Any vegan/vegetarians who went back to eating meat?

Ok so I'm not going to answer the question that you actually asked but I'm going to give you some resources for how to be a healthy vegetarian/vegan since you are correct that your french fry/grilled cheese diet is definitely not.

Brendan Brazier's book Thrive
Tim VanOrden's website and youtube channel
Neal Barnard's book Food for Life
Matt Frazier's website No Meat Athlete.

And just something to look into, the "organic" and "free range" terms have very specific meanings and from what I've found organic means they were given organic feed, not necessarily a chicken's natural diet; free range means they have access to the outside. This could be a doggie door that they may or may not know how to use. If, in the end, you do end up deciding to eat meat again, I recommend looking into some local farms were you can see how animals are kept. And fish, check out http://www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx for fish that aren't in danger of overfishing and always buy wild caught.

I was a vegan for six years. I went back to eating meat and dairy. I didn't get sick. I try to eat less processed food and ideally don't eat meat every day (though lately have been eating more). Still drink mostly soy milk but eat other dairy products. I try to keep meat portions small.

I was a vegetarian for about 6 years, but went back to eating meat when I became anaemic. While I was careful to consume as much plant-based iron sources as possible, my body just doesn't want to absorb non-heme based iron. My physician gave me two options, supplementation which is hard on the GI tract, or start consuming meat again. Now, I was never vegetarian for political/moral reasons, I am more of a picky eater than anything else, I just don't care for the taste/texture of meat.

My body definitely took some time to adjust. The first month or so of resuming meat consumption my stomach wasn't too happy with me, but gradually it got better. If you do choose to start incorporating more animal products into your diet I suggest going slow and not just washing down a giant steak with some cheese and a milkshake.

I was vegan for fours years, vegetarian for around five or six. I didn't really experience any changes when I brought dairy and meat back into my diet. I'm definitely not anywhere near being a vegetarian now, but I still enjoy a lot of veg cuisine when I go out to eat.

I dont know how anyone can go back to meat after being a vegetarian

Well, plenty of people in this thread have explained why. *shrug*

My best friend was a vegetarian for several years, but decided to reintroduce meat into her diet before she did some traveling abroad and felt she wouldn't always be able to find veggie options. She started with fish, then chicken, then later red meats. I don't remember her having much trouble transitioning back to meats but she did it pretty slowly -- she just didn't want it to really upset her system while she was out of the country.

It's really up to you whether or not you choose to bring meat protein sources back into your diet, but if you do I do recommend lighter meats like chicken or fish first and red meats later. But whether or not you choose to bring meat back into your diet, be sure you are eating a variety of foods -- vegetables of all colors, various fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes, whole grains and dairy (assuming you don't have any allergies).

ETA: if you are having problems with commercially raised meat sources, you could look into getting meats from actual farms or ranches (like, at farmers markets). It's going to be WAY more expensive than getting it at a grocery store (my experience has been that it's about twice as much per pound) but when I was getting my meat from those sources, those chickens were actually out in a field, eating off the land along with feed (so they were eating all the bugs and things too, like they would do in the wild), and laid what my friends and I deemed "happy eggs" because the yolk was bright orange rather than pale yellow like commercial eggs.

I was a vegetarian for 4 years? I don't remember exactly, but I remember hearing how much energy one should have on a no-meat diet, which I never felt. I ate a much healthier and more balanced diet when I was a vegetarian, I didn't know how to eat meat and eat healthy for a long time, so I guess I had the opposite problem that you have. I didn't get sick, I personally felt exactly the same as I felt before. I also don't believe I gained or lost weight. If you were already eating unhealthy foods I don't think you'll notice a lack of energy compared to before or have any digestive issues, but you won't know till you try. I just recently upped my meat intake and feel much more satisfied in eating less than before when I would fill up on carbs. (still loves carbs so much)



Eating fish and chicken is probably the easiest for you to start with.

I've been vegan for 19 years and the thought of eating meat or dairy ever again churns my stomach. There is no such thing as free range or humane slaughter. They're just terms dreamt up by the meat and dairy industry designed to ease your guilt.

I've been vegan for 19 years and the thought of eating meat or dairy ever again churns my stomach. There is no such thing as free range or humane slaughter. They're just terms dreamt up by the meat and dairy industry designed to ease your guilt.

I evolved as an omnivore. To feel guilt over what I am at my core seems a bit silly to me. The lion feels no remorse or guilt for the slaughter of the gazelle, and I feel no remorse or guilt for my fried chicken. Perhaps, I avoid creating "undo suffering" (however one wishes to define that, and for me it is taking a clean shot, for example, when hunting), but that is far as I can go. You are certainly welcome to live your life as you see fit, but I certainly don't have to agree or be bound by your morality.

I was lacto ovo vegetarian for years (I ate a ton of processed veggie junk like veggie burgers, sugar, and other crap most of the time). Meat tasted strange and definitely gave me a bellyache when I went back to eating it for awhile.

Going back to meat did not make me healthier (except the one time I went back to eating meat after the stupidest starvation diet ever that made me anemic, that time it probably did help). The other time I went back to eating meat I accelerated my weight gain. In other words, I was a fat vegetarian who got fatter faster on meat.

All that said, if you think your diet will be healthier with meat in it, eat the meat. You can't look out for any creature on this earth if you're sick. However, I'd plan it carefully using USDA guidelines and MFP to figure out a full healthy menu for yourself. Otherwise what makes you think you'll change from unhealthy eating to healthy just by adding something?

And if you're going to eat chicken, get organic unless you enjoy mercury in your food.

The French fry /grilled cheese diet would kill me. I've been a vegetarian for over a 14-15 years. I use loads of meat substitutes like tofu (which is actually cheaper than most meat), Morningstar, gardein, etc.

Adding back chicken won't fix your junk-food-vegetarian diet. You'll just be having chicken with French fries and grilled cheese. Also, going back is not fun, digestively speaking. I've had 2-3 instances in recent years in which something that was supposed to be vegetarian had chicken stock in it. Cue gut clenching and intestinal exorcism for 2 days. Ugh. I do not have the digestive enzymes to digest meat.

To avoid getting fat, Vegetarians and vegans should be eating a LOT of beans, lentils and chickpeas. At least in two meals every day if not three. These are low fat high protein foods which are filling and sustaining. Indian vegetarians survive on them. They are also inexpensive compared to meat and seafood.
I'm not going to criticise you for eating meat especially if you can stick with the more ethical ones like free range and raised in the field animals or wild caught fish.

I avoid meat most of the time but do eat seafood sometimes. Here most chicken is ****. chicken and pork are the worst foods as far as humane treatment of animals goes here in australia as far as i can see. I'll have a free range chicken once a year or if i'm eating at someone else's place and that's on offer.

if you want to know how to cook more wholesome and delicious bean dishes, look to the mediterranean cuisines and indian. The french and italians often add only a small amount of meat to a chickpea or bean dish so they get the best of both worlds with regards to flavour and health.

The lion feels no remorse or guilt for the slaughter of the gazelle, and I feel no remorse or guilt for my fried chicken.
You are certainly welcome to live your life as you see fit, but I certainly don't have to agree or be bound by your morality.

Errr, I never said you had to agree or be bound my morality. And the lion kills the gazelle itself, you pay KFC to kill the chicken on your behalf.

Again, your morality doesn't apply to me. The distinctions you draw are meaningless to me. I have certainly killed and butchered my share of animals. The fact that I often choose to pay someone to do it for me, doesn't change my analysis. As I said, you're welcome to your beliefs but don't pretend that everyone agrees or feels this guilt of which you speak. To me, animals are resources.

Errr, I never said you had to agree or be bound my morality. And the lion kills the gazelle itself, you pay KFC to kill the chicken on your behalf.

This. I'm not a vegetarian, but I can see the difference between a lion working and hunting its prey, an animal that lived a humane life in the wild, and a guy buying a drumstick from a chicken he never saw. You are not a lion, sir.

Which is why humans are smarter than lions. What,you think that if the lion had a credit card he'd be like, "no thanks, I'd rather starve for three days and then chase after this fast *kitten* gazelle and then pray that another lion doesn't take it from me in the hopes of getting some food?"

And what exactly is a "humane life living in the wild"? If enduring the extreme heat and cold while scavenging for food and evading predators day and night sounds appealing to you I suggest you give it a try

Adding back chicken won't fix your junk-food-vegetarian diet. You'll just be having chicken with French fries and grilled cheese.

Quoting for concise truth!

It's true, but at least she won't have to borrow my jacket every time we go to the movies