Thinking about becoming a vegetarian, but scared! Need advice!

ctmike1980
ctmike1980 Posts: 15 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I suddenly feel the urge to stop eating meat. I want to give the vegetarian lifestyle a shot. I would still eat cheese, eggs, milk, etc., just NO MEAT whatsoever. I am scared and hesitant and want to hear from anyone who has done it successfully long-term and any advice you can give. Thanks.
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Replies

  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    What are you scared of?
  • ctmike1980
    ctmike1980 Posts: 15 Member
    Scared I will get bored with choices and regret doing it. Also not sure what I would be spending on groceries, whether it would be more or less expensive.
  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Try a week and see how it goes? You can always just change your mind if you dont like it?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Figure out where your protein will come from to get a better understanding of where you're heading. It's a minority lifestyle so seek out groups dedicated to it. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/search?group_group=1&Search=veg
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
    You can eat less meat without becoming a vegetarian.
    If you continue eating cheese, eggs and milk then you are NOT a vegetarian.
    There are MFP vegetarian groups at MFP "Groups" option, at dark blue banner above
    here is a link
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
    You have to decide what makes you happy, start with your favorite foods. Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you eat. If you eat at a deficit ( calories burned > calories ingested) your body weight will decrease.
    Good luck in your healthy journey

  • kisamekick
    kisamekick Posts: 47 Member
    Bored with the choices? Pizza, burgers, pasta, risotto, stir-fry, noodles, curry, burritos, lasagna and I haven't even started on all the faux meat you can buy! And all the fruit and veg you eat. I'm vegan myself, and I thought I wouldn't be able to eat anything, but you just get more creative with food. :smile:
  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
    I have been a healthy vegetarian and an unhealthy vegetarian. The key is making your diet balanced, have variety, and have a backup plan for when you're stressed, busy etc. There are tons of recipes out there. My favorite blogs are Happy Healthy Kitchen and Oh She Glows. My favorite cookbooks are But I could Never go Vegan, Oh She Glows, Forks Over Knives, and Thug Kitchen. These are vegan cookbooks, but there is nothing stopping you from adding back in whatever food group you want. I like vegan cookbooks because there is a lot of variety. People come up with neat recipes and flavors that I would never think to put together and work very well.

    There is nothing to be afraid of. Pick some recipes you want to try, have a couple of go to's and try new things. You don't have to make the switch overnight or even switch over completely. A vegetarian diet can be very healthy as long as you pay attention to what you're eating.

    Good luck!
  • klove808
    klove808 Posts: 346 Member
    ^2nd the creativity aspect. I found more than I ever thought of existing when I went veggie .... Which was 20+ years ago.
  • fivelongmiles
    fivelongmiles Posts: 54 Member
    I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm doing the FODMAP diet to see if there's a food causing my troubles, and I did total elimination of all of the foods on the list as a first attempt. I thought it would be difficult but I'm several weeks in and still not bored! I think that's the main thing - even if you're not eating certain foods, there are still so many other foods out there that you still have plenty to choose from.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
    Why label it? And why would it be so bad if you did eat meat again? Just eat how you want, don't worry about the strict labels and then it doesn't sound so scary.
  • fldiver97
    fldiver97 Posts: 341 Member
    socioseguro wrote: »
    You can eat less meat without becoming a vegetarian.
    If you continue eating cheese, eggs and milk then you are NOT a vegetarian.[/b
    There are MFP vegetarian groups at MFP "Groups" option, at dark blue banner above
    here is a link
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
    You have to decide what makes you happy, start with your favorite foods. Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you eat. If you eat at a deficit ( calories burned > calories ingested) your body weight will decrease.
    Good luck in your healthy journey


    No disrespect but to clarify
    OP - several 'forms' of vegetarianism exist....
    Vegetarians do not eat fish, poultry, beef, pork or any animal but can eat eggs and dairy - ovo-lacto vegetarians.
    Some do not eat eggs and/or dairy.
    Vegans do not eat any animal products including dairy, eggs, honey

    I have been vegetarian for 27 years and vegan for a few months.
    Beans and lentils, tofu, seitan and many other things are good sources of protein and exchanges for meats. Vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are not more expensive. Plenty of recipes and ideas available. Cutting out junk food and some of the more processed foods and 'treats' and replacing them with more produce and whole foods has not made my grocery bill go up but my waistline go down
  • ekruska802
    ekruska802 Posts: 79 Member
    Maybe try easing in by going meatless a day (or several) per week while building up a repertoire of recipes you like? We did that at my house, and while we still eat meat, we've found we really like our meatless foods so we eat them a lot.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,799 Member
    edited December 2015
    annette_15 wrote: »
    Try a week and see how it goes? You can always just change your mind if you dont like it?

    This ^^

    I go weeks without meat ... and then I get a craving so I add a little meat for a while because I figure my body needs the extra protein, and then I might go a few days or a week or so without meat ...

    It's not like you have to lock in for the rest of your life.



    I grew up in a family where meat was the most important aspect of a meal. The answer to the question, "What do you want for dinner" was always a meat choice ... pork chops, steak, hamburger, roast beef, roast chicken, etc. etc. etc. The answer was never, "baked potatoes with cheese" or "fettuccine alfredo" or things like that.

    Trouble was, I don't particularly care for most meat ... never have. So when I moved out, I dropped meat almost entirely for some time. Since then, I've gone through periods of time where I include it, and periods of time when I don't (as mentioned above), but I rarely eat much of it.

  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    socioseguro wrote: »
    You can eat less meat without becoming a vegetarian.
    If you continue eating cheese, eggs and milk then you are NOT a vegetarian.
    There are MFP vegetarian groups at MFP "Groups" option, at dark blue banner above
    here is a link
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
    You have to decide what makes you happy, start with your favorite foods. Buy yourself a food scale, weigh everything you eat. If you eat at a deficit ( calories burned > calories ingested) your body weight will decrease.
    Good luck in your healthy journey

    eeek.. you are very wrong about vegetarians not eating dairy or eggs. Vegans do not eat animal products or honey.

    i am an off and on vegetarian due to health issues like sever b6/12 deficiency and anemina. My advice is to make sure u are either eating enough dair like yogurt or for sure supplement a b complex. Other then that have fun its awesome and u wont get bored. Personally i try harder when i cut out meat. I make lettuce wraps with veggies cilantro and a spicy peanut sauce, stir frys, and tons of soups! right now i eat meat but when my health issues are resolved i will go back.
  • YeaYeaPueblo
    YeaYeaPueblo Posts: 68 Member
    rbiss wrote: »
    I have been a healthy vegetarian and an unhealthy vegetarian. The key is making your diet balanced, have variety, and have a backup plan for when you're stressed, busy etc. There are tons of recipes out there. My favorite blogs are Happy Healthy Kitchen and Oh She Glows. My favorite cookbooks are But I could Never go Vegan, Oh She Glows, Forks Over Knives, and Thug Kitchen. These are vegan cookbooks, but there is nothing stopping you from adding back in whatever food group you want. I like vegan cookbooks because there is a lot of variety. People come up with neat recipes and flavors that I would never think to put together and work very well.

    There is nothing to be afraid of. Pick some recipes you want to try, have a couple of go to's and try new things. You don't have to make the switch overnight or even switch over completely. A vegetarian diet can be very healthy as long as you pay attention to what you're eating.

    Good luck!


    I second the Oh She Glows cookbook. Every recipe is a home run!

    Caitwn wrote: »
    Wow. People are complicating a pretty simple question. I was vegetarian for many years; I am currently an omnivore (just a personal decision), but eat a heavily plant-based diet that includes many vegetarian meals. As a vegetarian, you'll have plenty of variety and delicious ways to meet your macros. Just be sure to include protein from beans, legumes, tofu, seitan, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. The various meat substitute products aren't bad; you may have to experiment to find the ones you prefer (Morningstar Farms, Beyond Meat, Boca, etc.)

    I find my vegetarian and non-vegetarian grocery bills to be very similar.

    I will say that if you want to go vegetarian, it helps if you enjoy cooking. I feel that way about healthy eating in general - cooking from scratch really is key to variety and interesting food choices. For example, a lot of people think tofu is boring because they just dump it out of the package and scramble it or stir-fry it. But once you learn some of the recipes for crispy and baked tofu, you'll never look back.

    Anyway, there's nothing to be scared of. Vegetarian food is delicious and healthy. The best advice I can give you is just dive in and try recipes off some of the many really excellent vegetarian websites. A few favorites:

    cookieandkate.com/
    ohsheglows.com/ (she's vegan, and as a vegetarian you'll have more options - but the recipes on her site are very good)
    thefirstmess.com/
    naturallyella.com/
    mynewroots.org/site/
    sproutedkitchen.com/

    And two general recipe sites with great vegetarian options:
    budgetbytes.com/
    skinnytaste.com/2007/07/vegetarian-recipes.html

    Have fun, and enjoy!


    Great resources here, too! ^

    Just go for it! Make one or two days a week vegetarian, and ease your way in. It'll be second nature before you know it.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,799 Member
    YeaYeaPueblo wrote: »
    Just go for it! Make one or two days a week vegetarian, and ease your way in. It'll be second nature before you know it.

    Yeah, lots of people do "Meatless Mondays" and things like that. That might be a good way to start.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Caitwn wrote: »
    Wow. People are complicating a pretty simple question. I was vegetarian for many years; I am currently an omnivore (just a personal decision), but eat a heavily plant-based diet that includes many vegetarian meals. As a vegetarian, you'll have plenty of variety and delicious ways to meet your macros. Just be sure to include protein from beans, legumes, tofu, seitan, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. The various meat substitute products aren't bad; you may have to experiment to find the ones you prefer (Morningstar Farms, Beyond Meat, Boca, etc.)

    I find my vegetarian and non-vegetarian grocery bills to be very similar.

    I will say that if you want to go vegetarian, it helps if you enjoy cooking. I feel that way about healthy eating in general - cooking from scratch really is key to variety and interesting food choices. For example, a lot of people think tofu is boring because they just dump it out of the package and scramble it or stir-fry it. But once you learn some of the recipes for crispy and baked tofu, you'll never look back.

    Anyway, there's nothing to be scared of. Vegetarian food is delicious and healthy. The best advice I can give you is just dive in and try recipes off some of the many really excellent vegetarian websites. A few favorites:

    cookieandkate.com/
    ohsheglows.com/ (she's vegan, and as a vegetarian you'll have more options - but the recipes on her site are very good)
    thefirstmess.com/
    naturallyella.com/
    mynewroots.org/site/
    sproutedkitchen.com/

    And two general recipe sites with great vegetarian options:
    budgetbytes.com/
    skinnytaste.com/2007/07/vegetarian-recipes.html

    Have fun, and enjoy!

    Cosigned. Except I'm not currently an omnivore. I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian who's mildly intolerant to soy. I have no trouble enjoying a delicious, varied diet of foods I love. I do miss tofu though. I really did love it after learning to properly prepare it.

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