any former vegetarians here?

I went veggie for three years as a teenager. I vaguely mentioned trying it to my stepdad. He laughed, and said "you wouldn't last a week!"
Stubbornness kept me at it. I went back because ribs.

Was vegetarian,went vegan,went vegetarian again,had breathing issues,just thought it was my asthma,turns out I had a blood condition that means my red blood cells are not very effective in acquiring and distributing oxygen,I eat seafood,still struggling with meat though.

I eat it cos I have to

WHy do your parents want you to give it up? It's your life and your choice. Don't change your diet for someone else.

I am vegetarian and have been since June 2012. It just came a time that meat disgusted me even though I always loved the flavour of it. I choose not to eat it... not everyone understands but I won't go back to eating meat for anyone but myself. I'm glad my family and my inlaws were supportive.

I'm veg right now and almost vegan.

It's your choice regarding what you want to put into your body. I can understand if maybe you're still living at home and they feel that if they're buying the food, you eat what they want. But that's a crap excuse. Start making your own food if you have to.

Go onto the PETA website and read all the nutritional info they have about being vegetarian. As much as people criticize PETA for their actions, they have great information regarding a veg diet. It's under the issues section, regarding food. I actually just printed out a bunch of it the other night to give to my grandmother because she was giving my mom a hard time about being vegan and not getting enough this and that. If you eat a well-balanced diet and not just a bunch of junk, then you will be absolutely fine. Maybe showing your parents that information will make them realize you can get everything you need without eating meat. Just make sure you add a B supplement or nutritional yeast, like someone said.

That's why people fail and say they felt horrible...they're not eating the right things usually. You have to research and find out the best way to plan your food (which everyone should do anything, regardless of how they eat).

I was vegetarian for 4 years. I read Peter Singer's Animal Liberation and found his arguments about the immorality of inflicting suffering on a sentient being to be very persuasive.

Buy your parents one of his books on the ethics of eating animals and I am pretty sure they will understand.

Unfortunately, I am sad to say that I did return to eating meat, for terrible reasons related to convenience, but I regret it and have resolved to return to vegetarianism and then move to vegan.

My sister has been vegetarian since she was 14. My parents were against it, but she perservered. She is now 25 and very healthy (except she occasionally will order a BigMac - no meat).

used to be vegetarian for years, now i am vegan.

Been vegetarian and/or vegan for 25+ years and have no plans to give it up! OP if you want to give it up then give it up but don't do it for someone else.

Nothing personal and not directed at you, but these types of threads strike me as a little "misery loves company" syndrome. The person giving up what they believe might as well ask something like: "I believe in monogamy but I'm thinking of cheating on my partner, has anyone done it? Tell me how and why". So in other words people looking for affirmations to do something they really believe is wrong.

Yes it's easier to be omni, it's also easier to not put effort into a relationship, easier to sit on your butt eating ice cream and gain weight, easier to drop out of school than work for a degree...and so on. If you believe (the general you) in vegetarianism then commit. If you need to give it up give it up but own that --do not make excuses. if you need to give it up temporarily have a solid plan to get back on track. Don't be one if those "I used to be veg but it made me sick". Being veg does not make you sick. Making poor food choices makes one sick. In the 40 years I've been on this planet I've known exactly 1 person who legitimately had to start adding seafood for health reasons. So yes people like this exists but mostly people just make excuses and then seek affirmation from others who have given up so they can bash vegetarianism together. Misery loves company. Once you know you know, and you cannot unknow something. It will eat you away from the inside if you don't live your principles.

I was vegan. I developed nerve damage in my elbow so I was going to have surgery to fix it. 2 weeks before the surgery I decided to have my old favorite meal (spaghetti and meatballs), just for old time's sake in case the surgery went very wrong... The next morning I woke up and had completely recovered from the nerve damage. At that point I realized it was a nutritional deficiency, not real nerve damage. I really hate the way animals are treated, but it seems I need what they offer.

If YOU want to go back to eating meat, do it. But DON'T do it for someone else. Why would your parents want to try and influence your dietary choices? Convenience? If you don't want to eat meat then don't let them try and force you into it. If you are old enough to be on this site then you are old enough to make your own food choices.

I was until my roommate started cooking bacon and sausage for breakfast...

I stopped because I was studying abroad in Indonesia and my hosts served meat at lunch and dinner most days (sometimes tofu). I still have mixed feelings about eating meat because there's so much wrong with our food system and the way animals are treated. At the same time, eating meat, fish, and eggs really fuels me for strength training and makes me feel better. My goal someday is to have enough money to splurge on one thing - my food. I don't care if I live in a tiny apartment. I like to be a minimalist. But splurging on high quality food, on animal products that are sourced locally and/or ethically... that would be ideal.

I don't think it's unethical for humans to eat meat or animal products. Someday I'd like to maybe do it myself, and see if I still feel okay with eating the animal I killed. Other animals eat animals, too. I do think it's unethical that we've industrialized the process and treat animals like commodities, not really respecting them, and that's why I've got cognitive dissonance.

I think it's fine if you choose to be vegan, but recognize that living a vegan lifestyle is only possible in areas where a) you simply don't have access to animal products, as is the case in some impoverished areas, or b) in highly industrialized nations where it's possible to replace butter, eggs, and meat with, for instance, soy and mushroom products. I don't think veganism is a good nutritional choice because you have to supplement a lot of things. Vegetarian/veganism may be more ethically sound, though.

Do not change your diet because of your parents.

A vegetarian/vegan diet is perfectly capable or meeting all of your nutrient needs. A great book about the nutritional considerations (vegan, not veggie) is Vegan For Life.

To answer your question, I am a former veggie, now vegan.