Anyone considering a switch to a Vegitarian diet?

jgic2009

I've seen all the talk on here about being veg something or another. I'd have to say after thinking about it for a few min. that two things are extremely apparent to me. 1) As humans we are the top of the food chain and as such we are designed to eat BOTH meat and veggies as part of our NATURAL diet. 2) Meat of any kind is WAY too good to give up for any reason. Just remember if you cut out meat OR veggies you are not getting the nutrition nature says you should get.

Meat is not the only source of protein out there. You can (and many people do) have a balanced diet that does not include meat.

cgsr

I just recently switched to a Vegam diet (August 8th start date) and I have to say, its not that bad. Believe me, I am a foodie at heart...and one of my FAVORITE things to do was go to a Brazilian steakhouse and keep that little coaster/card on the green side (hopefully you've gone to one of these restaraunts and know what I mean...if not I can explain)

We didn't make the change collectively (my wife and son), and my wife, in fact, switched to the diet first. I usually do most of the cooking, and it wasn't to hard preparing two meals (one for my son and I, and the other for her). Now that I've switched over, we still allow or son to continue a "regular" diet...but are slowing making the transition.

There are SO many options available to vegetarians and vegans now...and if you're not a picky eater...you will love them! I love the fact that now, when I get full...its usually full of really healthy stuff, not to mention its so much easier to stay under my calorie goal.

In addition to being vegan, we have cut out all refined and/or processed sugar. THIS IS THE CHALLENGE!!! Its so difficult because EVERYTHING just about has refined or processed sugar, but again, the benefits outweigh the challenges. Thats what you have to remember...the benefits/reason why you change your diet usually offset the headache in doing so.

Good luck!

lindainak

Try switching slowly. My doctor ordered diet is one portion of poultry or seafood every other day.

My husband has lost 50 pounds on my diet and is quite pleased with himself. Previously if I was watching what I eat then he would passive aggressively rebel until he hit 280 pounds and could hardly tie his shoes.

My daugther has a husband who now has a limited diet so she is very pleased to cook within my diet limits within reason but he is kicking and screaming the whole way. Her latest arguement with him was that all beef is equal. He wants prime rib to be a part of his diet!

russelljclarke

Hey Charger440, a couple of things you've said are debatable. Firstly that we should eat meat as we are at the top of the food chain. My response to that is that we are also at the top of the evolutionary scale, and should surely be making the logical/ethical choice by moving away from meat, even if slowly. By logical I mean that dwindling available land would be better used rasing crops, not grazing livestock. Secondly that veggies can't get a balanced diet. Completely wrong, veggies just need to make sure that all the bases are covered by varying their diet.

starracer23

I'm pescatarian (i eat dairy, fish and eggs) I really love it.
I still have moments where I want to eat meat...but they pass quickly.

If you really want a reason to not eat meat....watch "Food Inc." it should help deter you from it.

jessbennett1986

Hi Kyle!

I made the switch to vegetarianism about 9 months ago. It is difficult if you like the taste of meat, like I do. It is a personal decision. My husband and daughter and about 90% of the rest of the people I know are NOT vegetarians. I still cook dinner for my family with meat included. I don't have a problem with that because it is their choice. The reason I went vegetarian is because I am not a fan of how 90% of cattle and other meat are raised and slaughtered.

There are TONS of different levels of vegetarianism. I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian. It means I eat dairy and eggs (personally only if the eggs are in something, I will NOT eat them raw). I do not eat any red meat, poultry, or fish. That is just one type of vegetarianism. You can decide how much you want to "cross over". Here is a link that explains all of the different types out there, along with being able to modify it however you want.

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/tp/TypesofVeg.htm

There are a lot of imitation type meat out there that vegetarians AND Vegans have options. They are processed and have a pretty high sodium content but if you really love meat it might be worth it to try them and have them once a day. BOCA and Morningstar both are great alternatives. Also, some food markets sell TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein). It looks like grains, but when you add water and a little bit of oil to it and cook it, it turns out like hamburger and is great in lots of hamburger recipes and is tasteless besides whatever you add in for flavoring. I use TVP for sloppy joes and my family cannot tell the difference. There is not a lot of research out there to determine if TVP is good or not for you, but these days it seems like EVERYTHING is bad for you. Good luck and friend me if you want!

russelljclarke

We have TVP in the UK, mainly Quorn products. They're great, and low calorie too.

before20

I've been both low-carb and vegan for about a month now, and I really don't miss the meat. It was a bit hard at first because my mom and sister were both eating meat regularly and the house smelled like it, but I think because veganism was a natural transition from the juice fast that I had been doing, I had the willpower to avoid everything. Plus, its made me more creative in the kitchen! I love finding new recipes and substitutes that I can try out, and also new flavors from vegetables that I had eaten so rarely before. I joined MFP so I could keep track of the nutrients I was getting, and I find that Its easy to get protein and iron from TVP, soy, nuts, seeds and fruits and veggies. The health food store is my new best friend haha! I love it though and its really helped me lose weight and gain more energy. If it works for your personal goals, then meat really isn't worth it.

gingerb85

Due to a recent High Blood Pressure diagnosis. I have dramatically dropped the amount of meat that I eat. Along with sodium rich processed foods and junk food in general.

I have been rolling around in my head for some time the possibility of making the switch to a Vegetarian diet (Not Vegan, don't think I could handle Vegan!)

Anyone out there considering this type of diet change?

Anyone who has made the change recently? If so, any pitfalls or difficulties?

Anyone who is Vegetarian who lives with non-Vegetarians? If so, how is this working in your home?

In my mind I know that the switch will benefit my health greatly. But, to be honest, I was raised in a meat & potato family. The smell of a steak on the BBQ or Bacon frying is pleasure to my nose, not to mention my tastes buds.

Thanks for any feedback.

I'm a vegan living in a house full of carnivores. (Okay, omnivores.) It definitely works.

I went on a vegan diet almost two years ago to hopefully stave off a host of health related issues that run in both sides of my family (high cholesterol and heart disease on my dad's side, diabetes and high blood pressure on my mom's). My dad went vegan more than 10 years ago to reduce his astronomically high cholesterol level (over 400) and it's now less than 150.

I was also raised in a household where meat was the star of the meal with a starch and a veggie on the plate playing only bit parts.

Before I changed my diet so drastically, I decided to cut back on the meat we were eating. Mainly for economic reasons, but health played a little role as well. I started by making a menu for the week and sticking with it. A vegetarian meal one day a week. Then it went to two days a week, fish two days, chicken two days, red meat only one. Lots of veggies. Rare starches. Added whole grains like quinoa in there.

Then I started using recipes that used meat as an ingredient only rather than the star. Can you see where this is going?

The impetus to go completely vegan actually was a result of a fast our church does twice a year. It's called the Daniel Fast - only fruits and veggies. I felt so much better on the Daniel fast that after the third time, I was ready to scrap meat altogether. My husband had gone on the fast with me and at the end of it I asked him if he'd be okay with alternating meat meals with vegan meals. He said yes.

It is almost two years later and we definitely eat more vegan meals than meat meals. Beef and pork are very rarely seen at our house. I have introduced my family to Field Roast grain meats and use those occasionally in dishes. I used the Field Roast Italian sausage in a dressing for last Thanksgiving and everyone loved it - even before they knew it was vegan and "fake" meat. I've served it to guests in pasta and they had no clue. Well, until I ate it. :laugh:

I have always loved cooking and my family is used to me trying things out on them. This vegan journey has been no exception. There are many things I have made that have become family favorites - vegan or not. They just love it. My advice would be to start trying some yummy vegetarian recipes and don't say a word to them. If they say anything, tell them you're participating in the new nation-wide craze of Meatless Monday. Before long, they'll be looking forward to Tofu Tuesdays!

Oh - and why vegan instead of vegetarian for me? The dairy and eggs eaten on a vegetarian diet but not on a vegan diet would be my very downfalls - I'm doing this to reduce my cholesterol! Dairy and eggs are chock full of cholesterol. I will, however, serve cheese on the table for my family to add to their vegan dish when appropriate (like veggie fajitas). I just don't tuck into it.

gingerb85

I am currently cutting back the red meat in my diet... I have it about once a week or maybe every other week right now. By November I won't have any red meat at all & in January I plan to go vegetarian. My bf is vegan & I would like to be able to eat meals with him when I move to Seattle so I am gradually cutting out meat. I also don't think I will ever go vegan but plan to be able to eat meals w/ him several times a week.

Not to hijack, but my husband has been working in Seattle since February (we live in Louisiana) and I've been up there twice and will be going again tomorrow. There are many yummy vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Seattle and my husband, the carnivore, has gone with me and loved what he has eaten!

dnlake

read the book "the kind diet" it will enlighten you to the benefits (to yourself and on a global scale) of a vegie diet, and promotes an increase in plant based foods even if you don't go full vegie! it's a great book, easy read and chock full of wonderful info and some recipes too. i am not vegie but use meat as a side or cook in for flavor and don't necessarily eat it everyday. red meat maybe once a month, mostly use lean turkey chicken breast and white fish, salmon. the cleaner you eat the better you feel!

SMarie10

bump

greej

5 years ago I switched to a vegan diet, which I kept up for 3 years. I figured that I wouldn't be successful if I went only vegetarian. I lost 80 pounds in a year without trying, eating A LOT more vegetables than before but also cooking lots of vegan sweets. ...Of course, then I went on anti-depressants and gained most of the weight back. Discovering vegan junk food, then switching to a vegetarian diet didn't help either.

Now I'm vegetarian still, but trying to eat less and less animal products. Being vegan, I think, was very difficult on my friends and family. If I was living alone I think I would've been absolutely fine, because I could have made all my own meals, bought all my own food, gone out to eat in only vegetarian restaurants ... It would have been very simple, because I was literally never tempted to eat animal products after about a month. However, buying two versions of everything (milk, butter, cream cheese, yogurt, meat, desserts, etc. etc.) was hard on everyone who wasn't me.

Being vegetarian is actually stunningly easy compared to being vegan, even surrounded by meat-eaters. Sure, you buy your own tofu/meat substitutes, but other than that you just eat what everyone else eats. If your family is eating meat, potatoes, and green beans, you eat LOTS of green beans, potatoes, and a tofu burger. I don't find it difficult at all.

Midori_i

What is it with people becoming vegetarians or even vegans because of their cholesterol? Being overweight gives you high colesterol, not eating meat or dairy products, I thought?

I read a while ago that the high cholesterol in eggs was thought to be bad for you (giving YOU high cholesterol) which is why people have said for ages you shouldn't eat more than 2 a day - and that that is completely incorrect and cholesterol in the food you eat doesn't translate into cholesterol in your body. Eating unhealthy overall will.

Is it the same with cholesterol overall in animal products?

KyleB65

A big thanks to everyone.

It is nice to read so many notes & suggestions.

As many suggested I think that I will take a slow and relatively methodical approach to this and continue to make more vegetarian choices. As I have seen some success with my revised eating habits over the past couple of months. I am certain that eventually, I will no longer want or need meat in my diet.

As for the different types/levels of eating vegetarian. This is something that I need to think about and will also morph into my eating habits over time.

Thanks again and good luck to all.