Any vegan/vegetarians who went back to eating meat?

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  • blastbeat78
    blastbeat78 Posts: 31 Member
    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.


    I was never applying it to you and of course they are meaningless to someone like you.:yawn:
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    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.

    I was never applying it to you and of course they are meaningless to someone like you. The feelings of guilt some meat eaters have is only relevant to those who are capable of compassion or empathy.


    do feelings of guilt apply to someone that butchers both the quote and edit buttons?
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    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.

    I was never applying it to you and of course they are meaningless to someone like you. The feelings of guilt some meat eaters have is only relevant to those who are capable of compassion or empathy.

    You're entertaining in your assumptions. I have to wonder whether you've simply bought into propoganda or whether you've read foundational works of moral philosophy and come to your own conclusions. Your knee jerk assumptions lead me to lean towards the former.

    Edit to fix your quotes
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    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.

    I was never applying it to you and of course they are meaningless to someone like you. The feelings of guilt some meat eaters have is only relevant to those who are capable of compassion or empathy.


    do feelings of guilt apply to someone that butchers both the quote and edit buttons?

    Only when he breaks the soap box on which stands
  • grazer432
    grazer432 Posts: 33 Member
    I was a vegan for a while and I found myself eating a lot of crap because decent vegan food took too much time to make. And eating crap was not doing me any favours health-wise or weight-wise. I introduced meat back into my diet, cut the junk and lost weight and felt better. I eat mostly paleo now, but not loads of meat. I would definately transition slowly. Adding lots of anything new can be hard on your digestive system. Like someone else suggested, I started eating fish then chicken then red meat over a few months and had no issues.

    And I have done work in the agricultural industry, words like organic, free-range, pasture-raised etc. do have meaning. I have visited the farm where the meat I eat comes from multiple times and am satisfied that the animals are treated fairly, feed appropriate diets etc. I would never eat battery chicken eggs or animals fed junk.
  • kristin1493
    kristin1493 Posts: 41 Member
    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.


    I hope that's not a leather jacket in your second photo... I find it hypocritical for vegans to wear leather.
  • mathmatt
    mathmatt Posts: 58 Member
    Took a while but I finally found what I was looking for. To see what the terms free range and organic actually mean, check this out:
    http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/about-the-industry/chickopedia/

    Seeing that you disagree with animal cruelty, these terms don't necessarily mean cruelty free depending on what your view of cruel/unethical treatment of animals is.

    I've been trying to research why one might get sick when adding meat into their diet after long periods of not eating it and there's not been a lot of studies done. I've seen several different theories as to why it could happen including lack of proper digestive enzymes to a change in the bacteria present in the gut biota but no conclusive evidence. One thing that I've noticed from my readings is that "sick" means mostly bloating and diarrhea not vomiting. These things should clear up once whichever mechanism causing the issues balances out and gets back to what you need for proper digestion. I've seen things that say from a few weeks to a few months but that seems to all be guesswork.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
    To address the original question: I can go a year without eating meat, then have some steak and feel fine. I don't feel guilt and I don't have tummy ache. I don't think I'm a hypocrite either, nor do I care what anyone else thinks.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    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.

    In...

    ...to see if this non-answer of the question asked by OP is met with the same outraged response as when others do it to someone trying to go the other direction...

    ...because I'm curious like that.
  • lilmssmartypants
    lilmssmartypants Posts: 1
    edited November 2014
    I'm glad I found this topic. I find it very difficult to lose weight as a vegan/vegetarian even with the intense exercise I am doing, Barry's Bootcamp-HIIT and strength training 4 days out of the week. I've been vegetarian for 7 years and try to avoid the dairy. I don't like the way dairy makes me feel.
    This past week I ate turkey, weighed myself and dropped two pounds. So, now I know the problem is my diet! I thought about what I did differently this week: I added turkey, limited my intake of dairy, and incorporated oatmeal with blueberries into my diet.

    I am thinking of adding Hormone Free Turkey, Lean grilled or baked Chicken, and fish or least the Sushi Rolls for starters into my diet to lose the 10lbs and maintain it. I think my vegan diet also also has something to do with breakage of hair and nails as well. I don't think the vegan diet is doing me any good. The purpose of it was to avoid chemicals and to be acne free. Although, my acne is not as bad, I am still not completely clear and still have to make regular visits to dermatologist. What's the point if it's not fixing any health problems? I've just become accustomed to not eating animals anymore.

    I've been fluctuating between 136lbs-138lbs this whole year. It feels good to finally see a drop to 134lbs. My goal is 125lbs. It's not even a significant amount of weight I am trying to lose. I am 5'6/5'7 and just trying to get back to how I looked 7 years ago.

    Side note:I can't wait to throw out the Whey Protein for my smoothies. It's been giving me stomach aches!
  • retread4258
    retread4258 Posts: 10 Member
    I was a vegetarian for 22 years and started back eating fish then other meat in 2012. I definitely was sick when I first started back. It simply didn't agree with my stomach. However, I did not start back slowly. After my initial bad experience, I started eating just a very little at a time and it no longer bothered me.

    I don't eat much meat now but it has allowed me to eat less carbs and still feel full. I also feel I have more energy and can work out more since I started back eating meat.

    My going back to meat was for health reasons and recommended by two of my doctors as well as my own thinking on the subject. I never felt eating meat was wrong, but I didn't want to support the meat industry for their unethical treatment of animals. However, as an older person now with health issues, I can no longer afford to deny myself the benefits of meat in my diet in order to make my personal protest.

    I find there are both benefits and negatives to having meat back in my diet and I just try to balance it like I do the risk and benefits of all the other foods I eat. I try to listen to my body and not pay too much attention to the "experts" who tell me chocolate is good for me this week but then next week, it's bad and so forth.
  • Aemely
    Aemely Posts: 694 Member
    edited November 2014
    If you are worried about humane treatment of animals, which I think most of us are, there are some additional certifying groups that you may wish to check out. Here's one of them that allows you to find "certified humane" meats at a store near you:

    http://certifiedhumane.org/take-action-for-farm-animals/shop/#/map

    And another couple of sites:
    http://www.compassionate-carnivores.org/find.html
    http://www.humaneitarian.org/what-is-humanely-raised-meat/humane-certifications/

    Of course, I know people who raise and slaughter their own chickens, catch fish in ponds and lakes, and hunt for game. That way you are in control of how the animal is treated.

    Interesting discussion!
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    I'm a vegan and I wouldn't be full on nuts and greens either. What vegetarian/vegan proteins have you explored? Do you eat eggs? Yes, a grilled-cheese-and-french-fry vegetarian diet is going to get in the way of health and fitness goals, but that's not an optimal diet for anyone, vegetarian or otherwise.

    The issue with "organic" and "free range" labels are that they're mostly there to make people feel good about purchasing something without much change concerning animal welfare. "Organic" just means the chickens can't be fed hormones, and a farmer who cuts a flap door into the side of the chicken coop can label the chicken's free range because technically they have "access" to the outdoors. It's a marketing ploy. Besides - if we're really being serious, can slaughter ever be "humane"?

    If you went vegan/vegetarian for moral reasons, it may be worth investigating recipes incorporating whole, filling, healthy foods that nourish both your body and your soul. Feel free to reach out to me at any point for ideas or support!
  • skinnyEmilijah
    skinnyEmilijah Posts: 61 Member
    I kind of felt the same way. And near the end of my vegetarianism, I was getting frustrated because it was really hard. I still eat lots of vegetarian and vegan meals now, but I do eat all sorts of food, including meat.

    For me, I have gained weight, but I don't think that has to do as much with meat eating as it does with not watching my diet. I have been higher than the weight I'm at now as a vegetarian. I am very short and I gain very easily, so I think that for me, being vegetarian or not does not affect my weight.

    Either way, think it through and decide what *you* want to do. What you eat is your own business. Morally, I would just think it through and if you are okay with it, do it. If not, try to find alternatives to what you are eating now. Eggs and low fat dairy are good ways to add some extra protein if that's what you need. Also, when I was veggie, I drank a lot of protein shakes on days that I didn't eat as well.
  • hiswaywardgirl
    hiswaywardgirl Posts: 42
    edited November 2014
    I was a vegetarian for 6 years, and thought I would go back slowly... but wound up eating a wide variety of meat again right away. I had forgotten what everything tasted like and wanted to enjoy it again.

    With meat, I feel full much faster and don't feel tempted to fill up on carbs. My health has only gotten better -- I have more hair (it had been thin for years on a veggie diet), I have more energy, I don't get hungry every couple hours... Good luck, whatever you choose to do. :)
  • Edie30
    Edie30 Posts: 216
    Ah this one always puts the cat amongst the pigeons doesn't it! I think eat what the f&$k you want. I'm vegetarian with a massive varied diet. I think people with the worst vegetarian diets are the ones that go back to meat. If your diet is fabulous you don't feel you need to. It's individual choice though. Maybe look into some vegan / vegetarian food blogs and see if you get inspired first :-)
  • ViolaLeeBlueberry
    ViolaLeeBlueberry Posts: 182 Member
    edited November 2014
    FWIW, I was vegetarian many moon ago. Then I decided to eat some leg of lamb on an elderly relative's birthday ... basically because it was his favorite meal and otherwise I'd have been picking on some boiled carrots on the poor guy's birthday and he'd have felt bad ... my choice, but that was the motivation ... and I couldn't digest it. It took about three days before that lamb didn't feel like it was sitting in my stomach anymore!

    I decided I'd rather have the capacity to digest a variety of foods than stick with being vegetarian, and actually I do find that my body feels better if I eat meat. But people's bodies are different. Certainly the world is full of healthy vegetarians with perfectly varied diets. And spending time as a vegetarian did help me to think differently about what breakfast, lunch and dinner can mean.

    I must say it was really, really weird to cook a chicken after that many years of being vegetarian. After deciding to make the switch back, I remember preparing my first chicken with a friend and standing there in horror saying, "it looks like a BIRD!" Uh, yeah :smile:
  • Mediocrates55
    Mediocrates55 Posts: 326 Member
    I was vege for several years. Then I got pregnant with my first son, looked at a cheeseburger, and said "I'MMA EAT THE S**T OUT OF YOU" and never looked back. Had stomach issues in my teens that led to the vegetarian diet, but had no issue adding meat back in. It wasn't an ethical choice for me, it was a matter of blinding stomach cramps every time I'd eat meat. If it's ethical and you still hold to your beliefs then explore alternative cooking methods to shake things up. Healthy and successful veges are out there. I still waft towards a vege based diet when I'm taking care of myself properly. But I do love me some grassfed steak, too.
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  • cheekychocolate
    cheekychocolate Posts: 17
    My experience here: vegetarian (eggs & dairy) for 10 years, then vegan for 5 years after that with 1 of those being raw vegan. Went back to the dark side about 1.5 years ago and never looked back. No problems, actually my digestive system feels better now and I'm WAY more emotionally stable. For me it was like the more veggie I went, the more emotional meltdowns I had. Don't know why, I did everything "right" and was extremely careful to make sure I was getting all my nutrients, planned meals carefully, supplemented with vitamins B12 and D, plant protein, Udo's oil, etc. but something was just "off". I thought going veggie would make me more calm & zen but it didn't. But that's me, everyone has to find what works for them. Good luck finding your balance.
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
    I did. I just couldn't get enough protein for my needs. I was eating eggs, cheese, and yogurt, and far too many soy products. I was working out, but just not getting the results I wanted. I was also eating way too many carbs and beans and always felt bloated and drained of energy.

    I added free range chicken and some occasional free range red meat and upped my saturated fat intake considerably. I now eat several eggs a day and only eat full fat cheeses and yogurt. And it's not just the muscle protein in meat I was missing out on. I now eat a lot of skin, connective tissue, and use the bones and marrow in broths to get the proline and glycine in the gelatin and collagen, and all the nutrients in the bones.

    That did the trick for me. I started losing fat and putting on muscle and neither would have happened for me staying vegetarian. As an omnivore, I'm leaner and stronger than I have been in years and continue to get leaner and more fit.

    The best benefit from being vegetarian for several years, though, is that I still love and eat a lot of many different varieties of fresh vegetables.
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