Why did you become vegetarian/vegan?

I became a vegetarian 20 years ago after eating meat started to gross me out and I was able to think for myself to make these humane decisions. I am a huge animal lover and biting into one isn't for me. This May I became a vegan after watching Forks over Knives (life changing)and my cholesterol dropped, I have more energy and the fat is melting off. This film really demonstrates that becoming a vegan will change your body and it really did.

I watched far too many documentaries about the environmental, economical and health implications. I read The China Study. I became a runner who idolizes Scott Jurek. After being a vegan for over two years, I feel much healthier.

You're telling me that 29 grams of protein is not enough for a meal?

Yes, I do think 29 grams of protein is very low for what looks like a full meal, but to each their own, maybe you do not eat as much protein as I do. That is the equivalent of less than half a free range chicken breast, the equivalent of like 3 egg whites (60 calories) and has a lot more calories, fat, and processing.

I guess what I should have said was that it is more difficult for vegetarians to get an adequate amount of protein than it is for omnivores. I think most people who read my post probably understood my meaning. That is a credit to so many vegetarians who manage to eat healthy with less options than omnivores. Being a vegetarian requires better meal planning, clever use of beans, etc. to get enough protein.

I stopped eating meat all together in college, because the sight of it all sectioned out in the supermarket was gross and made me sad. The thought of the hormones in the meat didn't sit well either. I don't eat fish because I couldn't get past seeing fish as pets. That and I don't like the smell. I've been wheat-free for almost 15 years, so sadly a lot of the meat substitutes - and I dislike the "why do you eat meat substitutes when you don't eat meat" argument- contain wheat, so I can't eat them. Things like Morningstar, Quorn, and Tofurkey are out. Adapt and overcome, as they say.

I'm married to a meat eater, so we do a lot of poultry, as my husband does a fair bit of the cooking. He's not big into veggies or things like quinoa. Raw chicken actually skeeves me out and I don't eat pork or beef. If it were just me (and I'm glad it isn't), I would put more effort into being GF and veg. But I work full time, volunteer at the hospital, volunteer as an EMT, and am taking classes, which means that he cooks, which means we eat poultry. I usually take more side dish than meat when the option presents itself though.

I went vegetarian almost two years ago - it will be 2 years in July. I did so for a variety of reasons. The most important of which, was for my love of animals and my disgust with the unethical treatment of animals on factory farms. I have always been an animal rights activist and felt it was time that my diet reflected my beliefs. I also fully believe that no animal deserves to lose its life in order to feed me or anyone else. I don't fault anyone for not being a vegetarian - I just like to encourage them to try it. I also went vegetarian as part of my lifestyle change journey here on MFP. I want to lose A LOT of weight, and I knew my diet needed help. By all means - going vegetarian/vegan does not automatically equal healthy! In fact, it's hard work, especially in the beginning, to re-learn how to eat healthy on a whole new diet. It's easy to turn to pastas and starches without paying attention to protein and nutrients. For me, it took some work, but with my newfound determination on MFP, I knew I could do it. MFP is also great for the transition because you can log your food and really make sure you get all you need. I found I now eat more protein than I ever did before my change. I've learned the right foods to eat, and going vegetarian has really opened up a whole new culinary world to me. I also don't impulse eat like I used to - I almost never eat anything from a fast food place (there's not much in the way of vege fare and that's a good thing!) - so I no longer binge on burgers and fries. I feel better - inside and out. I feel healthier, have more energy, and just feel clean. Even my husband, who's an aspiring vegetarian but hasn't been able to make the switch yet - eats mostly vegetarian and said to me that when he eats meat now, he really sees how much it affects him and makes him not feel good.

For suggestions - especially for people who love meat dishes - I really recommend exploring alternative 'meat' sources. My favorites are Seitan (a wheat based produced that can be homemade or store bought - Westsoy is awesome - and can be made or purchased to taste like beef, chicken or fish) and Tempeh (a whole soybean product that's awesome as 'bacon', used on sammies, tossed in stirfy etc.). I also love tofu - when it's properly prepared, and black soybean tofu (available at whole foods) which has a nuttier flavor. As for prepackaged goods - I love Westsoy Seitan, Lightlife Smart Strips (beef or chicken which can be used in anything from stirfrys to tacos, gyros, fajitas, sandwiches); Smokey Tempeh Bacon; Nasoya Black Tofu; Vegetarian Plus frozen foods (Black Pepper Steaks and Ginger Spare Ribs are incredible); Sophie's Kitchen Frozen Products (Vegan Breaded Shrimp, Fish, Calamari and crab cakes that taste so much like the real thing it's almost scary); Quorn Products (my favs are the chikn cutlets with goat cheese and cranberries); Meatless Mushroom Meatballs (I fooled several friends with these who thought they were beef!); Gardenburgers - yumfest; and Boca Chicken Patties. Gardein products are also delish and versatile, and Fieldroast makes a vege Meatloaf that is amazing!

Ok, prob more info than anyone wanted, but I hope it helps!

*hugs* Holly

I became vegan after watching Forks Over Knives and deciding to try the plant-based foods to see if it would help with my migraines. It didn't help, it cured. I have since added back fish since it's NOT a migraine trigger for me, but chicken, eggs, dairy, etc. are all totally out. For me it's not hard. Looking at it and knowing it will put me in pain for 3-5 days is plenty of incentive not to eat it. I try to stay away from processed vegan foods, but I will use them when I need them - like showing up to a cookout with my own vegan burgers, or not-chicken patties. BUT the vast majority of all the processed foods labeled "veggie" are made with milk and eggs, so I have to be really careful what I buy. The allergy warning labels have become my friends because they disguise that stuff under all sorts of crazy names. I just started in January, so I'm still feeling my way around stuff. I was dissappointed at the Pampered Chef vegetarian cookbooks, very heavy on the eggs and cheese in the recipes, and only one little section in the back of the Vegetarian Table that is truly vegan. I bought the Veganomicon - LOVE it...lots of good recipies that real people can make! As for suggestions, just do whatever works best for you, and if you aren't sure what that is just try different things until you find something you like. For me cold-turkey changes have never been difficult, I love switching my world around...not everyone likes that...for some people gradual is better. I do still serve meat to my family, but in reduced quantity, and I only buy local (I live in the country, so for me that's not a challenge). There are lots of recipes online, and I would definitely recommend trying those before investing in cookbooks (unless you are like me and just love collecting new cookbooks). Also, you can change your MFP setting to track anything you are concerned about falling short on. For instance, when I first started I tracked protein, iron, and calcium and kept a close eye on them because I was concerned about being able to get those nutrients in sufficient quantity on a plant-based diet. And I eat plenty of nutritional yeast so I get my B12. It's not hard to do once you get the hang of it, but it is something to keep in mind, particularly in the very beginning. This should be a healthy move, not one that winds up with vitamin defficiencies. Now I'm working on getting ALL the processed foods out of my diet, since I've been swinging back way too far towards pastas and such. Must get back to more whole grains.

I've been vegetarian for five years. I like the fact that a vegetarian diet can be much healthier (I definitely feel it, especially being free from that horrible red meat - so bad for you!) I think that animals shouldn't be exploited in that way. I certainly wouldn't eat my friend's dog, so why would I harm an innocent little chicken or cow?! Apart from that, my focus is now more on eating vegetables as a main part of a meal, rather than meat, which is great (and less fattening!)

My tips: look up loads of vegetarian websites for recipes - there are literally thousands out there! I'm never short of anything to eat There are loads of vegetables, nuts, pulses, beans, grains available to provide you with all nutrients and vitamins you need. Remember, eggs are your friend! And don't be afraid to try vegetarian options such as Quorn or veggie burgers if you don't mind eating processed food. They're very tasty. Good luck!

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I feel better. I feel better internally, I have more energy, and I feel like I'm doing a small part to help protect my planet.

I never really liked meat very much as a child. I love animals so much and was always bothered by the idea that I was eating "dead flesh". I grew up in a typical Midwestern household, you know, plenty of meat and potatoes, but I still never really liked meat very much--the texture and the idea of what it was always disturbed me. If I was having steak, it had to be WELL done, and if there was any red I couldn't eat it because I knew it was blood and it freaked me out.

When I was 14 I got food poisoning from a Taco Bell beef burrito, and after that I decided I was done with beef. I quickly cut out pork too, and over the next few years, stopped eating poultry and fish as well. At one point I tried to be vegan but it didn't last long - I'm from Wisconsin, cheese does a big butt good! Currently I am a pesco-lacto-ovo-vegetarian (if you want to be really specific), meaning I do eat fish occasionally (just salmon and tuna mostly, I don't like seafood at all), I eat dairy products like cheese, yogurt and butter (I never liked milk, or, as I call it "juice squeezed from a cow"), and I eat eggs, because they're a good, cheap source of protein.

Veg

I want too..but just don't feel like I have the will power just yet. I feel bad for the animals, I really do..but meat--it tastes good..I should feel guilty...maybe someday I'll go down that route. Any inexpensive ideas is welcomed..I thought about doing like Meatless Monday's to start or something and see how good if it feel to eat cleaner for a day.

"Oh She Glows" blog is fantastic!

I actually ended my 8ish-month veggie run yesterday. Like other people have mentioned, I'm getting progressively more weirded out by the highly processed meat substitutes that I've been eating instead, and now that I'm exercising again I'm a bit more concerned about my protein levels. I'm a bit of a picky eater, so I simply don't like a lot of the higher protein plant-based items like beans and whatnot. My main reason for going veg in the first place was mostly an anti-factory farming move. I'm still going to avoid most meat (beef and pork particularly), but I'm going to try for more humanely raised/slaughtered chicken for now. At the moment I'm dealing with some guilt issues, so I may end up back off the meats by the end of the year. I just wish I had more enterprising taste buds!

I became vegetarian when I was 15 I'm now 39 and still veg. At first I ate a little seafood (actually just shrimp for some reasons so "sea bugs"), then I went vegetarian and I've also been a vegan for a number of years. Throughout that time of almost 25 years there were a lot of reasons I had for staying veg. Really I've probably gone through all of them (compassion, personal health, and environmental being the top 3). I believe doing something you feel is right is better than nothing. As you do something you start to learn and your knowledge will lead the way to making better choices.

One of the worst things I've seen over the years is people knocking other people for their choices. I am not here to "absolve you of your omni-sins" (for some reason there are these group of omnis who need to tell vegetarians "their sins" in what seems to be an attempt at absolution so they can continue to consume flesh. I refuse to give this to anyone, it is not mine to give) but I am also not here to discourage or judge you from any progress (or not) you have made in this area. The bottom line is YOU. What do you think is right?

Critical thinking skills are so important in life. As is being 100% honest (just as you need to be in your food diary to see progress) meat is meat is meat and meat is always murder. I don't think murder is always wrong or unavoidable, but personally I like to choose a compassionate route if I am able. So while oxymoronic I believe there are "more compassionate murders". And there is also the issue of eating local for economic and environmental reasons. The best thing you can do is really think about your choices learn everything you can and the rest will naturally fall into place.

ETA: and last thing. Being vegetarian as long as I have, I've seen the very best intentioned (and vocal) veggies come and go. This is a marathon to me and the proof is in how I have sustained it. For the people who say "it's too hard" or "I was freaked by the meat substitutes" you were approaching it like a sprint. It takes a little time and effort to be vegetarian (but it is SO much easier now than when I first became veg). But really like exercise if your heart is in it there are no really good excuses (I know people who maintain being vegan with celiacs and other health troubles. The person who can't be vegetarian because of health concerns is rare, though some omnis seem to like to use this as an excuse). Give yourself some time to do research, try recipes, buy the VEGANOMICON the best vegan cookbook out there (and if you are veggie you can always add eggs + cheese to these recipes). No excuses, we vegetarians/vegans are not here to absolve you. If you don't want to be vegetarian fine but don't say you can't.