Cutting out the meat

AprilMae1975

So I watched the documentary "Vegucated" and I have decided to slowly cut meat out of my diet. I am almost a week in and I feel GREAT!!!! Is there anyone else out there decide to go vegetarian/vegan that can offer tips on going forward would be much appreciated.

pastryari

I meat.



http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/46-team-vegan

Binkie1955

Have not seen the film but the science of vegetarianism comes up short. Homo Sapiens are carnivores, certainly omnivores. The design of their alimentary canal makes that clear. We also lack the ability to make our own B12 which only comes from meat. We're not designed for grains of any kind, our insulin profile suggests we should minimize fruits, we can handle vegetables but our food of choice is always meat. our systems are designed for high fat, high protein and low carbohydrate diets. Sorry to burst your bubble. but stick with the bacon.

thisismeraw

Keep in mind Vegucated is a movie against all animal products and byproducts (so including all dairy, eggs, gelatins, etc etc). I watched this movie a while back just after I made the decision not to consume meat anymore (I am slowly changing to a Vegan diet now).

Make sure you are getting the nutrients you need. B 12 for example is only available through animal products or fortified foods. Look into getting nutritional yeast as it's the only non-animal form of B12 without going for fortified foods. It has a nutty/cheesy kind of taste to it. I use it when I make seitan (it's a fake meat... super yummy if you don't have a gluten intolerance), I put it on popcorn, in salads, in sauces, etc. Ensure you get your B vitamins and your iron etc.

Don't go for the unhealthy vegetarian foods. Be careful of which processed meats you buy as they can be loaded with sodium and other crap. It's super easy to make your own either with seitan or with textured vegetable protein.

Also, decide how strict you will be with it. Will you eat meat when at someone's house? Out at a restaurant? WIll you eat something that has been cooked with meat, has meat on it that you have to pick off, etc. If you won't eat meat again be sure to plan ahead. When I know I'm going to a BBQ, I bring a veggie burger with me or one of my seitan burgers. Check out restaruants before you go.. some have veggie options some don't outside of salad. So far I've noticed a lot of places are great with taking out the meat in something and adding in extra veggies. I personally will never eat meat again and haven't in over a year. Some people have been great with my choice... some not so much. I personally don't take about my diet choices unless asked .

Barbellerella

I meat.



http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/46-team-vegan

IN 4 the meat :drinker:

thisismeraw

We also lack the ability to make our own B12 which only comes from meat. We're not designed for grains of any kind, our insulin profile suggests we should minimize fruits, we can handle vegetables but our food of choice is always meat. our systems are designed for high fat, high protein and low carbohydrate diets. Sorry to burst your bubble. but stick with the bacon.

B12 doesn't only come from meat. Nutritional yeast has a great deal of B12 for a small amount.

And sorry but I dont' agree with everything else you wrote. We are humans and have the ability to choose what we want to eat. We don't have to eat meat. We can get by and be perfectly healthy without meat or animal products.

OP, in addition to my post expect people will make comments like the one above where the only proper human diet is a meat eating diet.

thisismeraw

Double post

pastryari

We also lack the ability to make our own B12 which only comes from meat. We're not designed for grains of any kind, our insulin profile suggests we should minimize fruits, we can handle vegetables but our food of choice is always meat. our systems are designed for high fat, high protein and low carbohydrate diets. Sorry to burst your bubble. but stick with the bacon.

B12 doesn't only come from meat. Nutritional yeast has a great deal of B12 for a small amount.

And sorry but I dont' agree with everything else you wrote. We are humans and have the ability to choose what we want to eat. We don't have to eat meat. We can get by and be perfectly healthy without meat or animal products.

OP, in addition to my post expect people will make comments like the one above where the only proper human diet is a meat eating diet.

This is absolutely true. You should definitely expect to hear differing opinions on any topic on a public message board.

cwolfman13

Just make sure you know how to get adequate protein, iron, B12 and other nutrients you'll be missing out on without meat...it's important and a lot of vegetarians falls short. I have nothing against people going veg, but I don't like to see people doing it without having put in the proper research in RE to how to get proper nutrition and make up for those things you will be missing in your diet by not eating meat.

AprilMae1975

Thanks for all the comments. I still need to do a lot more research, but my decision is to give it at least 30 days. What I can say is that I feel better than I have felt in a very long time and I can only contribute it to not eating meat.

Barbellerella

Thanks for all the comments. I still need to do a lot more research, but my decision is to give it at least 30 days. What I can say is that I feel better than I have felt in a very long time and I can only contribute it to not eating meat.

Maybe you feel great because you've created a caloric deficit that would have otherwise not been there.

jjjbeans111

Woot! Make sure you get all your nutrients - i keep some multivitamins/minerals handy just in case.....

It's a great way to try lots of new foods too. Before vegetarian, i had no idea what haloumi or paneer was.

Other protein options:
Textured vegetable protein
Nuts
Non-rennet cheeses (goaty cheese usually is sans-rennet)
Hummus
Lentils
Soy and soy products
Yogurt
Seaweed, sea kelp, those crunchy thin seaweeds - not high protein, but lots of nutrients and just yummy

ENjoy!

pastryari

Thanks for all the comments. I still need to do a lot more research, but my decision is to give it at least 30 days. What I can say is that I feel better than I have felt in a very long time and I can only contribute it to not eating meat.

Placebo effect.


Or not.


Just throwing it out there.

ExcelWithMel

I did a vegan diet for 3 weeks. Never felt better in my life. So much energy, digestion, sleep. My skin was clearer, my allergies disappeared, and my stomach has never been flatter. I am back to meat and dairy, but in much smaller quantities and less often. Try Karma Chow cookbook for some great recipes. Good luck!

magerum

I try not to make life decisions based off of movies.

AprilMae1975

Thanks for all the comments. I still need to do a lot more research, but my decision is to give it at least 30 days. What I can say is that I feel better than I have felt in a very long time and I can only contribute it to not eating meat.

Placebo effect.


Or not.


Just throwing it out there.

I know my body.....i feel different, can't explain it, just different.

jwdieter

The nice thing about trying out different diets is you pick up a wide variety of cooking techniques, and become more informed about macro and micro nutrients from a lot of different foods. Regardless of where you ultimately end up, it's useful knowledge.

If you want to have some fun with diet documentaries, watch "The Perfect Human Diet" and "Forks over Knives" in one evening.

ladynocturne

You can easily get enough protein, iron and other micro nutrients from being a vegetarian, it just requires a bit more knowledge and planning meals. It's a lot harder to get B12, but you can get it from cheese and eggs if you're still eating those. There is also a type of yeast some vegans use that contains natural B12. Or you can choose to take a supplement, I always try to get it from the source but this is an option.

Just make sure you're making complete protein chains, some of these look like: Rice and Beans or Cabbage and Potatoes. There is actually a ton of protein in grains as well like quinoa.

Be careful about eating too much tofu, it can cause bloating if you're sensitive, I try to keep it at 1 serving a day.

Most cereals and packaged foods generally come iron fortified, but there are plenty of foods that have iron in them: http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000119000000000000000-w.html

I switched to Pescatarian, which means the only meat I eat is fish. I also do not eat eggs, milk and I limit my cheese to 1-3oz a week. This has solved a lot of my digestion issues and I've been feeling fantastic. I did try to be vegan, and I still have days where I naturally eat vegan because I love it.

Good luck to you

AprilMae1975

I try not to make life decisions based off of movies.

The movie brought awareness. I chose to make a decision based on what I learned from it, not because of it...there's a difference.

willdob3

Giving up meat is a bad idea....

cwolfman13

I try not to make life decisions based off of movies.

But dude...Wayne's World was awesome...that's how I'm livin' brah!!!