can you just become a vegetarian?

Question

does it take a long time for you to become a vegetarian or could you just stop eating meats all at once.....i tried and i caved..(gonna try again)

Answer 1

Often the easiest answer we like to give a person who wants to stop doing something is simply to stop. That is a ridiculous and somewhat pompous assumption. Whether you are smoking, drinking or eating meat, you are up against an addiction, and quitting can be a very difficult process. Unlike other addictions however, meat products have been shoved in our bodies since birth, are easily accessible everywhere we turn, and offered to us as the obvious, easy and necessary way to live.

Becoming a vegetarian is generally a moral or ethical decision. A vegetarian lifestyle (just as a meat-eating lifestyle) is healthy or unhealthy depending on the decisions you make. Despite what some in our culture still believe, you can get everything you need as a vegetarian. But if your decision is based only on health reasons, just adopt a more healthy meat-eating diet. Read on if your are still interested in becoming vegetarian. :)

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I am not sure how old you are, but the best way to begin a vegetarian life you can maintain is to get your own apartment. Just as it would be nearly impossible for an alcoholic to quit drinking while hanging out in a bar every day, it will be very difficult to stop eating meat in a home where it is constantly being served. In you own place you can do your own shopping and decide what food is served. As you become more secure in your diet and your body and mind quit craving that which they are missing, you can be in more meat situations.

Another great thing you can do for yourself is to learn how to cook quick and simple meals. When you eat good food you do not feel as though you are missing out. Often vegetarians look for vegetarian cookbooks. I use regular cookbooks and substitute the meat. Morning Star Farms has great vegan chicken and beef substitutes, and Ives has great vegan ground beef and lunchmeat substitutes. I personally love tofu. It is great for making Chinese food. Know which restaurants have good vegetarian substitutes for when you want to go out to eat.

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When you are trying to quit, the first time in a day you give in to your addiction in sets the mood for the rest of the day. If you break down and eat sausage in the morning, you will probably break down at lunch and dinner too. Keep substituting and try to make your first meat later and later in the day until you can go an entire day. Also, when we crave meat, we often crave the fat and grease. A great fix is to cook a dish heavy in olive oil; you will get the fat you crave (but please don’t make a habit of it.)

Also, read some great literature and get a support system. One of the hardest (or most annoying) things you will deal with as a vegetarian is how meat-eaters will treat you. Know that they are doing this because your choice is inadvertently “calling them” immoral or telling them they are leading a bad life. You are of course not doing this, but some will verbally attack you. They will not know why, but the truth is that your choice is threatening to them. When possible, try to keep these people out of your life and DO NOT get drawn into arguments with them. You cannot win. Their only goal is to prove you are a hypocrite and flawed. Because you are human, you are naturally both of these things, but these are people who desperately need to prove it so they may never see these attributes in themselves. Sorry to be a bummer, but you need to expect these conversations.

Finally, don’t expect to change your life all at once. Start by only cutting out meat (yes, sorry, but a fish is an animal). Feel proud of your accomplishment. If you reach a point when you are secure in this lifestyle try taking away eggs. Later you can try to take the leather, wool, angora etc. out of your wardrobe. When this works you may choose to stop eating foods with egg products or chemical names that are code words for meat. You do not have to stop eating/ wearing everything to conform to such a vegan lifestyle you no longer live in a house because houses are built upon concrete, which is made in part by animal bones…. So don’t allow anyone to make you feel inferior in your choices. You are on a path and trying to make decisions that will help you become the person you want to be, not a person anyone else feels you should be. All of life is a process. We will fail on occasion and we will make decisions different from what others will make. Be happy and secure in the things you accomplish and keep going. If you only cut meat out of your diet and never take another step, then you took a great and difficult step and should be proud.

After several years of being a vegetarian, I have adopted this one quick and simple answer for why I am a vegetarian: I don't need meat to survive or be healthy; therefore it is a luxury, and no one/thing should have to suffer so I can have a luxury. It tends to be sufficient enough for anyone who asks.




Here is a great book for dealing with not letting people mistreat you for your views: "Living Among the Meat Eaters"
http://www.amazon.com/living-among-meat-...

A good good cook/lifestyle books
http://www.amazon.com/vegan-vengeance-de...


Here is a list of foods (in regular grocery stores) you may be surprised are vegan:
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyvegan/...

Here is the Vegan Food Pyramid so you can get an idea of the *optimal* vegan diet.
http://www.vegsource.com/food_groups.htm...
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I personally spent a few years feeling guilty about how animals were killed. One night I went to sleep and decided to stop, I woke up a vegetarian. The first few months were very difficult, passing up mom's bacon when i visited and passing up spicy chicken sandwiches. But I got past it. The best thing I ever did was learning how to cook. Fake meats were good for me too because I was actually quite fond of the taste of meat, I just couldn't face myself for eating it.

Answer 2

I did it gradually over a period of a year and
a half. I dropped one form of flesh at a time.
I stopped eating red meat first, then fowl and
after over a year of playing around with sea-
food cut it out last. I had already stopped
eating pig flesh about a decade before because
of allergins.

I became a vegan shortly after that for reasons
of conscience.

There are some people who push a plate
of meat away and decide that they are
done with it from then on. But this is more
rare I think than the gradual weening away
method.

Answer 3

If you find being a vegetarian too hard (as in you really really like your meat), you can try simply cutting down. Have meat only once a week.
That's what I do and I find it very easy. Actually, I often go more then one week without meat.

Answer 4

A friend of mine who was a bit meat eater went cold turkey and never looked back. Yes with will power you can do anything. I was quite ready for it too and did not crave meat. Besides, if you look around there are amazing meat substitutes out there form veggie burgers, veggie dogs, veggie chicken nuggets, veggie bacon...Just take the challenge for a week and see how much better you feel. This will give encourage you to continue.

Good luck

Answer 5

I went vegetarian twice. The first time was less than a week that was because i just jumped into it for no apparent reason. The second time was for more than a month. I recommend just easing into it slowly by finding vegetarian alternatives and eating more fruits and veggies.

Answer 6

well, I became a vegetarian not too long ago b/c I just don't like the taste of meat anymore but I used to love it. so yes, you can just all of the sudden become a vegetarian.

Answer 7

I became a vegetarian at once when I learned what they do to the animals before they get eaten. But if you have trouble you might wanna take small steps and start by not eating just one type of animal then another and so on and so on. But it is possible.

Answer 8

Yes you can, but it is hard to stay one. You get the urge for meat once in a while. I cannot eat meat because of the protein in it, gives me heartburn. So I stay practically vegetarian. But I always get my urge for a hamburger.LOL

Answer 9

You have to make hearty vegetarian food. Like lots of beans, an there are many types of faux meats, especially morningstar, boca and quorn which should be in your supermarket, they are good and you can eat them when you crave meat. Also dress it up with what you like with it, french fries, your favorite veggies and your favorite dessert. Make sure you get alot of protein which might make you forget about meat.

Answer 10

I just stopped eating meats all at once. Of course when you first start you'll eat them by accident.

Also check every boxes ingredients you'd be surprised at what products contain meat. Also beware of 'natural flavors", as these may be derived from an animal.

Answer 11

Hey dear... come on i am a veggie... I have so many non veg friends... I really dont feel anything about anyone eating non veg food.... I just get upset sometimes for them when i get a feeling that they are eating some animal or bird that lived walked and flew one day... I really dont get any hard feelings at any of my non veg friends. To be frank, my best friend is a non veg... In fact on the lighter side, they make fun of me saying i live on grass and leaves!! lol.... Being veggie or non veg is just a way of living darling... I dont feel people are to be discriminated anything based on that.... I think someone hurt you bad for being a non veg or discriminated something to you for eating non veg food... Why do you let someone else's words or thinking affect you this much... dont hate us Veggie so much :-(( It hurts....... Live the life your way... Eat what ever you want..... As i tell everyone - ' Rest of the world....out of the window!!!'