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If you estimate, on a scale from one to ten, how hard is it to make the transition from eating meat to not eating meat at all. I've been threatening to give up meat for a long time. And I've decided I'm going to. I'm either going to start sometime soon, or I'll start when Lent rolls around.
Just be glad that I decided to give up meat. For awhile I was considering giving up Christianity and giving Buddhism a try. I figured the minister at my church would be rather unhappy with me over that. Especially since I got confirmed last year.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I'll say this: I could never do it. I dislike too many fruits/vegetables, and I love meats too much. It'd be an impossible task for me, which is why I never plan on trying it. Good luck to you though. I have several friends who have successfully become vegetarians, so it's not totally impossible.
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
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I've been a vegetarian for probably 14 years or so simply because I was a very picky eater as a child and didn't like meat among many other foods. Now, I'm so used to not eating it and I still don't like the texture or even idea of eating meat that I'm going to stick with being a vegetarian.
But I have a friend who went vegetarian and he loved meat and I think it was pretty hard for him. I'd say just get yourself off slowly if you really like it.
Posts: 2867 | Registered: May 2005
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It's not that hard, provided you cook your own meals. It is a royal pain in the butt to be vegetarian in someone else's house. The only reason to do it when you're a teenager and your parents are cooking for you is to annoy the heck out of them.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Very true. If you can convince your parents to change their diets for their own sake, it can be quite simple. Provided they can cook.
Because that's the other catch: if you can cook well, being a vegetarian is quite easy. Otherwise, you'll quickly get tired of iceberg lettuce.
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Heh, my mom's a good cook and they (the parents) decided to have vegetarian tendencies of their own accord.
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So you got lucky. *grin* Downside, of course, is that means you have to go vegan if you want to tick 'em off.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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It also depends on what you mean by 'vegetarian'. Depending on how hardcore you want to be, it can be very difficult. As in, if you absolutely will not eat anything that has anything in it that comes from an animal--you can't eat jello because it has animal byproducts in it, nor ice cream, etc., it's very hard because that basically means you are only eating either what you make or what you bring with you.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Well if you aren't eating animal products at all, you're technically no longer vegetarian, you're vegan.
Tom: I could never ever go vegan, it would mean using soy milk and no more normal ice cream or pudding. Or just about anything.
Posts: 2867 | Registered: May 2005
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I'm not a full vegetarian, I still eat chicken. To give you a better idea on how difficult it is, I'll tell you where I live: Nebraska.
I frequently get made fun of by friends, who think I am weird for doing it, and my co-workers just roll their eyes and sigh heavily. I don't run around preaching my gospel, I just say, "No thank you," when it's offered.
I thought I would never be able to do it. I was a die hard red meat eatin' gal. My mouth simply watered at the mere thought of consuming a filet mignon. It was when I met Phil that I started to think of beef as cows. I've managed to stay in denial of it for a long time. I imagine that I would come to the same conclusion regarding chickens if I cared to entertain it, but then I would probably starve because I really don't care too much for lots of veggies.
I haven't consumed a mammal for almost two years and honestly I'm content with this life style change.
I wonder if overall I'm more healthy. Probably not though, you wouldn't believe how many different ways you can make chicken bad for you.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Assuming 1 is not very hard, and 10 is hard, I'd go with 2. The only reason I wouldn't say 1 is that it's harder to eat out. But then, as has been said, it depends on if you like meat. I never did, at all. Asked how hard it was to go vegan from vegetarian, I'd probably say 7. I *did* really like milk products.
Most things I've read have advised doing it slowly. Eat less meat. Then less meat. Then cut it out. And get used to eating protein-rich, iron-rich, healthy vegetarian meals from the get-go, and you won't be tempted to slack later and compromise your nutrition. That's definitely the hardest part about going veg, and the part that sometimes gives it a bad name as being "not as healthy as meat diets". You have to do it properly, but it's really not that hard if you start well. Good luck!
Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I found it hard when I was eating all my meals out. Very few restaurants have vegetarian meals that have enough protein. They will have some dish they tout as vegetarian, but it's just a salad! It won't have any protein in it at all! I don't understand why anyone thinks that makes a complete meal.
I'm ovolacto so that makes it much easier for me. I drink 3 big glasses of milk a day and get almost all my protein requirements that way. Each 12 oz glass of milk has 12 g protein. Three of those a day makes 36g and you need maybe 45g a day, so I get another 10g from other sources like eggs, cheese, peanut butter, black beans, or whatever I feel like eating.
I had to try several times before I figured out how to make it stick. At first I would not get enough protein, and the deficiency would build up over time, so that in 3 or 4 months I'd start to get sick. Then I'd have a craving for a huge steak, go get one, and instantly feel better. I learned not to let it get to that point. I am just very careful about protein.
Another thing that happened to me about 4 months after I stopped eating meat is that my fingernails got weak and started splitting. Not long after that I started taking the amino acid L-carnatine, which is present in meat, and which vegetarians sometimes don't get enough of. This fixed the split fingernails and is also seemingly good for my type II diabetes. I get it from GNC.
I think it's a great thing to be a vegetarian, and I'm very glad I am one. It isn't hard to me at all now, as I totally don't want meat anymore. I went meatless in early February of this year, so it's been almost nine months. I'll never go back. Meat has this smell and flavor that doesn't appeal to me now. It's a little like the way something smells when it's decaying.
I would eat meat if I were put in a situation where I couldn't get adequate nutrition any other way, but otherwise I really prefer not to eat it. I really wish you luck with the changeover. Let us know how it goes.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I know what many people consider veganism to be, but I don't know that Steve does.
I also didn't want to get into an argument about what 'real' veganism is. People do have different opinions on it, just like they do about what constitutes real communism, alchoholism, etc.
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Yea, people have at times asked me if I was a real vegetarian and I was like uh.. yes? Apparently there are those who only eat fish, but otherwise are vegetarians.
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Fortunately for you, Steve, all the best desserts and snacky foods are vegetarian. You can eat two desserts and never miss the burger! Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I suppose I am considered a pollo (poll rhymes with boy, like the double y in spanish) vegetarian. I don't eat seafood but Phil does, so he's considered a pesco pollo vegetarian.
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See, I don't use the word "vegetarian" to describe people who eat chicken and the occasional vegetable. In my experience, such people are really chickenarians.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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To me, vegetarian at basics means not eating meat. People often claim to be vegetarian who eat chicken or fish, and that to me is wrong. They're someone who "eats mostly vegetarian meals" or who "only eats chicken/fish". (This is not directed at you, Valentine, incidentally.) Then there's hardcore vegetarianism, which means not eating gelatin or rennet or other dead-animal ingredients. It's all on a scale of vegetarian, though.
Then, to me, veganism at basics is not eating or using things that contain animal products from live animal or dead animal sources. Hardcore veganism means also not eating or using things that have in any way come into contact with animal sources (ie. white sugar, things that say "may contain traces of egg", "manufactured in a facility that uses milk", etcetera.)
As Storm Saxon said, though, there's a lot of debate about "official definitions".
Tatiana, you might want to think about taking a simple multivitamin, if you seem to be sensitive to low levels of certain nutrients. Not so much for protein, maybe, but for a lot of other things that vegetarians often slack about getting. Other good sources of protein are nuts, beans/legumes, tofu, most other soy products like tempeh, miso, veggie burgers, and soy milk, and also chick peas, and certain grains (quinoa's good). Curry is a good choice for vegetarian meals, or things like spinach lasagna (with tofu if you like) that are iron-high but still taste like normal, every-day food.
Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Going vegan was pretty much effortless for me, it was either that or no more kisses from my then girlfriend. It’s lasted a lot longer than she did . It is harder to eat out, although many university residences in Canada seem to be providing vegan meals now, although that wasn't the case where I went to school at the time. If you want my opinion, though, the hardest part of being vegetarian is dealing with the people who are absolutely militant about the diet and use it as a tool for moral superiority. Of course, I bet that's the worst part about being Christian too, so you lose both ways!
Really, though, if you are serious about making a big change to your diet, see someone. Someone who can tell you what vitamins and minerals are in what, give you some easy recipes to try that’ll add up to a balanced diet, things like that. It's so easy to be a vegan/vegetarian (or meat eater, for that matter) poorly. If you're serious about it and not doing to rebel/annoy your parents/score with a chick, than be serious and find out what you're really getting into.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I thought I'd make a plug for a chain with really good vegetarian food. Moe's Southwest Grill has lots of great vegetarian meals with plenty of protein. My favorite is the Art Vandelay burrito, only I get mine Buck Naked, meaning without the burrito wrappings. I think you get more of the good inside stuff that way. You can even get low-carb vegetarian, which is exceedingly rare in restaurants, if you skip the chips, burrito wrapping, and rice. The beans are pretty low in carbs, and most of what they do have is fiber, which doesn't count on my carb counting method.
I'm not that big a fan of tofu, but usually do get either plain stir fried veggies or tofu at chinese restaurants.
Does anyone else have good suggestions for vegetarian restaurant food with enough protein?
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Meh. I honestly don't care what my offical "title" is. I suppose my personal feeling toward cows (and mammals in general) is different than how I view chickens. They are ugly and taste good.
Perhaps eliminating red meat would be a good first step for Steve though...
But since you mentioned it, could you recommend some good soy and tofu products? Being fairly new to all of this, it is taking a while to experiment with those products. They are expensive, so I don't want to buy something that I'll throw out, which I realize may happen anyway. I tried a veggie burger when they were giving out samples at Sam's and hated it.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Ehh, it's really a trial and error process. Veggie burgers range in taste just like any other food. There's crunchy, seedy ones, and there's ones that taste as close to a real burger as you can get. Soymilk has the same range, from chalky tasting (Natura brand) to creamier (Silk) to in-between (So Good). It just takes experimenting.
I find one of the easiest things to do is just put tofu, lentils, chickpeas and such in other things as a sort of extra ingredient. Lasagna is a good thing for that, and curry, as I mentioned. Soups can be made with pretty much anything, too, and you can substitute random vegetables for meat in some recipes like shepherd's pie. I'd recommend the cookbook "How It All Vegan" if you're looking for recipes. Lots of them are very easy and not too expensive. I'm really not much of a cook myself and it's been a lifesaver.
Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Eggplant is really hearty and can replace meat in dishes like lasagna.
I loved the veggie patties they used to have at Subway. Now most Subways around here don't do that any more. They have the Veggie Delight which doesn't have enough protein. I get it with extra cheese but it's still pretty low in protein.
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Come to think of it, I think Bob and Dana served some eggplant at their wedding. That was the first time I ever tried it, I liked it a lot but I haven't attempted to make it yet.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I did the "no mammals" thing for a while before I went totally vegetarian. It's a good intermediate step.
Also for a while I ate meat whenever I was at family suppers, because they're intolerant of differences. I already was annoying them by refraining from alcohol, tea, and coffee, so I didn't want to upset them more. I don't understand why, but when someone sees your plate or glass and asks why you aren't eating or drinking something, if you reply, "oh I gave that up" it can make them annoyed if they still eat or drink it. I would like to think of some good silly answers to make to head that off. (Ever since I saw Chicken Run I just can't bring myself to eat meat? I ate so many burgers that I felt I should moooooove to a meatless diet? My Kung Fu instructor is nonviolent and refuses to train animal killers? BSEs, e.coli, salmonella, and avian flu convinced me to go vegetarian and now I've got the green bean blight?)
You might want to try eating one meal with meat a week for a while, and see how that goes. Intermediate steps do seem to make it easier.
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I like the way Boca Burgers taste, but Morningstar Farms are pretty meduim. They also have vegetarian hotdogs, chickenlike fingers, and chickenlike nuggets. The hotdogs I've tried are pretty bad but I enjoyed the chickenlike substances. Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Oh one more thing I was going to add. There are lots of different standards for what type of vegetarian you are. My standard is I don't eat anything (or try not to eat anything) that an animal had to be killed to provide. So gelatin is out, as is lard, but eggs and milk are fine. I don't buy anything new that's made from leather, but I still use leather things I already have. I buy catfood made from meat for my cats, and I buy and cook meat for my guests if they are used to eating it, though I will also provide vegetarian meals for guests too sometimes. That's what works for me.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I'm not a vegetarian, but my husband has been since birth, and it's been pretty easy for us. I don't cook meat at home, we usually choose to go to one of the restaurants around here where 50-100% of the menu is veggie, and we shop at the co-op, where we can share junk foods without spending hours deciphering the ingredients list. If I woke up one day and suddenly decided that I'm not comfortable with eating other animals, I wouldn't have much of a problem cutting meat out entirely.
Moral of the story: You wanna be a vegetarian, do it in Ithaca, NY. Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Most people these days are pretty tolerant of vegetarians. They might disagree with it, but they're unlikely to kick up a huge fuss if you politely turn down a meat dish. Now, if you start demanding your own personal main course at your friend's house that's iron-rich with a complete protein, they might start grumbling. I think especially if you give people a warning or simple explanation though, they're likely not to mind. I do, however, think a simple explanation of your decision might do better to soothe the annoyance of anyone else than a joke-like response. In their place, I would find it hard to see it as a serious decision that I should respect if they seem unwilling to give me a serious explanation about why they're doing it.
Veganism is trickier in terms of politeness. I admit, I tend to let myself cheat sometimes rather than supremely inconvenience a person I'm already imposing on somehow. I recently stayed with an elderly friend of my parents for a few days when I moved to a new city, and I mentioned I was vegan, and I did offer to get all my own meals, but she would have none of it. She understood I wouldn't eat hunks of meat but that's where it stopped. So I felt okay politely turning down the chicken breast, but when she made me an omelette for lunch, I smiled and choked it down.
Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Oh, and SteveRogers, it really is a good idea to see someone about changing your diet, like BtL said. I went to see a nutritionist at my school when I switched diets and they gave me tonnes of pamphlets and information sheets and tips about how to get iron, protein, calcium, etc. It's a pretty common request so I'm sure your doctor's office has resources on hand. It's far easier and safer than trying to sift through online resources or books to get information when you don't know everything you need to know. And it's *so* easy to miss something important and have it come back to kick you in a month or ten years. Health isn't something you want to compromise when you can avoid problems right from the start.
Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I used to be a social meat eater in my late teens, early twenties. I didn't prepare animal products for myself, but I did eat it when I went out or was with my friends. And yes, that was what I officially called myself - a social meat eater. If it works for social drinkers, why can't it apply to me?
The accompanying bit of info with this, though, is that I started having problems eating pork when I was in my early teens, and couldn't tolerate beef by the time I was in my late teens. Then had problems with chicken as my gallbladder went foul (pun intended ) As soon as I had that yanked, I have no problems eating either beef or pork.
Now, I eat meat more regularly, as in most days. But living in Sri Lanka, portion sizes for meat are much smaller than portion sizes in Canada (in general - as in, what's served in restaurants, and what's commonly considered a portion size by the locals). So while I eat meat pretty close to every day, I'm not overdoing it.
Back when I did the social meat eater thing, I educated myself - read books, did the research, and knew all about where to get my sources of protein. It still wasn't enough for me. But then, as I later found out, I'm allergic to the main grains like wheat, oats, and corn, so it's possible that it was more a reacion to that than an absence of meat, but yeah, I feel better when I eat meat.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote: Apparently there are those who only eat fish, but otherwise are vegetarians.
One of my friends is like this. She refers to herself as a veg-aquarian.
Mind you, she only has stopped eating meat since she started working with cadavers at Med School. *grimace*
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I find handling meat bothers me more now after having been veg for some time. I used to work at a deli (I never ate deli meat to start with) and it never bothered me to work with, but now I find it does.
Imogen, I like the veg-aquarian label. I suppose it's like when I ate that omelette; I briefly switched from vegan to veggan.
Edit: And quid, that's a good term too. I have a friend who's a social omnivore, but he calls it being a "vegetarian of convenience".
Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Heh, vegetarian is so hip, everyone wants to use the word to apply to their diet in some way. I'm half expecting people to say "I'm a vegetarian but I all kinds of meat. Ooo, is that dog?"
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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That's interesting, Astaril. I have always been revolted by raw meat. If I am forced to cut it, it is with latex gloves and done as quickly as possible.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by quidscribis: I used to be a social meat eater
I get the image of a bunch of jackels gathering around in an amiable circle around an antelope carcass.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by SteveRogers: I've been threatening to give up meat for a long time. And I've decided I'm going to. I'm either going to start sometime soon, or I'll start when Lent rolls around.
Just be glad that I decided to give up meat. For awhile I was considering giving up Christianity and giving Buddhism a try.
I was referring to Steve's posting that he was considering giving up meat for Lent, and immediately following that with a statement that he was considering giving up Christianity. The juxtapositiion of those two statements struck me as ironic.
I certainly meant no disrespect.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Cooking and eating for yourself is easy (and cheap) as a vegetarian. Eating out can be more difficult, depending on where you are. The main thing is to learn to cook interesting things with vegetables, so your diet does not get repetitive.
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