So, for months now Ive been toying around with becoming vegetarian or totally vegan.
It started with a trip I made back in April where somehow I ended at an old Whaling place, where the rock where they tied the whales to was still there and you could still see the markings of the ropes. Along that there were pictures of the whales, trashing about in their snares. It made me sad and furious! They would go out, confuse the whales, guide them away from their group and into the shallow bay. When the whales realized what was going on they would freak out but it was too late.
And then i realize we still do that with cows and chickens and fishes....
I went about a few weeks where i couldnt eat anything that could have trashed like the whales did. I looked at PETA videos and what i saw made me want to cry. I love animals, they are gentle, innocent and often trusting, and we take all that and do horrible things just cuz they taste good. I mean, cave time is over! (anyway, sorry for the rant)
In any case, I've tried to not eat meat but sometimes I cant help it. I cant deny a good stake is delicious or fish or chicken or whatever. Still, i want to do what is right, I just dont know where to start and how hard its gonna be.
Anyone here a Vegan/Vegetarian? IF so, how did you start? and did you "relapse'? What did you do when temptation came along or when family members just mocked you and ignore your vegan/vegetarian pleas??
I've been a vegetarian for 16 years. When I first started, the urge to eat meat was strongest the 1st week into it. Even had dreams of chasing little bunnies in the woods and ripping them open with the teeth and hands. After that week, nothing, there was no desire to eat meat ever again and have stuck with it. There are so many veggie products on the market, fake burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fish, you name it, it's out there. Sure they take a bit of getting used to but in no time at all it will taste like eating the real thing.
Make a choice and stick with it. It is one of the most easiest things to do for the environment and for you, health wise. Go for it. You won't regret it.
__________________ you've been too gone for too long, now it's too late to come back home-------randy travis
The problem I have with vegetarianism is that too many products are made with gluten, which I'm allergic to... the veggie meat replacement products are pure gluten! When I go out to eat, the vegetarian option on the menu is always something like a veggie lasagne, and of course that contains gluten too... anything with pastry, pasta, bread, wheat noodles, soy sauce, etc is completely out for me. It's hard enough to find anything I can eat, never mind also finding something that's vegetarian... if I was completely vegetarian I'd have nothing left to eat!
I compromise by choosing organic meat raised to acceptable welfare standards, and I also try to limit the amount of meat I eat (I eat meat no more than once per day, sometimes every other day). Since I can't eat commercial vegetarian products, I also make my own vegetarian dishes with fresh vegetables. Unfortunately when I go out to dinner I have to abandon all morals and eat whatever I can eat... if there's anything at all that I can eat,which there sometimes isn't.
I gave up meat about 20 years ago for the same reason; I just got to the point where I couldn't eat it without thinking about how it got to my plate. I'd gone back & forth a few times, until one night when I happened to pull up behind a truck with a dead deer strapped to the back. It made me cry, and I was finished from then on.
And any time I was tempted by the things I used to enjoy, I just remembered the reason behind the decision, and it pretty much sapped any desire. It didn't take long before I lost all temptation.
I also learned that some of the stuff I really enjoyed was all about the condiments anyway; you can have a veggie burger dripping with onions & ketchup, or a fake chicken patty with BBQ sauce. And I love tofu dogs.
Now, the fakes that taste too much like meat aren't at all appetizing to me, so there may be alternatives that would work for you before your tastebuds are fully converted.
I'm not vegan, but I do make sure that I buy eggs & dairy products from humane farms -- cows that can run around outside and chickens that are "cage free" and aren't forced to live in cages the size of shoe boxes.
I hope your family and friends don't tease you about this! That's so unfair. I'd get new friends and family. ;-) Or else bring graphic pictures to the next gathering. It shouldn't happen more than once. I'm pretty sure that very few people would eat meat if they had to kill it themselves, instead of buying it all wrapped in cellophane.
One more thing: Make sure you take a multi-vitamin with iron. That can be one of the toughest things to replace in a vegan or vegetarian diet.
And good for you!! The animals & I love your heart & compassion.
Last edited by PinkToes; 17th October 2009 at 1:55 AM..
Location: The Big Giant Apple, mind you, it's pretty delicious
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If you get cravings for meat, go vegetarian first. It's more lenient on your system as your body has to get used to only eating soy and whatnot without natural protein from meat.
I've been vegetarian for a while now, but I refrain from eating meat except fish ( like tuna and salmon). I cannot stomach red meat.
The thing you have to worry about is getting enough nutrition. Cutting meat from your system can cause hunger and fatigue especially if you're only becoming vegetarian now. I would recommend stocking up vitamins just in case.
All in all, if you do get cravings, try various substitutes like veggie burgers. There are various supermarkets that sell organic and vegan supplies.
__________________
"To regret one's own experiences is to arrest one's own development. To deny one's own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one's own life. It is no less than a denial of the soul.", De Pronfundis, Wilde
I am a vegan. Initially I struggled and thought it was quite difficult. But now it's no big deal at all... I think being vegan is pretty easy. It took me many attempts to get where I am at now. I first tried to be vegan about 5 years ago. I would stick with it for some months and then go back to being vegetarian. However, after seeing a lot of the videos of what animals go through, torture, etc - I continued to re-attempt being vegan. It took several tries before I finally got to where I am right now. I have now been consistently vegan for over a year. If you feel the same way I do about wanting a lifestyle that is non-harming to animals, then please don't give up! It will get easier. In the past I used to miss cheese so much. But I don't miss it anymore. In fact, one day I was eating with friends and a piece of cheese accidentally got into my food - and I spit it out! Yuck. Just continue to educate yourself about why you are becoming vegan and what it means to you. The addiction to animal products will decrease over time. Good luck!
If you get cravings for meat, go vegetarian first. It's more lenient on your system as your body has to get used to only eating soy and whatnot without natural protein from meat.
I've been vegetarian for a while now, but I refrain from eating meat except fish ( like tuna and salmon). I cannot stomach red meat.
The thing you have to worry about is getting enough nutrition. Cutting meat from your system can cause hunger and fatigue especially if you're only becoming vegetarian now. I would recommend stocking up vitamins just in case.
All in all, if you do get cravings, try various substitutes like veggie burgers. There are various supermarkets that sell organic and vegan supplies.
Good advice although youre not a vegetarian, youre a pescetarian like me
I gave up on red meat a while back for eco-environmental and health reasons. In the last month Ive given up poultry as well
Its astonishing how much of the world's population could be fed with the amount of grain we use to feed livestock, its an issue that doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves
So I would start with land animals and if thats too hard just start with red meat and pork and go from there
For a great company that makes vegetarian products check your local grocers for Morningstar Farms
There's all kinds of vegan propaganda (videos and such) that you can read or watch if you get a craving. I accidentally saw 25 seconds of a movie (Peaceable Kingdom I think?) and couldn't eat chicken or eggs for 3 months, no kidding.
There's also a book I read that made me go vegetarian, The China Study by T. Colin Campbell.
I have friends who are vegan and friends who are vegetarian. I would never recommend it to children and I would never partake in the lifestyle change myself.
That being said, some vegan food is delicious and every vegan I know raves about the Millennium cookbook (http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/.../cookbook.html). If you ever have the chance to go to the Millennium restaurant in San Francisco, do it!
Avoid eating nothing but corn chips all day. Also, I think that Sour Patch Kids are gelatin free so vegans can eat them. Remember too that there is animal product in basically every lipstick, and almost every other convenient nonfood consumer product we have. It's up to you to figure out how far you'd want to go with it, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.
I've been a vegetarian for 17 years. I headed to work one day eating a chicken sandwich and a hamburger, and offered someone to my coworker. She was a vegetarian, and told me so. I asked her why, and six hours later I was a vegetarian. I never ate meat again after eating those sandwiches, and was never tempted to again.
My family joked in the beginning, saying I worshiped turnips, and predicted it wouldn't last.
Back in those days it was a bit more challenging, because they weren't as many vegetarian options commercially available. If you wanted a veggie burger you had to mix together this gross stuff and make the patties yourself, and I'M not much of a cook. LOL
I would never go back, and I'm perfectly healthy. Last year I ran a half marathon, took martial arts, lifted weights, and took weapons classes. I was stronger and healthier than 98 percent of the people I knew, and being a vegetarian didn't hamper my training in the least.
I want to go vegan, and have gone vegan for periods of time in the past, but until I have a bigger kitchen and more of a yen to actually take time to cook, it's not going to happen easily.
Could have been your body's way of getting rid of toxins. I have never went the Vegan route. I enjoy honey and cream. You might still feel a little off being a vegetarian, for a little while, but keep at it and the symptons should clear up and you'll feel better than you ever did before.
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