I want to reintroduce meat into my diet

Chicken is delicious but If you're really opposed to meat then just have some protein shakes after workout or with meals to help with recovery.

Yes. Try it. You can't know what your experience will be until you first have it.

Plenty of people blog about how dietary changes made their health (and holiness) level-up. These are often the same people who say they get sick after encountering their former foods. Is this true for everyone? Hard to know. Are there lots of soft eyes and murmurs of reverence for people whose gentle palates and temperaments "can no longer handle" the harsh, toxic [fill-in-the-blank denigrated food or drink]? Yes. That's reward enough for some folks to keep up their claims. The reality is, most of us can sleep on a single mattress and never feel the pea that others claim they feel even at the top of a mountain of mattresses, if you get the reference. I'm fully in support of dietary changes that help people feel, get, and stay well. I suppose you can tell I'm a bit fatigued by the pearl-clutching protestations of people who claim a bite of cake, a strip of bacon, or an unintentional encounter with processed flour left them ill and bereft.

All that's to say, eat the chicken. Can't hurt to make it locally-sourced, free-range chicken that was raised and slaughtered humanely and treated without antibiotics. Consider having someone else prepare it, so you don't talk yourself out of eating actual flesh that looks like it came from a once-living being.

Then let us know if the protein/nutrient boost helps your strength training. Free your mind, and your mass will follow.

Why pretend it isn't flesh that came from a once living being? That is exactly what it is and that should be appreciated.

OP - why chicken? For protein there are lots of options, including whey based, so veggie friendly. If you are building then you need to be eating high calorie too, so no worries about that. If it is for meat then why have you chosen chicken which often is one of the least ethical meat choices due to the "commodity" nature of it

I am throwing these questions out there as you say you are 50/50, so it sounds like a choice you are questioning yourself.

There is in fact no problem, in MY world, with that, subakwa. However, for many vegetarians, it's a challenge. So why gross one's self out with raw flesh on the bone when trying to take in meat for the first time in a long while?

Nothing wrong with meat that's cut into strips or ground or otherwise looks different than the flesh it really is. Mix it with vegetables, bury it in a soup or stew, stuff an eggplant with it...it's all still meat, but presentation can help it feel more palatable. Not having to prepare it yourself can go a long way toward reintegrating meat into the diet for those who've been vegetarian for a long time.

Was vegetarian for 10 years. (At 12 yo, it's easier to decide you're vegetarian than explain to peers that you get the runs and unholy death-farts when you eat pig-flesh.)

Married a carnivore, and have reintroduced most meats back to my diet over the last 11 years. My skin, hair and nails are so much healthier now. I LOVE my protein. Still can't do pork: it greases my intestines and i want to die, but sometimes a tiny bit of bacon is SO WORTH THE PAIN, SORRY HUBS, YOU KNEW THE RISK.


That said: You said vegetarian but not vegan. Whey protein and eggs would still fall under OK territory if you're looking for low-cal, high-yield protein sources. (I like the Cellucor Vanilla whey powder, especially blended with frozen fruits and unsweetened almond milk)

My daughter is vegan and has been weight lifting on her school team. She told me that she didn't feel good when she tried meat again. That was really long time ago though. It's your decision, op, whether to eat meat again or not. Back in the day I spent great deal of time and effort to tempt her and convert her back to a meat eater she once was. I feel terrible about ir now, i shouldn't ever have. I respect her choices, and support her. Good luck.

As you see, there are many different experiences that we've all had when reintroducing meat. There's no universal experience, and even your own expectations won't necessarily set the tone for your first meat meal. For my part, my body reacted with complete and instant gratitude when I took my first bite of pork, even though I was convinced that the thought of what I was doing would sicken me. The great irony is that what really had been a problem for all those years... it was grains and soy.

Take it slowly, a small serving at a time. You might also want to see from experience just how different meat effects your body. If chicken treats you badly, another kind might not.

i'd start with tiny amounts of lean chicken breast meat. it's highly digestible and you could work up.

i get lots of high quality protein as a vegetarian. i eat lots of egg whites (they're highly bio-available), non-fat greek yogurt, low fat whey protein (also very bio-available, they say), low fat soy, not to mention quest bars. i eat other proteins, as well, but those are my faves for building muscle.

It's your decision to eat animals or not. However, as others have stated, it's entirely realistic and possible to get all of your protein needs met on a vegan diet.

If you do it slowly, you should be fine. I'm guessing after years you don't have the proper gut bacteria to digest it, especially if you were truly vegetarian and not the kind of "vegetarian" that eats fish and chicken. I get quite ill if I accidentally eat something with meat in it.

That said, you can certainly be vegetarian or vegan and gain muscle...