Is it hard to become a Vegetarian??

Hi Everyone!

My name is Sarah and yes I am a meat eater... saying that I feel like i'm in a meat Eaters anonymous class.hahaha.. anyway jokes aside.

I REALLY want to become a vegetarian but I do not know the first step to doing it as well as the healthy way of doing it. I have lost 18 pounds since I started this site and am down from 186. I now way 169ish. I am really scared of doing it the unhealthy way and I want to know what foods are good and how people did it.

I don't want to be bored with it.. i want it to become a lifestyle that i'm proud of.

Thanks for your comments.

Hi Sarah. I just started last week myself and if I have one piece of advice, it's start slowly! I went cold turkey(no pun intended) and my body almost went into shock. I got sick so I went to the Dr. and she told me that my body is releasing all the toxins from the meat and that it would've been better to go slow and cut out red meats at first and just eat white meat and slowly eat less and less meat. I absolutely love veggie/soy burgers and they have so much variety at the grocery store (boca and morningstar).  Good luck!

I would recommend doing lots and lots of research before you even start.  Because you are right - you do not want to do it "wrong" and make yourself sick and then give up and go back to eating meat.

Read some of the post in this forum, get some good books on the topic - and google around (cautiously - there is a lot of misinformation on the net) and make an informed decision that's right for you!

Good luck!

P.S. I went cold turkey and I was fine.  Everyone is different, though.  I do have a difficult time believing anything about your body releasing "toxins" from meat - I would like to see some scientific basis for that.  What does this doctor consider to be toxins?

I went vegetarian at the age of 12. I started by cutting out all red meat (meaning meat from mammals), then about a half a year later I cut  out all animals from my diet. What really helped me stay with it was becoming reading up on the conditions of factory farms and the whole impact the meat industry has on our health, environment and what the animals have to go through (Fast Food Nation was a good but, but there are lots out there). Once you read up on that stuff, you won't want to eat meat again. Other things that help: meat substitutes for when you're feeling deprived, my favorite is Quorn.  Getting a  subscription to  Vegetarian Times, so you can stay up on Vegetarian and cook healthy recipes. Find some vegetarian restaurants in your area. It can get really boring when the Veggie burger is the only option, it's great when you get a whole menu to chose from. Don't be too worried about the small stuff either, like gelatin, rennet, and foods with small amounts of fish/clam sauce. I think it's too much for a new vegetarian to look out for all that stuff without getting burned out. The only time I got sick from being a vegetarian was when I moved out of the dorms and had to cook for myself for the first time. Anyways, too many carbs and not enough protein and fresh fruit and veggies made me really anemic, but it was easy to solve by eating a balanced diet and taking a muli vitamin with iron. Good Luck. The world needs more Vegetarians (BTW, eating a vegetarian diet does more good for the environment than giving up your car)

Bottom line: yes, you should do what it takes to become vegetarian/vegan. The more important question is what are your reasons for doing so because that will be your motivation down the line. If you think "oh, I just don't want to eat meat today....maybe I'll make that a lifestyle" you may be in for a bumpy ride. If your reasons stem from a heightened awareness towards the negative personal, social and environmental impact of meat/animal product demand and consumption, then that's a bit different. Without sounding "preachy," I'll just say that once something about meat comsumption blows your mind and turns your stomach you somehow find yourself on the path to a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle...or at least that's my personal experience as well as other people in my life. Watch programs about and read articles & books about the subject (just because it's interesting if not for anything else) and it may open your mind a bit.

Some things to think about though- when you eat out ALWAYS, ALWAYS let the server know your eating preferences. Even vegetable soups are made with chicken stock sometimes. You read labels for calories right? Look at the ingredient list too! If you do become vegan/vegetarian you'll probably end up cooking more which means you'll have total control over your calories (major plus!).  Just look at some of the recipes on this site and www.vegweb.com. They're amazing! And you can find something veg. off of any menu, even terrible fast food ones so no worries. But do go slow because your body WILL go into detox mode (be prepared to have to take fiber supplements.... but getting rid of toxins is a very good thing though). Example: start out with no red meat for awhile, then when you're used to that eliminate white meat, then reduce animal milk product consumption e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt made from animal milk (this was the hardest part for me! soy cheese is good but...ya know), then eggs, then maybe white flour (just because it's nasty) and before you know it you're there! Oh, and yes, you can get plenty of protein and calcium on a veg. diet- don't listen to people who say all vegans/vegetarians are anemic with osteoporosis. Good luck! Stay strong!

Original Post by fuzzys:

I do have a difficult time believing anything about your body releasing "toxins" from meat - I would like to see some scientific basis for that.  What does this doctor consider to be toxins?

 Watch Fast Food Nation or Supersize me. Also... imagine if someone took a handful of contraceptive pills all at once or if someone in hormone replacement therapy took their entire bottle at once... yeah, they'd become sick, duh. But the hormones in meat (oh, they're in there) come in small doses so our body goes "Huh? What's this... well, it's not much so I'll just store it," then when new, uninformed vegetarians start eating a barrage of just fruits and vegetables, it detoxifies the body big time and all of those hormones and other toxins stored in the body (from processed foods, the environment, etc) are released all at once. So it's sort of, but not quite like taking too many meds at once. Something like that.... The point is, there are toxic materials in meat because of the living conditions of the animals. Plus, when in detox mode, your body dispells most/all toxins, whether it's from meat or otherwise. This is a good thing, but if it happens like someone dropped a bomb (meaning all at once) then yeah, you're going to get sick.

I did recenty watch FFN but don't recall this.  Anyway, it didn't happen to me!

I found that the first couple of weeks after I stopped eating fish/chicken I started to crave it.  I attribute that to the fact that now I knew I wasn't going to eat it again, and therefore wanted it.  Before I stopped eating fish or chicken I might have had one or the other once a month. 

So, my advice would be, know that you might get cravings simply because you know you are not going to be eating certain things anymore.  But, these do not mean that you are in dire need of protein, or iron, or something. 

That being said, I would reccomend looking up vegetarian recipes online, or getting a cookbook, especially if you are not the biggest fan of beans.  I didn't really like them before I went vegan, and then I learned how to cook them and now I love them :-)

I wouldn't think you would need a fiber supplement, since presumably you will be eating more fiber in the form of nuts, beans, fruit, veggies, whole grains, to replace the meat you would have eaten before.

Have fun!

Trid

I went pescetarian (I know, not even close to vegetarian) for about 7 weeks during Greek Lent (we're supposed to go vegan but I can't give up cereal in the morning, I don't like non-milk milk, and don't really like tofu so I needed some protein ;p). It was quite easy because I kept finding different things to cook - veggie stir frys, vegetable burgers, seafood pasta etc etc. I didn't buy any chicken or red meat and thus I found it easier to adjust to not eating those things. My advice is to start slowly, maybe go pescetarian for a while until you start finding various things to cook and eat that are vegetarian, and then slowly phase out the fish and seafood.

Good luck!

I've been wanting to become a vegetarian for a while and have reduced the meat I eat to about 2 times a week.  I picked up the book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.  It is a hilarious book that will has made it easier for me to convert to vegetarian.  I would recommend it to anyone that is considering becoming a vegetarian.  Good Luck!!

 

Thank you all for your insight and replies. I really do appreciate the community here and that everyone is SoOO willing to give feedback! I have started my journey! woo hoo!

Personally I don't plan on giving up the red meat.  I am a true lover of steak.  But everything is in moderation.  I eat chicken, fish, pork and beef, but you do have to go with the leaner cuts and higher quality of ground beef, like ground chuck or ground round.  There will be definitely less fats in these.  I have seen alot of fat in chicken at times. 

Remember this is a life style change and not giving up life.

Becoming a vegetarian for me was hard in the first month.  I was a huge meat eater, and so is my mother.  It was in nearly every dinner that was cooked, basically.  So for me, giving it up wasn't easy.

I started in early June, and by June 10th I had messed up.  I was discouraged by my lack of self control and just gave up.  A few days later I decided that just because I had messed up once, didn't mean that I should stop altogether.

It's been 3 years now and I haven't eaten meat. (:  The one thing that I made a big mistake with, was, although I was a vegetarian I ate little vegetables.  My diet mostly consisted of sour gummy worms, orange juice, and other candy.

I realize now that to get the proper nutrients and whatnot, it's essential to make sure I get in healthy foods in my diet, as well as soy meats and tofus.

Sarah,

I've been vegetarian for almost a year now. For me it was suprisingly easy, I didn't really miss anything about meat. But, that's different for everyone of course, so you'll have to play it by ear with any cravings you may get.

If you're worried about not becoming a healthy vegetarian, try this...

What you're giving up becoming a vegetarian is protein (mainly). In order to get a respectable amount of it daily go to any local health market and buy; protein shake mix, it's an extremely good source of protein. Get an Amino Complex tablet mix, it gives you all the essential and non-essential amino acids that you get from protein. And, for an extra zip with cereals, yogurt, or anything appealing, try Hemp Hearts... they're hemp seeds and they work in many given recipes and taste good and reassuring in a lot of foods. Plus, if you're not going vegan, make sure to get an egg or a glass of milk every once in a while, it's good for your all around health!

A lot of people reject going veg because the food looks boring... not the case. It's not just tofu that's available. I usually get the magazine called "VegNews," it sells a lot of verrry tastey foods, such as vegan ice cream, cheese alternative pizza, vegan bread, even vegan spices! It also has a lot of different recipes and natural products listed. Health magazine (at a lot of health markets they hand it out free with purchases) is also a good resource. I saw that someone had suggested looking at www.vegweb.com... very good recipes! Going veg is usually under estimated but it tastes so good and it's so much more healthier AND it saves animals!:)... if you turn out anything like I did, you'll feel a heck of a lot better! Almost like a weight was lifted physically off your body, it releases a lot of meat toxins out of your system.

I hope this answers some of your questions and it put some fun into your options, Sarah. Good luck!

 

Do your research. Make sure you know how to get all of the nutrients you need. I ended up getting sick a lot when I went veg the first time (for about three years) because I wasn't taking a multi-vitamin and wasn't eating as healthily as I should. If it's something you really want to do, you'll make it work and it won't be that hard to make the transition. I went "cold turkey" the first time and it took two tries before I really buckled down and decided it was something I really wanted to do. After that, it was easy.

Original Post by tiffgw:

Original Post by fuzzys:

I do have a difficult time believing anything about your body releasing "toxins" from meat - I would like to see some scientific basis for that.  What does this doctor consider to be toxins?

 Watch Fast Food Nation or Supersize me. Also... imagine if someone took a handful of contraceptive pills all at once or if someone in hormone replacement therapy took their entire bottle at once... yeah, they'd become sick, duh. But the hormones in meat (oh, they're in there) come in small doses so our body goes "Huh? What's this... well, it's not much so I'll just store it," then when new, uninformed vegetarians start eating a barrage of just fruits and vegetables, it detoxifies the body big time and all of those hormones and other toxins stored in the body (from processed foods, the environment, etc) are released all at once. So it's sort of, but not quite like taking too many meds at once. Something like that.... The point is, there are toxic materials in meat because of the living conditions of the animals. Plus, when in detox mode, your body dispells most/all toxins, whether it's from meat or otherwise. This is a good thing, but if it happens like someone dropped a bomb (meaning all at once) then yeah, you're going to get sick.

I went vegetarian at the age of 13 or so and I don't remember ever getting sick. Then again, I never was much for eating meat for dinner as a kid, so the effect was probably not noticeable to me.

 

Goodluck on your new diet :)

I've been a vegetarian for 5 years, and I definitely recall a cleansing stage when I first began. I was very tired and weary feeling, with some digestion troubles. Once you climb that mountain, you feel healthy and fabulous. I lost about 30 lbs over a long period of time. But anyways, yes, there is a cleansing period.

 

YOU CAN DO IT
&
GOOD JOB WHEN YOU SUCCEED!!!

I can recommend a great non-meat alternative:  Quorn.  It's high in protein, low in calories, and has a great texture.  They sell these "cutlets" that resemble fake chicken, they have these crumbles which are similar to ground beef (I just mix this into tomato sauces and stuff) and chikn' tenders, which are great to stir fry with fresh vegetables.  It's in an orange box in the freezer section and has a great taste! 

There's more than that out there that's good, but right now those are my favorite products to cook with!