Vegetarians

tacos!

I agree with what you said. As a vegetarian myself, i am a firm believer on the "dangers" of meat. However, I also know some overweight vegetarian's ( myself included). That just because they don't eat meat doesn't mean that someone is going to make the right healthy choices. Mac 'n' cheese is completely vegetarian, but loaded in calories. To me it is all about balance, like with everything in life.

well said... people think that being a vegetarian is UBER HEALTHY... (which it can be!) but then they eat fried onion rings, chips, or whatever they want that is "vegetarian".... which certainly does not give you the same healthy benefits of a "whole food" plant based diet.

I don't preach the benefits of being vegetarian, I just try to let my excellent health, fitness and energy levels, sleep habits and general all around wellness testify to the difference a meat-free diet can make in one's life. I've been completely vegetarian for almost 2 years but prior to that only ate fish and poultry for about 12 years. I will never go back to meat. And since I've stopped eating it and allowed my mind to REALLY see what it means to eat the very animals I love so dearly, my conscience is clear and my spirit is lighter. :-)

Ive been a vegetarian for 4 yrs and a half. For me the hardest thing is cutting down carbs because its cheap and fast to make. But veggie stir frys and bean burritos are super fast and packed with awesome and filling nutrients. If anyway is trying or thinking about converting to vegetarianism you can add me or message me.

I never understood people who turned vegetarian to lose weight...you still have to focus heavily on eating healthily. I've been vegetarian for 11 years and it was only this year that i crossed the line into overweight. You can have healthy diet whether it is vegetarian or not, but I do agree being vegetarian makes it easier to eat less fat (although unfortunately for me chocolate is still allowed in there!).
Whilst there are many benefits to being vegetarian, I don't necessarily think weight loss is one of them.

I don't really preach about the benefits of being vegetarian either, and have never tried to convince anyone else they should make that change. I find it annoying when people try to convince me the other way and then get argumentative if I defend my decision.

@Evey, I agree...over the years I've had so many people challenge me on my vegetarianism like it's a personal statement against them that I'm not eating what they eat. It would definitely be more easy on me if I did eat meat so I would 'conform' but it's just not right for me. I am lucky, my family has never challenged me on my decision. I always tell new people that I meet 'it doesn't bother me if you eat it as long as it doesn't bother you that I don't.'

Why is it that vegetarians want meat eaters to accept them yet they are not accepting or tolerant of the meat eaters? Why are vegetarians always eating highly processed meat substitutes to replace what they don't get from meat?

Actually I am pretty accepting. I don't want to eat meat, but everyone else can eat what they like. I accept this to the point that if I'm making a meal for someone I will cook meat for them if they don't like what I'm having, as I would expect them to cater to my tastes if I was at their house. I have never tried to convince somebody they should be vegetarian, but am constantly being told by people that I should eat meat and that one day they will succeed in convincing me.
Also it's not necessary to eat the processed meat substitutes to get what we lose from not eating meat, it's just easier.

Why is it that vegetarians want meat eaters to accept them yet they are not accepting or tolerant of the meat eaters? Why are vegetarians always eating highly processed meat substitutes to replace what they don't get from meat?

Why are the majority of athletes meat eaters if eating vegetarian is so much better for you?

Why is every study done that concludes meat is good for you considered by the veggie eatiers to be untrustworthy?

I believe fruits and vegetables to be healthy and even essential to a well balanced diet. I also believe meat and other animal products to be essential to a well balanced diet. Cutting out items from your diet just because they are animal products and not on the merits of whether or not they are good for you seems to me to be counter intuitive.

I'm very tolerant, but I find that people expect me not to be. I don't eat meat substitutes (like vegetarian sausage) because I don't like the taste of meat.

Athletes in different fields have different ways of meeting nutritional needs. I'm in training for the 2020 Olympics for my sport & I've been a vegetarian for nearly 11 years. It doesn't make a difference in my sport.

I don't consider those studies to be untrustworthy. I just don't like meat & a vegetarian lifestyle suits me.

Your way of eating works for you. Mine works for me. It's not counter intuitive in my mind at all. Eating this way makes me feel better- it keeps my bp & cholesterol low without meds. When I became vegetarian I went from having migraines once a month to maybe once a year. It's cheaper & I eat more fresh foods than I did before.

This is my choice- I respect other people's choices, too. There are disrespectful people on both sides- it's not just the vegetarians being holier-than-thou.

I'm a vegan, but the only way it helps me with my weight is that the baked goods and fast food restaurants that seem to be everywhere aren't temptations to me because I know I can't eat them. However, there is plenty I can eat, so keeping my weight in check is still a very conscious process. There's plenty of vegan junk food, and even eating "whole foods" can add up. I love me some cashews.

I eat meat... lots of it. My triglycerides are fine. My cholesterol is fine. My blood pressure is fine. I lose weight easily and I've never had a plateau. I like meat. Flame on.

Good. I'm glad you're healthy & that you enjoy what you eat. I do as well, though we eat different things. I don't get why so many people think that there's only one way to eat healthily, or why that way always has to be their way. Shrug.

I eat meat... lots of it. My triglycerides are fine. My cholesterol is fine. My blood pressure is fine. I lose weight easily and I've never had a plateau. I like meat. Flame on.

Good. I'm glad you're healthy & that you enjoy what you eat. I do as well, though we eat different things. I don't get why so many people think that there's only one way to eat healthily, or why that way always has to be their way. Shrug.

You can eat whatever you want.

Why do meat eaters get so defensive?!

It has been my experience *working at a college kitchen/cafeteria with hundreds of students and feeding thousands of students* that vegetarians *like myself * are in general WAY more health concious and knowledgable about food.

As a vegetarian (I've been vegan for many years and started to take eggs and milk some months ago because of some health problems) I won't encourage nobody to follow this diet just for losing weight, it just doesn't make any sense. Becoming vegetarian requires from you, in order to be healthy, to learn, study and dedicate quite a bunch of time to nutrition and similar matters. Specially if you're becoming vegan. It's true that, being more aware of what your body needs will lead to better choices and having the knowledge is having the power. Is the same with almost everything. Given that, what should be encouraged is to be responsible with your body, health and nutrition, not being vegetarian. Being vegetarian is completely unneeded to be healthy. Health comes from a solid diet, which provides all your macronutrients and micronutrients. This can be done perfectly eating meat, not eating it or even not eating anything from an animal source. We, afortunately, has now the technology and knowledge to make it possible. But being vegetarian in tearms of a responsible individual -concearning health- does not add any benefit. It's true, however, that becoming vegetarian thus limiting the sources of food will cause if done the right way to include more sources full of micronutrients and less bad-fats (for example) sources. But you can perfectly turn yourself to bags and bags of peanuts and tons of avocados thinking in their good fats which you know because you read it somewhere the net a veg. really need them and become obese. Don't really know why or how much, but hey, at least you searched it. You can also turn to the caloric, fatty fried foods and basically eat nothing more than carbs.

In short: turning veg. for losing weight or improving health with no ethical interest at all in the medium comes from ignorance, thus irresponsabilty regarding yourself. I only see it beneficial regarding some weak power of self-constraint, like "I won't eat that fatty steak because I don't eat meat" but hey, that's kind of weak and childish. Sure, being vegan will make difficult to eat those cupcakes in the market but hey, you can make them in home. If that's your reason to not eat some food, in most cases this will lead to failure. Pushing people to educate themselves regarding something as important as the foundation of their health, their diet, is needed. Pushing them to be a vegetarian is continuing the irresponsability, and I'd say is kind of little honest, like pushing vegetarinism into people promising results without giving them the knowledge (ergo, the possibility to CHOOSE).

All the benefits of a vegetarian diet comes from a diet that provides what your body needs. Is a vegetarian diet better on this? No, is the knowledge behind your diet, the control you have over your own decisions regarding your health what makes you a healthy person. An aware of this person who has a diet including meat will consider consuming some kind of meats with some frequency instead of the fatty steak and will look to have a complete micronutrient profile. The learned vegetarian will choose to assure an adequate intake of protein instead of having carbs and fat everywhere. I have yet not seen anything saying that limiting food sources given sufficiently educated individuals provides any added benefit when following a vegetarian diet.