Should I stay vegetarian?

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2

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  • czmiles926
    czmiles926 Posts: 130 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    The decision is yours, but if you do decide to eat meat, why would you choose the lowest quality fast food garbage to enjoy? If you are going to do so, eat some good, grass fed beef or higher quality meats.

    I'm a student, I can't afford that! :D
  • czmiles926
    czmiles926 Posts: 130 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    czmiles926 wrote: »
    I've been vegetarian (I eat fish about once a week so technically I'm pescetarian) for over a year now but I'm not sure if I should stay vegetarian. I'm starting to feel like I'm denying myself things that I would enjoy because of a label I gave myself.
    I stopped eating meat and gelatine when I started university to reduce my environmental impact. But I suppose it was also a way of me embracing the new indepence that came with living away from home for the first time.
    It was also a good excuse to get out of eating some of the awful meat dishes my mum makes when I came home during the holidays.
    My vegetarian friend has taken a break from being vegetarian at the moment.
    If I did stop being vegetarian I would still use Quorn instead of meat in my cooking as I prefer it (0% chance of gristle). I would probably only eat meat when I go to fast food outlets because that's when I feel the most like I'm missing out.
    Am I weak for not sticking to it though?
    I suppose this is more of a philosophical question than a nutrition question, but oh well,I wanted to hear some other opinions.

    you're doing it because your friend is doing it... :huh:

    I was already thinking about it and when I learned that my friend had stopped and that the world hadn't ended when she did it made me think about it more.
  • heatherannAZ
    heatherannAZ Posts: 3 Member
    edited November 2017
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  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    czmiles926 wrote: »
    I've been vegetarian (I eat fish about once a week so technically I'm pescetarian) for over a year now but I'm not sure if I should stay vegetarian. I'm starting to feel like I'm denying myself things that I would enjoy because of a label I gave myself.
    I stopped eating meat and gelatine when I started university to reduce my environmental impact. But I suppose it was also a way of me embracing the new indepence that came with living away from home for the first time.
    It was also a good excuse to get out of eating some of the awful meat dishes my mum makes when I came home during the holidays.
    My vegetarian friend has taken a break from being vegetarian at the moment.
    If I did stop being vegetarian I would still use Quorn instead of meat in my cooking as I prefer it (0% chance of gristle). I would probably only eat meat when I go to fast food outlets because that's when I feel the most like I'm missing out.
    Am I weak for not sticking to it though?
    I suppose this is more of a philosophical question than a nutrition question, but oh well,I wanted to hear some other opinions.

    I gather you are fairly young. It is normal to try different things out. If you want to change your diet then do it. It is not about being weak or strong. Just find the way of eating that is right for you. If it is not change it as many times as you want.

    Hopefully you have not been walking around lecturing people eating meat or something for the last year.
  • Iamnotasenior
    Iamnotasenior Posts: 234 Member
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    I've been a pescatarian for about 20 years now. A couple of years ago, I "took a break". My husband had prepared a roasted chicken that had a mouth-watering aroma and I had a taste. A taste morphed into a serving on a plate. Then, I indulged in chicken for the next few days. After a few days, I lost my taste for it and went back to a meat-free diet. My advice would be if you are craving the taste of a cheese burger from a fast food place, go get one, eat it and see how you feel. If you are feeling "deprived" only when you are with your friends, that's different. Go to a fast food place like Burger King that offers a veggie burger or come up with a different strategy to combat those feelings of being deprived. My husband is a meat eater and loves barbecue so when we go to a barbecue restaurant I order a plate of "sides" and indulge in some mac and cheese, baked beans and potato salad and maybe even a dessert and I don't feel "deprived" at all.
  • iheartralphie
    iheartralphie Posts: 104 Member
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    No way. Eating a dead carcass is nothing your missing out on.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
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    eat whatever you feel like.
  • Troutrouter1968
    Troutrouter1968 Posts: 122 Member
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    Nothing better than eating a dead carcass especially if you killed it yourself.
  • czmiles926
    czmiles926 Posts: 130 Member
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    iheartralphie wrote: »
    No way. Eating a dead carcass is nothing your missing out on.

    I would eat your dead carcass without the slightest tinge of guilt.
  • czmiles926
    czmiles926 Posts: 130 Member
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    Something has to die for me to keep living: whether that's a plant or an animal makes no difference to me morally. I just avoided meat because of all the greenhouse gases it produces.
  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
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    That is certainly a personal decision and depends on whether you are doing it totally for environmental/animal welfare reasons or health benefits. I eat all kinds of meat/poultry/fish and eggs and consider it healthy for me even though I know our food doesn't always come from the best environments. I have a friend who has been totally vegan for at least 15 years and his primary reason is because of the way animals are mistreated in the industry. It is a strong conviction of his that I respect. I always cook vegan meals while he is visiting the family, but it is very difficult trying to create meals with enough protein and learning to make sauces and without cheese or eggs. He's taught me a lot like using nutritional yeast and pine nuts to imitate cheese sauce. Although he is a vegan chef by trade, he even struggles with it because of the high cost of protein/amino acid supplements that he ends up having to use to stay healthy. Actually he is extremely thin and not what I'd call real healthy looking, but that I guess is in the beholder's eye. Last time he stayed here he actually started eating eggs laid by my somewhat free-range chickens, which are healthy and happy and that made life much easier on me. If you decide to re-introduce animal products, do it slowly. It may take your body awhile to adjust.
  • czmiles926
    czmiles926 Posts: 130 Member
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    UrBaconMeCr8zy wrote: »
    Bacon

    I think bacon is overrated.
  • pandagreek
    pandagreek Posts: 9 Member
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    czmiles926 wrote: »
    I've been vegetarian (I eat fish about once a week so technically I'm pescetarian) for over a year now but I'm not sure if I should stay vegetarian. I'm starting to feel like I'm denying myself things that I would enjoy because of a label I gave myself.
    I stopped eating meat and gelatine when I started university to reduce my environmental impact. But I suppose it was also a way of me embracing the new indepence that came with living away from home for the first time.
    It was also a good excuse to get out of eating some of the awful meat dishes my mum makes when I came home during the holidays.
    My vegetarian friend has taken a break from being vegetarian at the moment.
    If I did stop being vegetarian I would still use Quorn instead of meat in my cooking as I prefer it (0% chance of gristle). I would probably only eat meat when I go to fast food outlets because that's when I feel the most like I'm missing out.
    Am I weak for not sticking to it though?
    I suppose this is more of a philosophical question than a nutrition question, but oh well,I wanted to hear some other opinions.

    You should always eat the way that you feel convicted to. As somebody who has looked into becoming a vegetarian and looked at the health benefits, there are some nutrients that you can only receive by eating meat. Taking supplements are great and easy however it does not compare to the actual nutrients that we receive from actual animal proteins.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    dwilliamca wrote: »
    That is certainly a personal decision and depends on whether you are doing it totally for environmental/animal welfare reasons or health benefits. I eat all kinds of meat/poultry/fish and eggs and consider it healthy for me even though I know our food doesn't always come from the best environments. I have a friend who has been totally vegan for at least 15 years and his primary reason is because of the way animals are mistreated in the industry. It is a strong conviction of his that I respect. I always cook vegan meals while he is visiting the family, but it is very difficult trying to create meals with enough protein and learning to make sauces and without cheese or eggs. He's taught me a lot like using nutritional yeast and pine nuts to imitate cheese sauce. Although he is a vegan chef by trade, he even struggles with it because of the high cost of protein/amino acid supplements that he ends up having to use to stay healthy. Actually he is extremely thin and not what I'd call real healthy looking, but that I guess is in the beholder's eye. Last time he stayed here he actually started eating eggs laid by my somewhat free-range chickens, which are healthy and happy and that made life much easier on me. If you decide to re-introduce animal products, do it slowly. It may take your body awhile to adjust.

    Okay, so you *don't* have a friend who has been totally vegan for 15 years . . .
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    pandagreek wrote: »
    czmiles926 wrote: »
    I've been vegetarian (I eat fish about once a week so technically I'm pescetarian) for over a year now but I'm not sure if I should stay vegetarian. I'm starting to feel like I'm denying myself things that I would enjoy because of a label I gave myself.
    I stopped eating meat and gelatine when I started university to reduce my environmental impact. But I suppose it was also a way of me embracing the new indepence that came with living away from home for the first time.
    It was also a good excuse to get out of eating some of the awful meat dishes my mum makes when I came home during the holidays.
    My vegetarian friend has taken a break from being vegetarian at the moment.
    If I did stop being vegetarian I would still use Quorn instead of meat in my cooking as I prefer it (0% chance of gristle). I would probably only eat meat when I go to fast food outlets because that's when I feel the most like I'm missing out.
    Am I weak for not sticking to it though?
    I suppose this is more of a philosophical question than a nutrition question, but oh well,I wanted to hear some other opinions.

    You should always eat the way that you feel convicted to. As somebody who has looked into becoming a vegetarian and looked at the health benefits, there are some nutrients that you can only receive by eating meat. Taking supplements are great and easy however it does not compare to the actual nutrients that we receive from actual animal proteins.

    What essential nutrients are only found in meat?

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