mostly vegetarian though, and we grow a lot of our own veggies.

Z

I lost 38 pounds of muscle in four years on HRT.  I eat a lot of meat every day.  I also eat veggies and fruit.  I try to keep sugar and carbs low.  My weight stays the same on this diet; however, my percent body fat has increased.

Quote from: Ketsy on May 02, 2009, 05:55:46 PM
I like steak.

But I guess I'm also lucky -- doesn't matter what I eat, I can't get over 140 even if I try.  I don't have much muscle mass, but that's probably less to do with diet and more to with me being lazy and not exercising.

Are we twins, separated at birth?

Quote from: Valerie Elizabeth on May 02, 2009, 05:27:46 PM
Ok, well, you've got me there.  I still feel like I am spending more money, although it might be in my head.  It might be due to the fact that I used to spend about $20 or so a week on food, and now I am spending about $100 - $110 for about a month.

I did spend about $100 about two days ago, and the food should last me about a month, maybe a little less.  Rice, Tofu, Veggies, Noodles, Sauces, Bread.

A lot of it can be what you're buying.  I guess you could say I'm a vegetarian at home (I only eat meat if someone serves it to me, brings it to my house, or I'm eating out...I refuse to buy/cook meat...too much trouble).  My roommate is a vegetarian and she spends WAY more on food than I do.  I highly recommend rice as a staple.  It's cheap, tasty, versatile, and good for you.  Also, frozen/canned veggies can be cheap if you get the store brand.  I also do frozen fruits...just thaw them with warm water.  The most expensive foods I buy are Boca burgers/chicken patties (although I can't find these lately).  But as long as you aren't eating a box a day, they aren't that expensive (about $3 for a box of 4...Morningstar Farms are more expensive).

I fix a cup of rice every day...I just stick it in the steamer and let it go.  Then I add to it.  I lost about 8 lbs in a week (well, 7-10 days...I wasn't that diligent about it) when I made rice my staple food.  Usually, the only things I add to it are kosher salt, pepper, margarine, and flax seeds.

A few (not all) of  vegetarians I know that spend a lot on food only eat organic fruit and veggies, which can get really expensive. If you are willing to eat the stuff that is not organic you can save money. Or grow your own then you know its organic. I lived in a town before this that probably has a very high Veggie rate per capita.
Myles

I'm tellin ya, I eat rice and frozen veggies with random condoments like herbs and ranch and butter and soy sauce added.  I spend very little money on food.  It's called wal-mart.

Actually billions of people in Asia eat very little meat.  At one time meat was a luxury and rich people ate it.  Basically all of North America likes meat. 

Now I love to cook and I love all varieties of food!  I have found that my veggie Indian friends from India tend to be thinner than their American counterparts.

I can lose weight if I cut portions but I weight the same as I did thirty years ago.

Small portions of meat are healthy for you.  You can stay lean if you eat good healthy foods and lots of varieties.  However fresh vegetables can be quite expensive.  I buy frozen stir fry vegetables and pay more for the vegetables than chicken.  Eggplant frequently is $1.49 a pound.  I can buy whole chickens at $.89 per pound.

Nuts are very healthy.  I love walnuts which contain Omega 3 and they cost about $6.00 per pound.  Round steaks/roasts cost about $4.00 per pound in one local store.

I know which stores sell which products at better prices.  I do spend a lot on good food.  I eat out infrequently.

Alcohol tends to be the biggest gainer of calories for me.  No less is alcohol full of calories it also reduces my willpower to stop eating.

I tend to know older TS folks.  Some are thin and some are heavy.  They all eat meat.

I think a day or two without meat is probably healthy.  However if you eat a healthy diet you can include many things.

 I`ve been veg for two years. I love the animals and have high colesterole so that is why I am veg. I also didn`t eat non organic meat when I did eat meat. So most of the meat I ate was caught fish in Hawaii. I do however spend 500 $ a month on food for the family. We eat all organic here. I haven`t noticed any loss in weight or muscle mass though.

Quote from: Wendy on May 03, 2009, 05:46:15 PM
Actually billions of people in Asia eat very little meat.  At one time meat was a luxury and rich people ate it.  Basically all of North America likes meat. 

Now I love to cook and I love all varieties of food!  I have found that my veggie Indian friends from India tend to be thinner than their American counterparts.

I can lose weight if I cut portions but I weight the same as I did thirty years ago.

Small portions of meat are healthy for you.  You can stay lean if you eat good healthy foods and lots of varieties.  However fresh vegetables can be quite expensive.  I buy frozen stir fry vegetables and pay more for the vegetables than chicken.  Eggplant frequently is $1.49 a pound.  I can buy whole chickens at $.89 per pound.

Nuts are very healthy.  I love walnuts which contain Omega 3 and they cost about $6.00 per pound.  Round steaks/roasts cost about $4.00 per pound in one local store.

I know which stores sell which products at better prices.  I do spend a lot on good food.  I eat out infrequently.

Alcohol tends to be the biggest gainer of calories for me.  No less is alcohol full of calories it also reduces my willpower to stop eating.

I tend to know older TS folks.  Some are thin and some are heavy.  They all eat meat.

I think a day or two without meat is probably healthy.  However if you eat a healthy diet you can include many things.

Not sure about all of Asia! Most of the Pakistanis I know are big meat eaters. If you count in chicken as well I would say Indonesians (Javanese) too tend to eat meat very frequently although in small quantities and not in
steak form as in some Western countries.

Best burger I've ever eaten was in Jakarta!

Quote from: imaz on May 04, 2009, 07:50:16 AM
Best burger I've ever eaten was in Jakarta!

Well we are off topic but too funny!  I was working with a group of Indian Asians that were all vegetarians on a database project.  The management ordered meat for Americans and veggies for the Indians at lunch to be culturally sensitive.  After a few weeks the meat disappeared at lunch and the veggies were left.   I asked the Indians what was happening to the meat.  They told me they were enjoying the meat.  Of course some Indians where strict vegetarians.... and the Pakistanis would not eat pork but did like beef!

Eat mor chiken!

The exact pricing of my grocery trip last night for a multitude of frozen veggies, soy sauce, ranch, italian, cheese, BIG BAG OF RICE, lots of tomatoes/tomato sauce, 20 pounds of tofu, and various other groceries totalled up a whopping $70, for two people who eat enough for 5 people.

Yup, it's totally an expensive lifestyle.

I've been vegetarian for a total of 22 years out of my life. I was vegan for several years too, before I began transition. While vegan I was living on a lot of soy. Soy was practically my only source of protein. I was also consuming daily flax seeds and danggui (Angelica sinensis) for extra phytoestrogens. (None of which worked.) But once I started HRT, I became concerned that the weaker phytoestrogens from all the soy and everything might block the receptors from the pharmaceutical estrogen I was now taking. So I went off the vegan regimen and back to lacto-ovo vegetarian.

I simply like being vegetarian. My body and my mind just feel better this way, and I love vegetarian food. Meat has zero appeal for me.

Quote from: Hypatia on May 05, 2009, 11:28:18 PM
I've been vegetarian for a total of 22 years out of my life. I was vegan for several years too, before I began transition. While vegan I was living on a lot of soy. Soy was practically my only source of protein. I was also consuming daily flax seeds and danggui (Angelica sinensis) for extra phytoestrogens. (None of which worked.) But once I started HRT, I became concerned that the weaker phytoestrogens from all the soy and everything might block the receptors from the pharmaceutical estrogen I was now taking. So I went off the vegan regimen and back to lacto-ovo vegetarian.

I simply like being vegetarian. My body and my mind just feel better this way, and I love vegetarian food. Meat has zero appeal for me.

Hypatia, years ago I took the pill form of photoestrogens, and pharmaceutical estrogen.  I think I just taxed my liver and spent a whole bunch of money.

By the way I have vegan genetic male friends that are very healthy.  I do think I would lose a lot of weight on a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.

If you use skim milk, and lay off the butter.

Quote from: Hypatia on May 06, 2009, 12:40:24 AM
If you use skim milk, and lay off the butter.

Queen Latifa couldn't have been more accurate when she said, "butter is the secret to life."  Or maybe it was someone else, but she was at least in the movie.

Hi folks,

Name's Kate, some of you may remember me under the old user name GQPat.  Anyway, in reading this thread I'm surprised that no MTF-spectrum person has mentioned the moral quagmire that comes with being vegetarian/vegan and taking PREMARINE as the main source of estrogen. 

This is my case :(

I've tried other forms of estrogen and they just really >-bleeped-< me up emotionally in a way that PREMARINE doesn't (for those not in the know, PREMARINE stands for PREgnant MAre uRINE).  When I was on estrace I literally felt like I wasn't on HRT but the thought of going back to PREMARINE felt ethically wrong.  Even though, when I was taking PREMARINE I felt balanced, calm, centred, etc.

Now, I've simply resigned myself to the fact that I have to ingest animal products to function in the world.  It's not the worst thing but it's not ideal you know?

Sorry if this was really incoherent, I'm still a lil' sleepy.

xoxo
Kate

P.S. It's nice to see that these boards are still active, it's been at least a year since I posted here.

Premarin, are you KIDDING?

As if that's the only drug on the planet that involves harm to animals.

How naive of you.

Quote from: Annwyn on May 07, 2009, 10:27:05 AM
Premarin, are you KIDDING?

As if that's the only drug on the planet that involves harm to animals.

How naive of you.

Never did I say that I thought it was the only drug that involves harm to animals, I simply talking about the fact that its the one drug that I have to take every single day, multiple times a day, to be able to function.

I really don't think my post deserved your level of condescension.

xoxo
K

I'm an environmental vegetarian.  It's been harder to stay a vegetarian after starting T because I've been craving protein (MEAT). I just need to get better vegetarian protein sources.

Quote from: transdyke on May 07, 2009, 09:46:51 AM
Hi folks,


I've tried other forms of estrogen and they just really <not allowed> me up emotionally in a way that PREMARINE doesn't (for those not in the know, PREMARINE stands for PREgnant MAre uRINE).  When I was on estrace I literally felt like I wasn't on HRT but the thought of going back to PREMARINE felt ethically wrong.  Even though, when I was taking PREMARINE I felt balanced, calm, centred, etc.

Now, I've simply resigned myself to the fact that I have to ingest animal products to function in the world.  It's not the worst thing but it's not ideal you know?

Kate I guess you tried sublingual oestradiol.  If you use an endo they can get the doses right. Welcome back.
...............................

Quote from: Kayden on May 07, 2009, 12:11:26 PM
I'm an environmental vegetarian.  It's been harder to stay a vegetarian after starting T because I've been craving protein (MEAT). I just need to get better vegetarian protein sources.

Kayden if you do a lot of strength training and eat meat  you should be able to gain a pound of muscle each month.  However a protein shake will work well by itself or in combination with meat sources. 

Quote from: transdyke on May 07, 2009, 10:43:08 AM
Never did I say that I thought it was the only drug that involves harm to animals, I simply talking about the fact that its the one drug that I have to take every single day, multiple times a day, to be able to function.

I really don't think my post deserved your level of condescension.

xoxo
K

There's blood all over just about anything you get in a pharmacy, not only animal blood but human blood as well.

Oh and well, you'll get over it.

Hey now, kids.  Let's play nice.

Premarin didn't do beans for me. I only took it for the first few months and then switched to Estrace which helped me to feel really good. But once I started Delestrogen, mmm baby my body went to town on that stuff.

A lot of Transgender people are vegan because animals are oppressed just like them. This form of discrimination is known as speciesism.

Hi, Star!

Welcome to Susan's.

Thank you for joining in.  Please note that this thread is nine years old.  You might have more fun joining in a thread that is currently active, or starting your own thread.  A great place to post your own thread is the Introductions forum (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/board,8.0.html), where you can tell the members about yourself. 

For what it's worth, I am a vegan, and I agree with you.


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Not a vegan here because I too am an animal, a predatory meat eater. And that's just how it is.

I'm a pescatarian but slowly switching over to vegan. I have a lot to learn about nutrition before I make the switch, I wouldn't just go 'cold turkey' pardon the pun, at least not on a vegan diet. ;D
For me it's all about choice, taking control over what I fuel my body with. A high carb plant based diet agrees with me on many levels. I've done it in the past and was the fittest I'd ever been.

Peace and love and all that good stuff,

Sadie

I've been a vegetarian close to vegan for 30 years.  It is just me and I don't miss meat one iota.  My husband is a rabid carnivore.  ???

I keep seeing every other trans person seems to be vegan/vegetarian as well, but wonder if that's really so or just a coincidence of sorts. I've noticed very many FTM's being vegan/vegetarian also, and not just MTF's though. Could be because of health reasons, if wanting to have a better diet for hrt and/or losing weight or whatever. Could also be moral ideas in some way or another.

I've tried it in the past but it really wasn't working for me at all, so I decided to go back to being an omnivore and stop beating myself up for liking meat and hating vegetables. Morally I don't think it's wrong to eat meat, just natural, but peer pressure has had me thinking about that in the past. Other animals eat meat, and last I checked humans are animals too.

Restricting my diet was a bad move for my serious lack of appetite and having no interest in food. I just ate less and worse and hated eating even more. I've recovered from my former eating disorder and have no wish to lose weight (nor do I panic over gaining), but I've just never liked to eat and that's been a struggle of its own since my early childhood. Restricting my diet made it more inconvenient/complicated which resulted in a negative impact on my health. At least when I'm eating meat I'm eating something.

Also I've just started trying to build muscle mass, so me not being vegan/vegetarian is probably an advantage in trying to get enough protein, which is already super difficult for me with no appetite, but I'm trying to force-feed myself as much as I can and can only hope it gets easier with time and patience. Why I'm like that, I've no idea. I'm physically healthy. Seen doctors but they don't know. It could possibly be some weird asperger trait though, for all I know. But it's gotten worse the past year and that's what's most annoying.

Vegan and transexual/gendered, I'm not sure there's a link or whether it just stands out more in people's minds/how they perceive you

I was vegetarian for a few months when I first started hrt. I goofed and didn't eat much protein.. Well I think my hair was growing slower because of lack of protein. I think it's a thing.

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

I trust what my body seeks out. It's not stupid. When I was largely vegetarian as a kid, it was because at that age I could not digest red meat properly. When I had an eating disorder I was craving meat from a lack of protein, my hair and nails suffered at the time. When I eat too much carbs, I naturally don't think about eating much the next day. When I eat too much junk, I start craving vegetables and healthy stuff.

In the end the best balance was struck by eating once a day, eating some meat protein with almost every meal, salad or vegetables with it, and limited refined carbs like bread. Red meat is the type I eat least, white meat next, and fish most of all.

My body seems to know what it needs and how much of it, and I've always been pretty healthy when I actually follow its instincts.

Moral philosophical arguments for veganism never held up for me. Maybe because clearly human beings do not have the digestive systems of strict vegetarian animals. Maybe because I studied biology and saw that everything is interconnected and everything consumed by everything else, and life always returns to be used again by something else. My abstaining from eating an animal isn't going to change that. If anything, being omnivorous was probably what enabled human beings to become as intelligent as they are and reach the evolutionary stage we have. A hunter needs a more complex brain, social and organizational structure than a grazing ungulate, a big brain needs protein and good fuel like meat is far more efficient than spending 12 hours a day collecting and eating leaves, and a big brain devised ways to make life easier for our species. If we had been like the cows grazing on the grass in the early stages of our evolution there would have been little incentive and push to have become more intelligent and evolve a highly complex brain. So I can't see the issue there. The only issue I have is that animals should be kept and slaughtered in a way that inflicts the least suffering and stress on them during their lives. So I don't eat foie gras etc. I also believe the "halal" method of slaughter is not a good one, compared to one that should be used in my country which is usually disablement by boltgun. Having experienced a traumatic brain concussion myself as a kid I can say that it was frankly a peaceful experience with no panic and no pain. It was a dreamlike state. Having your throat cut while aware and alive however is clearly not. So I'm certainly against the spread of halal slaughter techniques in the UK on moral and scientific grounds.

   

Transgender female here and I've been on a vegan/plant based diet since August 2017. Some of the benefits that I have seen are wt loss (from 168 to 150 # and maintaing 150 for 6 months), regulated digestion (used to go for 4 or 5 days without going but now it's one to two times a day and it's never constation or loose), less sexual drive (for me this is good), less heat/redness to face, much more muscle tone and much less bulk. For me it's just easier to eat this way. It did take about 6 weeks for my gut microflora to get on board, but once the pathogenic bacteria die off it's much easier because you literally don't crave meats. In fact it somewhat grosses me out when I smell meat now. Now I do cheat every now and then when I have to. For example I just went to Seattle for vacation and my wife's family fixed a Korean dish called bulgogi with meat in it. It woukd have been insulting for me not to eat it. So you don't have to be too extreme, but just make it your over all goal to try and eat less meat. BTW my lipid panel and Hgba1c were ridiculously good.

Veganism and vegetarianism has been gaining ground in the last decade or so and there has been a big increase in people cutting down on meat or 'Flexitarian'. Not full-blown vegetarianism, but people are dramatically cutting down on how much meat they consume.

I'd put myself in this category. I no longer look at meat as an essential part of a meal,  but as something that can be added to help round out everything else.

When eating out I'd use to focus on how much meat was in a dish and that was the deal-maker. Now I look at everything that comes with it and not if the steak is 8oz or 14oz.

As far as a link between trasngenderism and being vegan/vegetarian, as someone mentioned early on, I think its because people are forced to confront the way they view the world and look deep inside themselves rather than just living on the surface. And that naturally leads to more people considering where their food comes from and if they are REALLY OK with that?

Transgender+Vegetarian+Buddhist here. It's better for this body, better for this planet and better for my Karma ;)

I question whether statistically, we are any more vegan than the rest of the population. I'm omnivorous, I do favor veggies though and probably eat meat 3 days a week.

Well I've been vegan for a month now and feel much better for it. Lots more energy, slowly loosing weight, skin's never been better.
I did a lot of research before switching though to make sure I'm getting the right balance. I also supplement B12, Iodine, DHA and EPA.
The toughest part for me was getting others close to me to respect my decision, and because I did a lot of vegan internet searches I'm now getting bombarded with meat adds on google. Strange world we live in.

Peace and love and all that good stuff,

Sadie

Quote from: Shy on July 06, 2018, 09:41:24 AM
Well I've been vegan for a month now and feel much better for it. Lots more energy, slowly loosing weight, skin's never been better.
I did a lot of research before switching though to make sure I'm getting the right balance. I also supplement B12, Iodine, DHA and EPA.
The toughest part for me was getting others close to me to respect my decision, and because I did a lot of vegan internet searches I'm now getting bombarded with meat adds on google. Strange world we live in.

Peace and love and all that good stuff,

Sadie

That's awsome Sadie! It usually takes 4 to 6 weeks for your stomach bacteria to adjust and it's smoother sailing after. I'm coming up on one year vegan diet next month and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.