Any vegan/vegetarians who went back to eating meat?

buddhistbabex

I've been vegetarian for 6 years now. I went veggie when I was 15 after a girl I met in school showed me a "meet your meat" video. I've always been compassionate towards animals and felt so disgusted by what I saw that I instantly changed my eating habits. Lately I've been thinking about eating meat again for a few reasons... One, I want to be healthier and stronger but feel as though my "grilled cheese and french fry vegetarian" diet is getting in the way. I can't feel full off just nuts and greens and feel as though I should start incorporating chicken in my diet again. I think it would balance out my diet because I wouldn't rely solely on carbs to feel full. The second reason this is crossing my mind is because I don't have the same beliefs as when I was 15. Yes, I feel compassion for animals and I don't believe they should be bred in captivity and force fed a crap load of hormones to make them grow but I think there is a balance in life and a part of that balance is eating meat. I don't see anything wrong if the chicken is organic and free range instead of cramped in a cage with other chickens who are sick or dead. I'm really thinking about adding chicken and fish into my diet but I feel a bit guilty and I'm a little worried I'd get sick...

So to anyone who started eating meat again after years of a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle... How did you feel? Did you get sick at all? Did you gain weight or lose weight? Did you have more energy and strength?

mathmatt

Ok so I'm not going to answer the question that you actually asked but I'm going to give you some resources for how to be a healthy vegetarian/vegan since you are correct that your french fry/grilled cheese diet is definitely not.

Brendan Brazier's book Thrive
Tim VanOrden's website and youtube channel
Neal Barnard's book Food for Life
Matt Frazier's website No Meat Athlete.

And just something to look into, the "organic" and "free range" terms have very specific meanings and from what I've found organic means they were given organic feed, not necessarily a chicken's natural diet; free range means they have access to the outside. This could be a doggie door that they may or may not know how to use. If, in the end, you do end up deciding to eat meat again, I recommend looking into some local farms were you can see how animals are kept. And fish, check out http://www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx for fish that aren't in danger of overfishing and always buy wild caught.

AngieZumba

I was a vegetarian for 6 years and was experiencing GI discomfort in my last year. i went to the doc and she explained to me that it was all the legumes and dairy. I was also traveling for work and it became extremely difficult to find vegetarian diet in certain regions of the country. at first, i started re-introducing chicken and turkey. i maintained that for at least 6 more years until i eventually started eating red meat. i still have trouble digesting beef but the other meats i adapted to with ease.

I hope this helps.

pamelak5

I was a vegan for six years. I went back to eating meat and dairy. I didn't get sick. I try to eat less processed food and ideally don't eat meat every day (though lately have been eating more). Still drink mostly soy milk but eat other dairy products. I try to keep meat portions small.

ldy_78

I was an 'almost vegan' (I ate eggs from time to time) for almost 10 years and a vegetarian for about 12. A few years ago I started to eat fish and it's okay. I see a difference in my overall strength and stamina. I do not experience any ill effects otherwise. Oh, and I have been eating plain greek yogurt. Sometimes I feel as if that might contribute to gastric issues, but they are minimal. I have no ethical qualms with it. I try to get ethically sourced fish and seafood if at all possible. I find I eat less sugar now that I eat animal protein. That's a big plus.

nam985

I was a vegetarian for about 6 years, but went back to eating meat when I became anaemic. While I was careful to consume as much plant-based iron sources as possible, my body just doesn't want to absorb non-heme based iron. My physician gave me two options, supplementation which is hard on the GI tract, or start consuming meat again. Now, I was never vegetarian for political/moral reasons, I am more of a picky eater than anything else, I just don't care for the taste/texture of meat.

My body definitely took some time to adjust. The first month or so of resuming meat consumption my stomach wasn't too happy with me, but gradually it got better. If you do choose to start incorporating more animal products into your diet I suggest going slow and not just washing down a giant steak with some cheese and a milkshake.

MityMax96

While I am neither vegan or vegetarian...


I don't do a lot of red meat often....for weeks at a time.

So when I do have some steak or something, I know I can expect some stomach discomfort later due to my system digesting something it hasn't in a while

laurenjill

I was vegan for fours years, vegetarian for around five or six. I didn't really experience any changes when I brought dairy and meat back into my diet. I'm definitely not anywhere near being a vegetarian now, but I still enjoy a lot of veg cuisine when I go out to eat.

Naley2322

I dont know how anyone can go back to meat after being a vegetarian

I have been a vegetarian since I was 4... from before that I only ate limited chicken / fish ( my parents were almost vegetarian and only ate chicken and fish occasionally before i was born and became strict vegetarians when I did at age 4) I have never had red meat / ham / lamb in my life and never want to

Additionally I was a professional ballet dancer and had to be strong and was able to find all the nutrients using a vegetarian diet... there is a lot more than grilled cheese.....

Carnivor0us

I dont know how anyone can go back to meat after being a vegetarian

Well, plenty of people in this thread have explained why. *shrug*

redraidergirl2009

You know terms like "free range" and "humane" are just feel good words right? They have no meaning. Just FYI.

michikade

My best friend was a vegetarian for several years, but decided to reintroduce meat into her diet before she did some traveling abroad and felt she wouldn't always be able to find veggie options. She started with fish, then chicken, then later red meats. I don't remember her having much trouble transitioning back to meats but she did it pretty slowly -- she just didn't want it to really upset her system while she was out of the country.

It's really up to you whether or not you choose to bring meat protein sources back into your diet, but if you do I do recommend lighter meats like chicken or fish first and red meats later. But whether or not you choose to bring meat back into your diet, be sure you are eating a variety of foods -- vegetables of all colors, various fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes, whole grains and dairy (assuming you don't have any allergies).

ETA: if you are having problems with commercially raised meat sources, you could look into getting meats from actual farms or ranches (like, at farmers markets). It's going to be WAY more expensive than getting it at a grocery store (my experience has been that it's about twice as much per pound) but when I was getting my meat from those sources, those chickens were actually out in a field, eating off the land along with feed (so they were eating all the bugs and things too, like they would do in the wild), and laid what my friends and I deemed "happy eggs" because the yolk was bright orange rather than pale yellow like commercial eggs.

eeeekie

I was a full vegetarian for 9 months. Then started eating chicken and fish again. I stopped eating red meat (cow) and didn't eat it for 8 years. This last year I started eating it again...and started VERY slow. A bite here and there and now I eat it.

cursivepulse

I was a vegetarian for 4 years? I don't remember exactly, but I remember hearing how much energy one should have on a no-meat diet, which I never felt. I ate a much healthier and more balanced diet when I was a vegetarian, I didn't know how to eat meat and eat healthy for a long time, so I guess I had the opposite problem that you have. I didn't get sick, I personally felt exactly the same as I felt before. I also don't believe I gained or lost weight. If you were already eating unhealthy foods I don't think you'll notice a lack of energy compared to before or have any digestive issues, but you won't know till you try. I just recently upped my meat intake and feel much more satisfied in eating less than before when I would fill up on carbs. (still loves carbs so much)



Eating fish and chicken is probably the easiest for you to start with.

FIT_Goat

I was a vegetarian many, many years ago. I was vegetarian for over two years, bordering on vegan a lot of the time. I stopped for various reasons. I didn't transition softly back into meat eating. I had two "all-beef" gas station hot dogs as my first meat. No stomach or digestive problems arose. I think a lot of the stomach and digestive issues are nervous reactions more than anything. You don't need to ease back into it. Your body isn't going to handle fish or chicken in some magical way it wouldn't handle beef or pork.

You may not want to overdo it and eat two pounds of meat in a meal (at least not the first day) simply because meat is a lot heavier than vegetarian fare and you will get a belly ache from stuffing yourself.

Edit: Did I gain weight? No, I was gaining weight. When I started eating meat, my weight stabilized. I didn't lose, but I didn't gain either.

Did I get sick? Nope.

Did I feel better? That's why I started eating meat again. And, I felt great. Within a week, I felt better than I had for over a year on the vegetarian diet.

blastbeat78

I've been vegan for 19 years and the thought of eating meat or dairy ever again churns my stomach. There is no such thing as free range or humane slaughter. They're just terms dreamt up by the meat and dairy industry designed to ease your guilt.

DavPul

You know terms like "free range" and "humane" are just feel good words right? They have no meaning. Just FYI.

Correct. Just as "slaughter" and "inhumane" are just feel bad words to make you feel guilt. Hell, "guilty" is just a word to make you feel guilty.

TIL that words are just words.

SunofaBeach14

I've been vegan for 19 years and the thought of eating meat or dairy ever again churns my stomach. There is no such thing as free range or humane slaughter. They're just terms dreamt up by the meat and dairy industry designed to ease your guilt.

I evolved as an omnivore. To feel guilt over what I am at my core seems a bit silly to me. The lion feels no remorse or guilt for the slaughter of the gazelle, and I feel no remorse or guilt for my fried chicken. Perhaps, I avoid creating "undo suffering" (however one wishes to define that, and for me it is taking a clean shot, for example, when hunting), but that is far as I can go. You are certainly welcome to live your life as you see fit, but I certainly don't have to agree or be bound by your morality.

blastbeat78

The lion feels no remorse or guilt for the slaughter of the gazelle, and I feel no remorse or guilt for my fried chicken.
You are certainly welcome to live your life as you see fit, but I certainly don't have to agree or be bound by your morality.

Errr, I never said you had to agree or be bound my morality. And the lion kills the gazelle itself, you pay KFC to kill the chicken on your behalf.

Meerataila

I was lacto ovo vegetarian for years (I ate a ton of processed veggie junk like veggie burgers, sugar, and other crap most of the time). Meat tasted strange and definitely gave me a bellyache when I went back to eating it for awhile.

Going back to meat did not make me healthier (except the one time I went back to eating meat after the stupidest starvation diet ever that made me anemic, that time it probably did help). The other time I went back to eating meat I accelerated my weight gain. In other words, I was a fat vegetarian who got fatter faster on meat.

All that said, if you think your diet will be healthier with meat in it, eat the meat. You can't look out for any creature on this earth if you're sick. However, I'd plan it carefully using USDA guidelines and MFP to figure out a full healthy menu for yourself. Otherwise what makes you think you'll change from unhealthy eating to healthy just by adding something?

And if you're going to eat chicken, get organic unless you enjoy mercury in your food.

live2dream

If you care about animals, vegan is the way to go. There is way too much unnecessary suffering in the world already. Eating cheese and bread all the time is not going to make you feel good. If you care about yourself, eat healthy filling foods like rice, beans, whole grain pastas, lots of fruit and veggies. You will feel amazing and help the animals as well. Learn to cook yummy filling foods like vegan lasagna, veggie burgers, pizza, spaghetti, chili, veggie stirfry, pad thai....the list goes on and have a green smoothie every day. No need to go back to eating meat, you just need more variety and healthful foods. Check out ohsheglows.com, chocolatecoveredkatie.com (for amazing vegan desserts), vegweb.com, ... there's just so many good recipes out there I can't even take it sometimes! :flowerforyou: add me if you want advice, recipes or to check out my diary!