going vegetarian in 2013

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Replies

  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
    I have been veggie for a year and a half, but have been off and on since I was 16. I tried to be vegan, but right now I am lacto-ovo. I only eat free-range eggs, and, although I don't drink milk straight, I have a hard time giving up cheese (though I try to avoid rennet at all costs). I do crave meat occasionally, but I find it is only when I am eating unhealthily, which is actually very easy to do when you are a vegetarian (there is lots of meatless junk out there). Meat tends to repulse me when I do eat it, but I would say I get cravings when I am low on protein. When I am not eating healthy I have a tendency to overdo the carbs, and go seriously low on protein. Bad I know. Right now I am eating more protein, and meat cravings are gone. Be sure to get complete proteins in your diet.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
    I was a vegetarian for the past 20 years. Now I eat meat very occasionally, if it's been pasture raised. I will also eat tuna here and there (only my home canned, bought off the dock tuna). My husband grew up veggie and is still a vegetarian. One of my boys is veggie and the other one will eat pasture raised meat here and there. So, my cooking is completely veggie. I am the only overweight one in the family, everyone else is quite healthy and we all eat a well balanced diet.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member

    Wow, that equates to a whole lot of dead people.....Hmm

    No dear, that equates to unhealthy people.

    Ah, you!. No it does not sweetie.
  • fattypattybinger
    fattypattybinger Posts: 337
    I don't mean to be mean so please excuse me but I don't feel there is something as almost Vegeterian. I would just say I go meatless when I can.
  • vegetablesandcupcakes
    vegetablesandcupcakes Posts: 12
    I turned vegetarian for 2012 and still doing good. :)
  • Sweet_Pea0107
    Sweet_Pea0107 Posts: 90
    nope. I tried it when I was 16, was deathly skinny, and grew out of the whole "moral" objection to eating meat.

    Perhaps you didn't intend to be insulting, but you were, nonetheless. Are you trying to start a flame war?


    How was that insulting?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member


    There is no such thing as a healthy ovo-laco vegetarian. Oh look, my opinion again.

    With all due respect, your opinion is absurd.


    Hi, I really don't want to discuss something off-topic. However, since people feel the need to comment on it, here we go.

    Empirical evidence of how eggs do in your salads (when you buy them):
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_005_2012_Release/index.asp
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_007_2012_Release/index.asp
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_006_2012_Release/index.asp
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_003_2012_Release/index.asp

    Pretty much, you get Listeria contamination.

    Here is a Canadian doctor who wants to prevent strokes, due to egg consumption:
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/whose-health-unaffected-by-eggs/

    Which has more dietary cholesterol, where does the egg stand?
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/avoiding-cholesterol-is-a-no-brainer/
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/egg-cholesterol-in-the-diet/

    I'm only going to give one link for milk, unless there is more "your opinion is invalid" response.

    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/food-sources-of-pcb-chemical-pollutants/

    Going for my run!

    Oh for the love of Pete. Whatever. Enjoy your run.

    You got that.

    nurttionfacts.org is founded by Dr Michael Greger, who is a vegan. There are no studies, just video blogs on the links provided.

    With regard to the listeria recalls. How does a couple of recalls of salads relate to there not being a healthy lacto ovo vegetarian? I don't eat cobb salad, or any salad with eggs in it, so I must be ok then. Its a little silly - there have been recalls of spinach before.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16340654?

    "dietary recommendations aimed at restricting egg consumption should not be generalized to include all individuals. We need to acknowledge that diverse healthy populations experience no risk in developing coronary heart disease by increasing their intake of cholesterol but, in contrast, they may have multiple beneficial effects by the inclusion of eggs in their regular diet."
  • shirley_beans
    shirley_beans Posts: 65 Member
    Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like to see my diary for ideas. I've been mostly veggie since June, with the exception of two or three times that I gave in to a bite from someone else's plate. Both times it happened I realized I wasn't missing anything. Sometimes the brain just tricks you into thinking you do. I'm going 100% in 2013 :)
  • candibar91
    candibar91 Posts: 1 Member
    I went vegetarian in May 2012. I love it and have not really had the urge for meat since. Feel free to add me as a friend!
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    Go for it, but be sure you carefully research a balanced diet - consider taking a marine algae supplement for the long chain omega-3s to replace those found in oily fish.

    I wasn't aware there was an alternative to that! Are those supplements expensive? I might have to look for them as I've been worried about omega 3s for awhile now.

    You can get omega 3s form a variety of sources, including chia seeds, flax seed, and hemp seed. The algae supplements give you a specific type of fatty acid that you can't get from other plants, but that your body can make on its own if you are getting enough of other fatty acids. I took V-pure for a while. Yes, they are expensive. I didn't see any change in how I felt, so since they aren't essential I decided my money was better spent elsewhere. I encourage you to try them if you are interested, but they aren't essential.
  • clemsonsaint
    clemsonsaint Posts: 53
    I am trying it for 2013. Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • smallstarshining
    smallstarshining Posts: 16
    I'm attempting veganism, but I expect a few slip ups (oops) ;-) I do have a vegetarian lifestyle, though!
  • badzoe
    badzoe Posts: 132 Member
    I became a vegetarian 27 years ago. I don't remember what meat taste like, so I don't miss it, although for a few years I did miss tuna fish sandwiches and cheese steak sandwiches. I don't like milk or eggs, so I rarely eat them. I do tend to put cheese on everything, so I would really be hard pressed to go vegan.
  • reallifealien
    reallifealien Posts: 128 Member
    i've already been vegetarian for a while. i'm trying to go vegan for 2013 :D
  • ASPhantom
    ASPhantom Posts: 637 Member
    I just completed my first day EVER.
    It wasn't bad or hard. It was different.

    Check out my Food Diary to see how I did.

    I think it was ok. Input would be great!
  • aloha_val731
    aloha_val731 Posts: 7
    I haven't gone completely vegetarian yet, only seafood and eggs-- but I must admit, it's pretty hard to get all my daily protein intake, although I love how I feel and don't miss any of the other meats at all. Any tips for getting protein??
  • BobbyDaniel
    BobbyDaniel Posts: 1,459 Member
    I started eating vegetarian about 6 months ago, and with a few exceptions where I was traveling or eating food made by someone else, it has gone very well. I can't say I am missing anything and I feel great. Hope it works out for you!
  • EvilDave14
    EvilDave14 Posts: 111 Member
    I haven't gone completely vegetarian yet, only seafood and eggs-- but I must admit, it's pretty hard to get all my daily protein intake, although I love how I feel and don't miss any of the other meats at all. Any tips for getting protein??

    Soya is great for protein.
  • spisea
    spisea Posts: 41 Member
    re-post
  • spisea
    spisea Posts: 41 Member
    I haven't gone completely vegetarian yet, only seafood and eggs-- but I must admit, it's pretty hard to get all my daily protein intake, although I love how I feel and don't miss any of the other meats at all. Any tips for getting protein??

    Dark leafy greens have protein and very few calories, so that's yet another reason why they are important. Sprinkling nutritional yeast on everything ups the protein value. Frankly, I'm curious about what you consider too little protein and what you are eating. Its pretty impossible to end up with too little protein if your diet is healthy. Protein is everywhere. Fruit, veggies, grains, beans, nuts; they all have plenty of protein. MFP is actually a pretty good way of learning that. It shows protein goals, and while some people choose to go higher, you can be sure that you're not deficient if you stick with their goal.
  • Taem2
    Taem2 Posts: 47 Member


    There is no such thing as a healthy ovo-laco vegetarian. Oh look, my opinion again.

    With all due respect, your opinion is absurd.


    Hi, I really don't want to discuss something off-topic. However, since people feel the need to comment on it, here we go.

    Empirical evidence of how eggs do in your salads (when you buy them):
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_005_2012_Release/index.asp
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_007_2012_Release/index.asp
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_006_2012_Release/index.asp
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_003_2012_Release/index.asp

    Pretty much, you get Listeria contamination.

    Here is a Canadian doctor who wants to prevent strokes, due to egg consumption:
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/whose-health-unaffected-by-eggs/

    Which has more dietary cholesterol, where does the egg stand?
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/avoiding-cholesterol-is-a-no-brainer/
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/egg-cholesterol-in-the-diet/

    I'm only going to give one link for milk, unless there is more "your opinion is invalid" response.

    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/food-sources-of-pcb-chemical-pollutants/

    Going for my run!

    Oh for the love of Pete. Whatever. Enjoy your run.

    You got that.

    nurttionfacts.org is founded by Dr Michael Greger, who is a vegan. There are no studies, just video blogs on the links provided.

    With regard to the listeria recalls. How does a couple of recalls of salads relate to there not being a healthy lacto ovo vegetarian? I don't eat cobb salad, or any salad with eggs in it, so I must be ok then. Its a little silly - there have been recalls of spinach before.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16340654?

    "dietary recommendations aimed at restricting egg consumption should not be generalized to include all individuals. We need to acknowledge that diverse healthy populations experience no risk in developing coronary heart disease by increasing their intake of cholesterol but, in contrast, they may have multiple beneficial effects by the inclusion of eggs in their regular diet."

    A couple of recalls?

    Also, his 'research' is based of pubmed articles which he vets (they are published in peer reviewed journals), go to the links on his website, he lists all the research papers there. He doesn't make things up, he summarizes the research. But of course, you don't care to know that or don't know that. Funny, if you watch the videos, the articles are clearly seen in the background.

    Edited here
    If you care to look at the links I provided, lets say the first one (not the fsis recall links) and scroll down, you will see sources cited. I copy and paste it for your benefit.
    Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):799-800. Egg consumption in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality: the story gets more complex. Eckel RH.



    J. A. Nettleton, L. M. Steffen, L. R. Loehr, W. D. Rosamond, and A. R. Folsom. Incident heart failure is associated with lower whole-grain intake and greater high-fat dairy and egg intake in the atherosclerosis risk in communities (aric) study. J Am Diet Assoc, 108(11):1881-1887, 2008.

    Djoussé L, Gaziano JM, Buring JE, Lee IM.Egg consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women. Diabetes Care. 2009 Feb;32(2):295-300. Epub 2008 Nov 18.

    End edit---

    He is also "serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States." So yes, he is a vegan. http://www.drgreger.org/bio.html

    Rich Roll, author of Finding Ultra, interviewed Dr. Greger in his Dec. podcast.
    http://www.richroll.com/podcast/007-michael-greger/

    Thanks for your input. Now waiting for the "whatever" response.
  • lilylux
    lilylux Posts: 109 Member
    Hi OP - I was vegetarian for four years, have now transitioned to a pescetarian diet - I still mainly eat plant based foods though - f you would like to add me as a friend to share ideas I'd be happy to be friends :)

    I think being a veg*n requires just as much thought and effort as an omnivorous diet - both veg*n's and omni's have to consciously try to make healthy choices to improve their health, you can be a lazy/unhealthy veg*n just as much as a lazy/unhealthy omni.

    As it's been said before - take a good multi and be aware of how your body responds to foods.

    PS chocolatecoveredkatie.com is amazing and caters to those who are veg, vegan or gluten intolerant
    PPS good luck and Happy New Year!!
    PPPS I'm a bit confused as to why someone with the handle 'meatforme' is so strongly advocating a vegan diet.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I haven't gone completely vegetarian yet, only seafood and eggs-- but I must admit, it's pretty hard to get all my daily protein intake, although I love how I feel and don't miss any of the other meats at all. Any tips for getting protein??

    Dark leafy greens have protein and very few calories, so that's yet another reason why they are important. Sprinkling nutritional yeast on everything ups the protein value. Frankly, I'm curious about what you consider too little protein and what you are eating. Its pretty impossible to end up with too little protein if your diet is healthy. Protein is everywhere. Fruit, veggies, grains, beans, nuts; they all have plenty of protein. MFP is actually a pretty good way of learning that. It shows protein goals, and while some people choose to go higher, you can be sure that you're not deficient if you stick with their goal.
    The amount of protein in produce is next to nothing. Leafy greens are important for many reasons. They are not a reliable, good source of protein.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    A couple of recalls?

    Also, his 'research' is based of pubmed articles which he vets (they are published in peer reviewed journals), go to the links on his website, he lists all the research papers there. He doesn't make things up, he summarizes the research. But of course, you don't care to know that or don't know that. Funny, if you watch the videos, the articles are clearly seen in the background.

    Edited here
    If you care to look at the links I provided, lets say the first one (not the fsis recall links) and scroll down, you will see sources cited. I copy and paste it for your benefit.
    Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):799-800. Egg consumption in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality: the story gets more complex. Eckel RH.



    J. A. Nettleton, L. M. Steffen, L. R. Loehr, W. D. Rosamond, and A. R. Folsom. Incident heart failure is associated with lower whole-grain intake and greater high-fat dairy and egg intake in the atherosclerosis risk in communities (aric) study. J Am Diet Assoc, 108(11):1881-1887, 2008.

    Djoussé L, Gaziano JM, Buring JE, Lee IM.Egg consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women. Diabetes Care. 2009 Feb;32(2):295-300. Epub 2008 Nov 18.

    End edit---

    He is also "serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States." So yes, he is a vegan. http://www.drgreger.org/bio.html

    Rich Roll, author of Finding Ultra, interviewed Dr. Greger in his Dec. podcast.
    http://www.richroll.com/podcast/007-michael-greger/

    Thanks for your input. Now waiting for the "whatever" response.
    Dude, seriously, give it up.

    Your "opinion" is patently false. Period. Several people just hanging out in this thread prove you wrong.

    If we're going to stop eating certain foods because at some point there was a recal due to contamination, I hope you no longer eat spinach or lettuce or probably pretty much anything at all.

    Even if you grow it yourself, there is a risk that what you are eating has some kind of bug on it that will make you sick.

    I eat a salad with cheese and a hard-boiled egg pretty much daily. No food poisoning yet. In fact, for pretty much my entire adult life, I have had no more than a mild cold once every five years or so.
  • bmcall
    bmcall Posts: 1 Member
    I have recently gone vegetarian(1.5mths now) the reason wasn't because of animals, although I share my home with three furry friends. My system isn't handling meat as it use to and I feel Sick when eating it. So not vegan (still eating eggs and dairy), but not a bit of meat (seafood, poultry,red meats, etc). I was surprised at what people thought vegetarianism was, went in a restaurant and asked if they have any vegetarian options and he said, "we have chicken and salmon", this has happened a lot, they think poultry and seafood are part of the vegetarian menu. The biggest part is the constant explaining and having to check what does and doesn't have meat and requesting "special" meals for business meetings etc. I was surprised at how saturated our society is in meat, try going to fast food and order something that isn't fries or salad (hold the chicken). Any hoo, my problem now is trying to eat healthy, it is easy to go to the high fat options, when meatless....dabbling in the meatless meat and tofu now...good luck!
  • slimsconie
    slimsconie Posts: 46
    I want to do this but at least 4 times a year, I want a nice steak:) once every 3 months, I want to treat myself. I'm very well disciplined and have excellent will power. Who knows, I probably wouldn't even miss that steak. I'm fasting now so I'm off to a great start.

    slimsconie
  • matrixkingdom
    matrixkingdom Posts: 25
    Meat is loaded with saturated fat and a lot of cholesterol. Our body produces enough cholesterol in the liver, therefore we do not need more of it. That is part of why our bodies are designed to be herbivores. When you consume a lot of animal protein (you get way too much protein this way) and you get what is called hypercalciuria which excretes calcium out of your body to regulate the acidity, which is caused from the sulfur meat contains. Generally speaking, meat & dairy both clog your arteries and THAT is the main cause of heart disease today. Not just that it clogs your arteries, but in combination of not eating enough fruits and vegetables (which unclogs your arteries) can be fatal to your health. If you dropped all dairy from your diet, limit yourself to 4oz of meat per day and eat 4 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables, you would be in a much healthier state (especially if you have illnesses/diseases) -- Meat is bad for you, and all dairy & eggs are even worse.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,265 Member
    Meat is loaded with saturated fat and a lot of cholesterol. Our body produces enough cholesterol in the liver, therefore we do not need more of it. That is part of why our bodies are designed to be herbivores. When you consume a lot of animal protein (you get way too much protein this way) and you get what is called hypercalciuria which excretes calcium out of your body to regulate the acidity, which is caused from the sulfur meat contains. Generally speaking, meat & dairy both clog your arteries and THAT is the main cause of heart disease today. Not just that it clogs your arteries, but in combination of not eating enough fruits and vegetables (which unclogs your arteries) can be fatal to your health. If you dropped all dairy from your diet, limit yourself to 4oz of meat per day and eat 4 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables, you would be in a much healthier state (especially if you have illnesses/diseases) -- Meat is bad for you, and all dairy & eggs are even worse.
    W o W.................I just lost a few brain cells reading this.:smile:
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
    I was a veggie for about a year and really messed up my body. I am not knocking it by any means but if you want to be a vegetarian you really have to watch what you eat to make sure you are getting the nutrition that you need! That's where I failed. Now I try to get meat and dairy from places where I know the animals were not harmed.
    I never understand these responses. Being healthy means watching what you eat whether you are omni or veg. you cant blame being unhealthy and making poor food choices on a plant based diet. I have never found being veg to be that hard. I've been vegetarian for over 25 years it's never made me sick, I've never had problems with protein or omegas (check out my hair in my avatar), I've never been anemic, B deficiencies, underweight or overweight... Etc

    OP congratulations! There are many of us out here in full support of a plant-based lifestyle. I'm currently trying to transition back to vegan but yeah everything I eat is at least vegetarian so feel free to friend me.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    So glad to hear that you are pursuing this lifestyle :) I recently hit my two-year veganniversary - the lifestyle makes me feel good physically and mentally.

    Some great recipe sites:
    - www.ohsheglows.com
    - www.theppk.com
    - www.veganyumyum.com
    - www.ivu.org/recipes (this is my favorite - delicious recipes from all over the world! My favorite section is sub-Saharan Africa).

    If you are logging your food in MFP, then it's easy to keep track of macros and nutrients - don't let people lead you to believe that life as a healthy vegetarian is any more difficult than life as a healthy omnivore. Living meat-free is easy if you are committed to it and your health!

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