Vegetarians/Pescetarians Who Went Back To Meat?

Graelwyn75
Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How did it affect you?
Did you gain weight/ lose weight?
Did it have an impact on your digestion?

I was vegetarian from 13 to 22, and have been pescetarian from 22 to the present(37) apart from a few brief phases of eating chicken again. My brother and mother both used to be vegetarian but went back to eating meat due to low energy levels. As I am getting older and am exercising more, I am finding I am also suffering low energy levels, in spite of plenty of fish based protein and healthy meals. Thus I am considering giving meat(free range, organic preferably) a week long trial to see if it helps at all.


Anyone else had this experience?

Replies

  • shellyt1
    shellyt1 Posts: 119
    What are the all the differences of being vegetarians! I would be happy with out red meat and would love a good veggie burger recipe!
  • healthyKYgirl
    healthyKYgirl Posts: 272 Member
    Bump - interested in this too.
  • cyclingben
    cyclingben Posts: 346 Member
    Iv recently changed to a pescatarian i find that my energy levels have skyrocketed. I even stopped drinking monsters and any type of soda. Im giving it 3 months but i think i may stay this way for a long time. Im really enjoying eating natural foods. I don't know about the reverse of going back to meat but i am interested to see what others have to say on this.
  • brokenjawedmuse
    brokenjawedmuse Posts: 132
    I don't have any personal experience with this myself, but I do have a friend who went from vegan (raised in a vegan family) to ovo-lacto to white meat to limited red meat (she still won't eat any organ meats, but she does have read meat 1-2x a week), with little to no change in her exercise (she's a running fanatic).

    She DID gain weight in the beginning...in muscle. Personally, I thought she leaned out quite a bit and lost a bit of fat in her stomach/thighs. However, I think this is mostly due to her carb-heavy diet that was balanced out once she added meat to her diet rather than a change in anything else.

    Though, I will say, she REALLY took it slowly when she was adding meat to her diet. She kept telling me that beef broth made her feel ill...which, as a life-long omnivore, baffled me.
  • Willkathmum
    Willkathmum Posts: 62 Member
    Hi, we were vegetarian for 10 years but went back to eating meat about 10 years ago. To be honest I didn't really notice that much changed, I didn't lose or gain weight although I still don't eat a lot of meat. I never suffered with a lack of energy and we were running half marathons although we did eat lots of carbs. What sort of training are you doing and are you eating enough?
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    Hi, we were vegetarian for 10 years but went back to eating meat about 10 years ago. To be honest I didn't really notice that much changed, I didn't lose or gain weight although I still don't eat a lot of meat. I never suffered with a lack of energy and we were running half marathons although we did eat lots of carbs. What sort of training are you doing and are you eating enough?

    Running and cycling mostly, and yes, I eat plenty, including carbs, though outside of xmas etc, I tend to try and keep my carbs to 45%, and avoid bread, rice and pasta.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    I didn't notice much of a change weight wise when I started eating meat again. I still can't eat beef or pork without major indigestion though. I was veggie for about 8 years before I starting eating some meat again. My meals are all still centered around veg, but I eat some poultry and fish now. Energy levels still pretty much the same, but it's a little easier to keep my protein levels up with lean meat instead of supplements.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    I didn't notice much of a change weight wise when I started eating meat again. I still can't eat beef or pork without major indigestion though. I was veggie for about 8 years before I starting eating some meat again. My meals are all still centered around veg, but I eat some poultry and fish now. Energy levels still pretty much the same, but it's a little easier to keep my protein levels up with lean meat instead of supplements.

    Yes, never was a red meat fan even when I did eat meat, will be mostly chicken, turkey and possibly some liver occasionally.
  • laylaness
    laylaness Posts: 262 Member
    When I started eating meat again, I found I leaned out a bit initially because my diet before wasn't healthy-vegetarian, more like grilled-cheese-and-fries-vegetarian. I do find that my body isn't a huge fan of red meat now. I can eat a bit every now and then, but often I get sick if I eat, say, a plateful of BBQ.

    I definitely recommend easing yourself back in, and give it more than a week. In my experience, it takes at least a month to get used to a new way of eating.
  • Stacebob85
    Stacebob85 Posts: 95
    I was pescatarian for 8 years (from 15-23years old) and actually lost weight when I started getting meat back into my life again. I found that meat subsitutes such as Quorn and Linda McCartney foods just didn't fill me like meat did, so I tended to eat twice as much as I would do with meat, or I would snack in between meals more often.

    I find that it's easy to maintain meat in your diet and keep losing weight; just simple stuff like removing the fat from bacon, choosing lean meats and removing any fat/skin from chicken before cooking helps reduce calories. Also the obvious stuff, like grilling instead of frying, using less oil/butter/ghee when cooking meats etc.
  • SouthernSkylark
    SouthernSkylark Posts: 128 Member
    I've just gone back to eating meat after 5 years of being a vegetarian.... since upping my running and doing more distance I was struggling with energy and recovery, plus i was craving beef big time ( i didn't really like beef before becoming a veggie lol)
    I feel so much better with some meat in my diet.... i now eat fish and beef ( no processed meat at all, and still maintain about an 80% veggie diet)

    We're all different so I guess you just need to try different combinations of food and see what works best for you
  • veggietrudie
    veggietrudie Posts: 2
    if you are tired/lacking energy when vegetarian you are most likely to be low in iron, iron rich foods include pulses/lentil/beans/peas etc, wholegrain bread/pasta/rice, some in eggs & green leafy veg
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I was a vegetarian for 5 years, but I constantly craved fish and seafood and it sort of snowballed into going back into eating meat.

    I was not a healthy vegetarian and still drank sodas and had too much cheese. I was also still very heavy as a vegetarian and did it for ethical not health reasons.

    I still think every now and then I want to go back.

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