Vegetarian?

I am a Vegan... I do it for moral reasons and not as a way to lose weight. HOWEVER, if you are thinking about being a veg. I would honestly just ask--- why? What are the reasons? There are PLENTY of unhealthy vegetarians and vegans out there. You really have to be willing to do a LOT of cooking yourself ( a great habit ) and loadssss of research on foods and vitamins. Best place to start at the very least is look at the foods you consume. Just read labels. Do research on whats in the meat you buy (that would be enough to make me vegan anyway)..... don't believe everything you read on the internet. Read real sources. Read articles by people who have loads of credentials. The biggest way that becoming a Vegan helped me was that--- i cut out dairy which has always been a primary source of bad fat, sugar, and weight gain for me AND I started to eat LOADS more veggies. When I think of a meal now, I think of a salad and LIKE the idea of it. I think of nuts and veggies. Or maybe toast.... Nutritional yeast..... I read EVERYTHING that I pick up. Most of the time, i have to ignore the middle isles in the supermarket because so much stuff has been made with dairy. I know you said Vegetarian, but that's just my experience. A lot of people move slowly... I started with the no dairy... then stopped meat but kept fish and eggs, and recently got fish and eggs out of my diet (so easy for me to do as I didn't eat much to begin with). Everyone moves at their own pace.

My point: I love being a Vegan, but it is a difficult life change for someone not used to it. Don't do it just as a way to lose weight--- a Carbetarian can even gain weight (thats just a term I use to explain a veg who eats mostly pastas and breads and doesn't eat their share of veggies). Maybe start by looking into like I said, whats in the food you are eating now. That way you will at least start the learning curve and see if its something that you really want to do.

I've been a vegetarian off and on for about 20 years and am almost 100% vegan as of July. I feel better, my skin and hair look amazing, and my body functions better. I made the switch mostly for ethical reasons but also for my health. I read The Kind Diet and The China Study~ those 2 books made me decide to be a vegan.

As faf as weight loss- I initally lost about 7 lbs. But discoverd a delicous vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe and would make a batch about 2-3 times a week, and yes, eat them all!!! I have no self-control around sweets

It is definetly a huge change to take on. Are you doing it to lose weight? You will, as long as you dont rely on packaged/processed vegetarian foods. You need to rely mostly on veggies, fruits, grains and legumes.

I am all for vegan/vegetarian diets!! Good for you and the animals!!

Wish I had the willpower to have a vegetarian lifestyle, but I can't give up chicken. Lol. I've tried numerous times but failed. I fully support vegetarianism, vegan not so much. Seems way too extreme for my taste.

I love it.....but it's not for everyone.

I am mostly vegetarian (I eat fish) and I cook/keep my house dairy free (my son is allergic). I've gone the whole gamut between omnivore/vegetarian/vegan and this is the lifestyle that works best for my conscience and my health; I tend to almost always eat at home, don't eat fast food, etc.

I would recommend that you at least try it, or try to adjust a certain number of meals per week to be non-meat meals. If nothing else, it will expand the number of foods you are willing to try (I probably would've never really gotten into Indian or Thai food if I hadn't gone veg).

I am not a vegetarian but after hearing about the cancer causing arsenic they put in chicken i haven't been able to eat chicken. But my step mother has stopped eating meat for the most part and she swears by it. Says she feels a lot better. I know that our bodies cannot process meat that well. Certain blood types can process it more than others. Things like fish we can process and digest pretty fair though. If you are not much of a meat lover i would say definitely go for it. If you are pretty partial to meat i would say maybe go slow. I love meat so it has always been hard for me to cut it out.

I'm a veggie girl! I watched 3 documentaries and that was it for me, I was done with meat, Earthlings was the one that pushed me over the edge.. I didn't even finish the doc!

I supplement with 1 protein recovery drink after a work out daily, that gives me 21 g of protein in 1 shot.. its not a milky shake either, I cant do dairy, lactose intolerant..

Tonight I made a huge turkey dinner for the fam and I was quite satisfied with my Gardein Stuffed Turk'y dish and plenty of fixin's!

I was veggie for 5 years, vegan for 2 of them. Just be ready to do a lot of your own cooking and reading labels. I had to stop because I wasn't getting enough nutrition and would rather eat more than take vitamins.