Vegetarian TO NON-VEGETARIAN question

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  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I was a vegetarian for 24 years, from ages 14-38. I'm 40 now so it's been almost 2 full years since I've gone back to eating meat. I didn't do it for health reasons, I just started eating meat again because I wanted to. Well what triggered it: All 3 of my children were raised vegetarian and I always told them they could make the decision to eat meat at the age of 10. None of them showed any interest in eating meat at all at that age. My daughter, now age 23, tried chicken when she was 17 and decided she did not like it and resumed being a vegetarian. My oldest son still has not tried meat, and he will be 18 soon. So anyway when my youngest son, now almost age 15, was 13 he decided he wanted to try meat and took to it like a fish takes to water. In cooking meat for him I was around it all the time and some of it seemed appetizing. So I decided to try it...I was nervous at first because I wasn't sure how my body would react to animal flesh after decades of absence, but I was ok for the most part. I quickly learned that I still have trouble digesting beef, pork, etc so I mostly stick to birds and seafood. When I do have beef or pork it's in small amounts, like a few pieces of pepperoni on a pizza or a small sausage.

    I agree you should start slow. I threw up a few times because I was eating too much meat too soon. I would suggest trying a chicken drumstick or a can of tuna to start with...then a few days later try something else small. Work your way up to daily meat eating, if at all, and don't have meat with every meal.
  • LeighAnna115
    LeighAnna115 Posts: 149
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    I assume you probably became a vegetarian for ethical reasons.

    If you are trying to slowly incorporate meat back in to your diet try only eating farm fresh/ non factory produced meat. I certainly don't want to get into the debate of "is it right or wrong to eat meat" because that would just be messy. But to many, there is a big difference between meat that is hunted or locally/small farm produced as opposed to factory farm produced meat.

    Large scale factories feed an incredible amount of hormones to their animals as well as place them on unnatural diets to promote fast weight gain. They also keep them in small pens and don't care much for the welfare of their animals, they are in business for fast profit.

    Small operations tend to be very different. Animals are given ample space, fed a natural diet, and are slaughtered very humanely. Meat from these animals tends to be lower in fat and simply much healthier in general. As a previous vegetarian, transitioning to this type of meat may be easiest for you. This type of meat however will be more expensive. Look for labels like "grass fed". Organic does not guarantee natural diets, they are most likely still fed fatteners and mass produced. Organic only certifies that the animal is "synthetic free". These links explain the difference between grass fed and organic well.

    http://www.thunderbasinbeef.com/thunderbasin_update_0901_009.htm

    http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/nutritional-differences-between-pasturefed-chickens-vs-non-2413.html

    Again, everyone has a different viewpoint on eating meat. But if you became a vegetarian for ethical reasons, as most do, this would probably be an easier way for you to incorporate meat back into your diet. If you ever want a link for more info on eating small (non factory produced) just let me know. I studied this a lot in college as an Animal Science major.
  • emmalene1984
    emmalene1984 Posts: 137 Member
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    I was a gung ho vegetarian for years and years, then due to health reasons I had to up my protein intake and I did this thru the addition of poultry and fish in to my diet, only organic and free range though, I didn't have any issues with my digestive tract, I only ate chicken maybe a few times a week, only ever for one meal a day to start with, now I eat chicken more frequently but generally still stick to one meal a day. The only time I had any issues with digestion was when I accidently consumed some beef or lamb mince a few years ago (I don't know which it was) and I believe that is because red meat is so much harder to digest anyway.

    good luck to you, do it slowly, keep it clean and natural, Don't start of with something like KFC, go for home prepared fresh chicken breast. see how you do, make sure it's all cooked properly and all surfaces etc are kept clean, wash your hands lots etc, don't want to catch salmonella now do you :-)
  • fuelingit
    fuelingit Posts: 47
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    So you didn't make this very clear...Are you saying you want to start eating poultry again? So....start eating poultry, then. I don't get what the big deal is. Do you not know how to cook it? Need recipes, what? Not really sure what you're asking...

    i know how to cook meat. i've prepared it a billion times for my family and boyfriend. i just personally do not eat it. i want to hear from people who were vegetarians then started eating meat again, and how their body reacted etc - since i am thinking about reintroducing poultry back into my diet.
  • fuelingit
    fuelingit Posts: 47
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    i googled the question and read that you should start small.. chicken broth, etc.. and then slowly start adding it back into your diet. THEN it went on to say that you can experience constipation and digestive problems (great, i already suffer from this) and saying that you should buy probiotics and stuff (money money)..

    I don't think you need probiotics or anything like that. I certainly didn't, and I had IBS when I started eating back chicken. Just prepare it at home, and eat small portions to start with, and you'll be fine.

    thank you tons :)
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    I consider myself a flexitarian, someone who restricts meat, but not totally vegetarian. My daughter, Ginny, who lives with me claims to be a carnivore, so it is real hard for me to be a true vegetarian. I think eggs and milk products are ok for a vegetarian. I do not feel right about eating fish, the last time I made steamed clams, soft shell, like you get along the Atlantic Coast from Chesapeake Bay north to Nova Scotia, I had a lot of bad feelings as I was killing these mollusks and eating them. I did not enjoy them as much as I should have enjoyed them. I make a lot of stuff for me to eat, outside of what I make for Ginny and me to eat. If I had my drothers, I would not eat meat anymore, but my situation makes that difficult.

    So, should you start eating chicken, if you feel it is something you have to do, then do it. But I feel that you should not do this. I feel and think about the pain and anguish the animal goes through so you can choose to have meat. I also realize I am eating way too much meat. So, we have to struggle with our feelings and make better choices.

    This morning I will be having a sausage and fried egg sandwich, the sausage is vegetarian sausage, but bought them yesterday as I wanted to try veggie style. The real sausage will go back in the freezer or in the garbage.

    Do you not think that animals are killed to produce milk, dairy products and eggs? You are wrong, as was I as a vegetarian.
  • fuelingit
    fuelingit Posts: 47
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    thanks everyone for their help!! i appreciate it a lot
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    I only read the first post.
    I was a vegetarian for about 15 years. When I got married I started eating fish, mostly because I had no choice on our honeymoon.

    I got fat during that 20 year period, so don't think vegetarians can't wolf down pizza.

    When I started to run upwards of 5 - 8 miles my body started hurting and felt like it was falling apart. I started to just crave meat. I never did wile being a veg. Particularly red meat. So I started eating it and didn't get that pain anymore.

    Now if you start eating meat, plan to spend a week or so on the toilet, that's going to suck big time,

    Chewing was also weird. My jaw would get sore from not being used to some of the meat, like a steak. I still don't care much for chicken, the fat and skin are almost too much for me.

    I sometimes regret eating meat a lot of the times, but not as much as being a lazy fat a**, so you got to pick your poison.
  • astrylian
    astrylian Posts: 194 Member
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    I was a vegan for three years and stopped about 5 years ago - the first month or so, I was extremely, extremely tired all of the time as I began introducing dairy/meat back into my diet. I would nap almost all day, every day, after I ate.
  • xHelloQuincyx
    xHelloQuincyx Posts: 884 Member
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    i couldnt resist the general taos orange chicken at a buffet, and ended up barfing all over. (couldn't handle the processed meat)prolly wasn't worth it haha. ive pretty much secretly turned my boyfriend semi vegetarian now that we live on our own, but for practical reasons. Meat is more expensive, i dont like the taste of it, i hate touching it/ anything raw and bloody. and my family was vegetarians for years, so i would much rather have my bean sprouts. I do love a few dishes, mainly chicken, and just slowly introduced them back into my life.
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
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    My sister is a veggie eater.. she thought about going back to eating chicken until she visited an old college friend who raised them. Seriously, when you actually SEE what they live in, how they live.. you wouldnt eat it either. YUK.

    Thankfully, i have never first hand seen it, so I will continue to enjoy my chicken.. and if any of you ever show me, i will be really pissed! LOL

    My 13 y/o refuses to eat chicken. We live in the country and one of her friends families raises them, and shes seen it.. and im not talking people who dont keep the stuff clean.. just in general. they are NASTY creatures. *shudders*
  • fuelingit
    fuelingit Posts: 47
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    My sister is a veggie eater.. she thought about going back to eating chicken until she visited an old college friend who raised them. Seriously, when you actually SEE what they live in, how they live.. you wouldnt eat it either. YUK.

    Thankfully, i have never first hand seen it, so I will continue to enjoy my chicken.. and if any of you ever show me, i will be really pissed! LOL

    My 13 y/o refuses to eat chicken. We live in the country and one of her friends families raises them, and shes seen it.. and im not talking people who dont keep the stuff clean.. just in general. they are NASTY creatures. *shudders*

    yeah i definitely don't like how they're brought up, and skin/bones definitely gross me out lol.. i'd have to have boneless and skinless!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    I was a vegetarian for two or three years. I started eating meat again because of various reasons but now I only buy free range or organic meat IF I buy it at all.

    The best way to start back up is to eat like a child. One chicken strip. Cut up hot dogs. A couple pepperoni's on your salad. One slice of bacon. REALLY small portions at first but you get the point. Your digestive system will go all out of whack if you overload it with meat immediately. Believe me.

    Definitely believe her! I got pretty sick going from vegetarian for several years to burger eater overnight. It was awhile before I could eat a hamburger without wanting to hurl. Chicken just makes me want to hurl anyway, so I can't eat that at all.
  • Paula_h65
    Paula_h65 Posts: 6 Member
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    I was a vegetarian for most of my adult life, I didn't eat even fish or chicken... I wasn't a good healthy vegetarian either:( I just felt it was a moral obligation to not eat it... Long story short, I eat cruelty free meats as often as possible that way I don't feel guilty about it. The moral obligation is to keep myself healthy and after much soul searching and a lot of reading I discovered that being a vegetarian was not that health... It can be relatively healthy if you actually mix your foods to make sure your combine things to get complete proteins and you supplement with others especially taurine.,, but I'm not going to accomplish this on a daily basis. I don't really like meat that much the texture is sort of gross, but whatever, the transition of allowing it in my diet has made my life better in many ways. I am healthier, and thinner, and stronger. Your choice, just make sure you are being good to yourself.
    The transition back to eating meat wasn't that difficult for my body to adjust to, because I never really did digest soy products all that well....
    p
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
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    I never would have even read this thread if you had titled it differently. I thought you were asking a question of vegetarians and honestly your post doesn't make any sense (why would you need non vegetarians to guide you in the art of putting meat on your fork, placing it in your mouth, chewing, and shallowing?) Honestly, this seems like a very self indulgent and "pokey" thread. We vegetarians are a minority group and instead of just quietly bowing out and going ahead and consuming flesh you felt the need to make a public proclamation of it, sad really. Unless I understand your question wrong. This is an unfortunate post to read because you are perpetuating a falsehood. A lot of non vegetarians actually believe it is very difficult or unhealthy to be vegetarian/vegan which is just plain nonsense (unless you have a rare medical condition). But I wish you the very best of luck.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    I think I understand your post...

    I was a vegetarian for years. I figured out I had a wheat sensitivity about 15 years ago, so that made it harder to be veg, since Morning Star, Quorn, and many of the veg alternatives are laden with wheat. There are more options now, but 15 years ago, being GF and veg were not easy to take on at the same time. (So, no, I didn't jump on the GF bandwagon. I'm thankful it came along because now I have a few more options.)

    Fast forward thirteen years. I'm now married to a "meat and potato" eater who grew up on meat and starchy casseroles. He does some of the cooking. It's bad enough that I have to subject him to a relatively GF kitchen. (There are some things that he gets that have wheat that I don't eat...) He doesn't do salads. He doesn't really eat other vegs unless they're cooked beyond being nutritious. So, yeah, I'm at a loss.

    We "compromised" by eating chicken and turkey. His beef and pork consumption have gone down considerably. I will say that handling the raw chicken completely grosses me out (the veins, the blood, the boogery yellow bits) and I try to add as many veggies as I can so that I can eat around the poultry wherever possible.

    I know that GF veg can be done, but lentils don't agree with me and I haven't figured out how to meet my dietary needs without eating LOTS of beans (which then result in painful gas). Too much dairy makes me break out and the allergist's test show a tofu and peanut sensitivity. So between the lack of wheat, the limited dairy, the limited beans, limited soy, limited peanuts, I'm not really sure WHAT else I CAN eat. (I know. Waaaaah....)

    If there was a way to feed myself and my husband in a way that was healthy, delicious, didn't involve eating scads of flatulence inducing beans, and didn't require that I stayed home all day to do food prep, I'd consider making dietary changes. Since I don't see that happening anytime soon, I'll continue to eat the soy I'm not supposed to eat and occasionally eat half a chicken breast.
  • htreat1
    htreat1 Posts: 7
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    I was peer pressured into being a vegetarian in college, but it never really took for me (I'd sneak burgers-it was insane), but when one of my friends had to start eating meat again because of her fondness for carbs and hatred of beans, she had major digestive problems. They went away after a week or two, but she was pretty miserable. So I would suggest probiotics or something else to help your system and maybe even consult a doctor.
  • fuelingit
    fuelingit Posts: 47
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    I never would have even read this thread if you had titled it differently. I thought you were asking a question of vegetarians and honestly your post doesn't make any sense (why would you need non vegetarians to guide you in the art of putting meat on your fork, placing it in your mouth, chewing, and shallowing?) Honestly, this seems like a very self indulgent and "pokey" thread. We vegetarians are a minority group and instead of just quietly bowing out and going ahead and consuming flesh you felt the need to make a public proclamation of it, sad really. Unless I understand your question wrong. This is an unfortunate post to read because you are perpetuating a falsehood. A lot of non vegetarians actually believe it is very difficult or unhealthy to be vegetarian/vegan which is just plain nonsense (unless you have a rare medical condition). But I wish you the very best of luck.

    this comes off as very rude to me? first of all i don't need someone to "guide" me. i'm an adult, not a two year old. also, you're coming off as one of those people that give vegetarians, vegans, etc a bad name. i think you're very arrogant and i don't believe the last sentence at all. please take your rudeness elsewhere, thanks.
  • fuelingit
    fuelingit Posts: 47
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    I think I understand your post...

    I was a vegetarian for years. I figured out I had a wheat sensitivity about 15 years ago, so that made it harder to be veg, since Morning Star, Quorn, and many of the veg alternatives are laden with wheat. There are more options now, but 15 years ago, being GF and veg were not easy to take on at the same time. (So, no, I didn't jump on the GF bandwagon. I'm thankful it came along because now I have a few more options.)

    Fast forward thirteen years. I'm now married to a "meat and potato" eater who grew up on meat and starchy casseroles. He does some of the cooking. It's bad enough that I have to subject him to a relatively GF kitchen. (There are some things that he gets that have wheat that I don't eat...) He doesn't do salads. He doesn't really eat other vegs unless they're cooked beyond being nutritious. So, yeah, I'm at a loss.

    We "compromised" by eating chicken and turkey. His beef and pork consumption have gone down considerably. I will say that handling the raw chicken completely grosses me out (the veins, the blood, the boogery yellow bits) and I try to add as many veggies as I can so that I can eat around the poultry wherever possible.

    I know that GF veg can be done, but lentils don't agree with me and I haven't figured out how to meet my dietary needs without eating LOTS of beans (which then result in painful gas). Too much dairy makes me break out and the allergist's test show a tofu and peanut sensitivity. So between the lack of wheat, the limited dairy, the limited beans, limited soy, limited peanuts, I'm not really sure WHAT else I CAN eat. (I know. Waaaaah....)

    If there was a way to feed myself and my husband in a way that was healthy, delicious, didn't involve eating scads of flatulence inducing beans, and didn't require that I stayed home all day to do food prep, I'd consider making dietary changes. Since I don't see that happening anytime soon, I'll continue to eat the soy I'm not supposed to eat and occasionally eat half a chicken breast.

    you definitely understood my post, sorry if it came off confusing! (when i read it it does seem that way now lol) i basically have the same problems as you when it comes to lentils/beans.. and i generally don't like eating dairy. ugh, yes, anything that has skin and bones/veins definitely grosses me out. from peoples posts i've just gathered to start out slow and hopefully i won't encounter any problems! thanks!
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    Your HRM looks cool! What HRM is it? X

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