Anyone working toward going vegetarian?

I know you don't want to go complete vegan, but this has some wonderful tips!

http://features.peta.org/how-to-go-vegan/

I'm not vegetarian, but I did use a vegetarian diet at one time to help me lose some weight. It really helps

http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/making-the-transition-vegetarian.aspx

...I am slowing going veggie...like you for both reasons....I will take any help I can get....glad you asked the question.

:blushing:

I think it's funny you said "going cold turkey" ha.

anyhow i'm slowly approachign it, not for ethical reasons but for health, i pretty much eliminated all red meat and really only eat grilled chicken right now with occasional salmon. my reasoning is just bc i don't want fatty meat in my diet.

I'm vegetarian and have been a long time, but there are two meat-eaters in my household and I've been working on finding ways to cook things that will make all of us happy.

I have been vegetarian for almost a year now... with the last two months being mainly raw vegan.

I personally cut it all out at once. I made the switch for ethical reasons and cut out all meat when I made the switch. I couldn't leave in a certain type of meat or still consume fish since I was making the switch for ethical reasons. I personally wouldn't do it for health as there are a lot of unhealthy vegetarians out there. I found it a lot easier to just cut it all out at once.

I still cook meat as my husband still eats it and if we have people over for dinner I still make meat for them. I don't consume meat substitutes. I have at times but I prefer to stay away from them. I don't want to eat meat so I don't want to eat something that is made to replace a certain type of meat. Tons of ways to get protein in without the substitutes.

I also eat mostly vegetarian food and meat a couple times a week. I like tofu and use it to substitute for things. I made an awesome veggie pizza last week and added avacado and sprouts when it was done cooking...sounds weird but it was really good. I tried being completely vegitarian last year and gave up b/c I was craving meat big time. But for the most part I can go w/o eating meat for a long time I just like to eat it once in a while

Have you tried going weekday vegetarian? Only eating meat during the weekend??

About 3 or 4 weeks ago I just decided that I could not face eating meat anymore the thought of eating it made me queasy. Not because of the animal aspect, too much and not because I was considering the health factors.

Maybe it was because I have eaten a really high protein meat diet since I started on MFP. The first week I thought maybe I would convert to eating fish after 2 or 3 days I found I couldn`t face fish either.

So now I am eating a vegetarian diet. I have been really enjoying making stir fry vegetables. Sliced white cabbage, red onion, peppers, courgettes, mushrooms, mange tout...basically I throw all sorts into the pan it takes about 4 minutes to cook and I can eat loads of it for very few calories. So am adding some boiled new potatoes or a jacket potato.

Today I made a pastry free quiche with a recipe from here.

On a side note I have lost 2lbs since I started this new plan and my `toilet habits` are so much more regular lol

I read somewhere that to start, just start by adding fruits and veggies to each meal adn eating it first, then slowly moving away.

I'm not working towards being vegetarian, but have been making vegetarian meals as practice for when I need to cook for my boyfriend's vegetarian mother.

I did very slowly.
I cut out red meat, then after a year, I cut out pork, then after another year poultry etc.
There are tons of amazing things to eat.
http://theveeword.blogspot.com/ has sooo many great recipes full of flavor.
I'm allergic to dairy but there are so many good options like So Delicious, Flax milk, and Daiya cheese.

I am not working on becoming a vegetarian, but I am working on reducing the red meat I eat and having more vegetable based meals in general. Mostly because it can be cheaper especially in the summer when I have access to well stocked farmer's markets and we have very few places to access local meats, but also for general health reasons.

I suggest the cookbook "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian". It is amazing.

I am NOT a fan of "fake" meat. Tofu is okay (love it in Asian food), but the fake meat is just... yuck. When I do cook vegetarian I focus on real whole foods and new ways to enjoy them.

I slowly went vegetarian and I think it's the reason I've been able to stick with it. Suddenly giving up everything that you just eat as a reflex can be hard. I first cut back on red meat so I was only eating about once a week back in 2002 then in 2007 I became pescatarian (basically vegetarian but still ate fish and seafood) this was actually really easy to do. I then became officially vegetarian in 2010 but still messed up every now and then (i.e. didn't necessarily read all the ingredients in things like candy or yogurt and probably ate gelatin when I didn't realize it). I'm now a fairly strict vegetarian and working towards vegan (something I never thought I would be able to do). I found a few amazing vegan cookbooks and blogs and now I eat vegan at home but scale back to just veg when I eat at other peoples' houses or at restaurants that aren't particularly vegan friendly.

I hope that helps! It doesn't have to be done all at once. Can you imagine how much better off the world would be if everyone just ate vegetarian one day per week! Feel free to add me as a friend if you want to see what I typically eat.

Two years ago I decided to start by cutting out red meat and only eating fish, chicken and turkey after about six months I went into a full pescatarian lifestyle where I only consumed fish but I still ate eggs, cheese and other dairy products though I make sure that they are grass fed organic quality products. I stuck for that for a whole year and then brought meat back into my diet. This last December I found the clean eating lifestyle and focused more on the quality of food I was eating vs the type (ie low carb, no meat etc) and we dont eat processed foods very much at all anymore and the weight started falling off then i hit a nasty plateau (three weeks ugh) and didnt lose anything despite eating the same and exercising mildly so I decided to go back to a pescetarian lifestyle where i only ate fish and no other meats, i finally lost two pounds last week lol and feel pretty darn good. I found once i stopped telling myself that i couldnt have something and started saying that I didnt want it or even need it it made the process a lot easier.. if you don't prefer to go cold turkey then I would start with phasing out red meats and then go into just fish and decide if fish is something you want to keep in your diet.

Best of luck feel free to add me for support

I have been a vegetarian for 4 years. I just quit eating meat one day and haven't gone back. I read the book "Skinny *****" and became more aware of what was really in some of the things I had been eating. I also really recommend reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, "Eat to Live". For awhile I was a bad vegetarian, meaning I ate a lot of carbs and cheeses. This is just as bad as eating meat. Now I try to eat the majority of my food as fruits and veggies - and as many of them as possible raw. There are hundreds of places to find great vegetarian recipes, and going vegetarian is best if you like to cook. I don't know how you can do it if you eat out a lot. Not much healthy vegetarian food in restaurants.
Good luck. Hope you can do it.