I want to become a vegetarian how do I start? Anyone can answer as long as you know what your talking about.?

Question

i want to gradually stop eating meat cuz my friend wants to become a vegetarian too and tried to just stop eating it and always craved it. I think if i gradually stopped eating i wont crave it so please give me a diet. what should i cut out first.

if anyone answering wants to know im 14 and my parents think im crazy

Answer 1

Gradually cutting it out works for some people but others just need to fight past the stage where they no longer have the meat in their system and this can take up to a month. This is called the detox period and you will experience some changes during this period of time because your body will be working overtime to get rid of the blockages in your digestive lining caused by meat. Also there are a lot of misconceptions about a vegetarian diet. The protein scare is the biggest misconception about vegetarian diets. There are quite a bit of misconceptions so here are some web sites I think will help. The first is a list of vegetables with protein and how much the second are calcium sources in raw veggies. The third is an article about B12. It is actually a microbe found in soil and is abundant in seaweed, tempeh, miso, and root veggies. The last one is a list of foods with iron and how much.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

http://health.rutgers.edu/factsheets/iron.htm

http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/calevel.html

http://www.pamrotella.com/health/b12.html

Answer 2

OK, well I am 31 and I eat very little meat. Like less them 2 times a month. Cutting back on meat is fine so is eating fruits and veggies. It will be hard without your parents support. Fruits and veggies are high priced items. You should take vitamins anyway. There are great soy products, but again if your parents are not for it they won't buy them. I just ate breakfast for a midnight snack fried potatoes, onion, garlic, morning star farms soy sausage and and egg with cheese. It was great, I make a veggie loaf, like meatloaf. If you like meat and are just doing it because of your friends then don't. Unless your friends are going to buy and cook you dinner. I never really craved meat. My dad cooked it and I would pick at it. I didn't have the choice to get fruits and veggies. It is easier to make those kind of decisions when you are an adult, or can at least buy and prepare your own meals. I feel healthier and my weight does not fluctuate. Since I eat very little meat. I wish you the best of luck and will answer any other questions you may have.

Answer 3

Well first pick the kind of vegetarian you want to be. You can still eat dairy if you choose. I gave it up gradually. First, red meat, then poultry. Your best bet would be to read as much as you can on the subject. Do a google search or go to your bookstore. Also, buy a vegetarian cookbook to get ideas. I have been doing this for 13 years and I am so happy I did. I feel great and I look great. Remember, it has to be done right to be effective. You have to get your protein. Since I chose to be a lacto-ovo vegetarian I get my protein from eggs, cheese and yogurt and sometimes milk (all free range and organic).

I wish you luck and don't let people discourage you for some reason vegetarians encounter some hostility though I will never understand why.

Answer 4

The best thing that works is the gradually cut down on your meat and meat products. What I have done is slowly added alot of pastas, grains and salads to my meals throughout the day and cut down on meats in the interim

I am not sure what time of vegetarian you are looking to be; ovo-lacto vegetarian (consumming both eggs and milk only); lacto vegetarians (consuming milk only); vegans (not consuming any animal byproducts whatsoever)..there may be a few other types but these are the ones that come to mind at this time.
Here is a menu I follow:

1) Breakfast: Cold cereal - there are hundreds of great cold cereals out there that will easily supply all the vitamins and minerals you will need when converting to vegetarianism (It is important to make sure whatever cereal you consume has Vit B12 as that is the only vitamin that cannot be found in vegetables/fruits and is so added to cereals for that purpose).
I recommend all the whole grain cereals with little to no added preservatives...
Hot cereals - Cream of Wheat, Oatmeal and cornmeal are the ones here
Fruits in the Morning: Rule of Thumb "try never to eat fruits and veges in the same meal.." These are self-explanatory; berries, apples, bananas, oranges...etc

2) Lunch: Salad (or Pasta). Don't give in to the hype that salads are all boring. At any gourmet/health-buff restaurant, you can have a well-stocked salad bar where every day you can make your own custom salad so that you never tire of eating the same thing everyday

3) Dinner: Pasta (or Salad) and Pasta sauce, Bean/vege soup and vege pies...etc
----
Ofcourse this is just an example of an on-tha-go menu. I dont have time to cook the vege-meats and tofu or soy platters, but there are thousands of books and recipes for any type of vegetarian....

Unlike what we do to your stomachs in the US..always remember..whatever your diet will consist of
~ Eat Breakfast like a King ( Always make breakfast the biggest meal of the day)
~ Lunch like a Queen (Make this be the 2nd biggest meal of the day)
~ And Dinner/Supper Like a Peasant (the body is wearing down at this time and should not be working overtime to breakdown a big meal. This should be the smallest meal of the day

Let me know if you need more pointers!

Answer 5

Well, first you get a book or otherwise learn the balancing act you have to go through to maintain nuitritional balance on a vegetarian diet. Then you find out which of the beans and other products you can stand to eat.
If you wanted to try cutting down on meat, you might look at Chinese cooking as originally done had very little meat, because they couldn't afford it, unlike American style which puts lots of meat in with the veggies.

Answer 6

I was like you--I wanted to cut out meat gradually, and it worked!! First, you should read up on nutrition and ways to get protein and how to eat healthy in general.
What i did was cut out beef, and still eat poultry, pork and fish. Then i cut out pork, and then i cut out poultry, etc. I cut out beef first, because i ate it the least anyway. And I cut out poultry last because i loved turkey sandwiches. lol.
You have to do it in whatever way is comfortable for you. Eventually you'll be less attached to the meat foods you liked. I don't miss turkey sandwiches at all.

It's a great time to experiment with new foods and recipes. Try mediterranean, mexican, indian, and so on. I discovered that hummus is AWESOME.
Oh, and also, meat alternatives help you in the transition too. Like, i got fake soy turkey to make sandwiches once i cut out real turkey. Now i don't really eat it anymore, but it helps you make the transition. (Dont forget Boca burgers.)

Good luck, and enjoy!

Answer 7

ok well first of all u can gradually reduce your intake of meat.... try replacing it with soy products and eventually cut out all the meat!!! when u crave meat remeber all the reasosn why u became vege in the first place!! after a while meat cravings will go away!! (thats the hardest part of being vege)

Answer 8

Starting out slow might work. Try switching individual foods first. Instead of having a hamburger, try a vegi-burger. When you go to restaurants, look for veggie options (burger king veggie burgers rock!!). Look for Morning Star products. Almost all grocery stores carry them, and they mimick meat products so it makes it easy. Other than that, try books, some are really helpful.

Answer 9

i am a 13 year old and i hav never aten a piece of meat before not even chicken or fish or any of that junk i eat ALOT of fruits and vegitables make lots of smothies find some good recipes off www.foodnetwork.com or something

smoothes taste like your eating ice cream but there not and their realyyy healthy 4 u. dont even go past the meat isle in the grocery store.

think of meat as a bad thing, think of it as poor little animals dieing for some1 elses hunger. Think of it as way way bad, there are plenty of vegiterian recipes all over the internet but u just dont kno which 1s are good once again www.foodnetwork.com t

ry eating kettle corn thats realy sweet and it might take ur mind away from it get orville redinbokers kettle corn get the low fat one cuz thats the best

eat lots of cereal thats good too.

and my pancake recipe my mom makes is she get a Mrs. Butterworths buttermilk pancake mix u just add water too it but my mom adds a little bit of vannila and cinamen its REALY good it adds a ton of flaver to them. try taking some sort of craving pill,

try taking vitamien pills tooo that hav protein in them LOTS of protein

Answer 10

you have to fight the cravings....im vegan...but iv never craved meat...but if you want to fight those cravings go to peta.com and they will tell you what they do to the animals JUST to get them on your plate. i promise you , you WILL NOT want to even LOOK at something that was an animal...its horrid what they do do them.