Need help becoming a semi-vegetarian...?

Question

Hi, my name is Ricky, I am 19 and almost 20. I come from a family where diabetes is rampant along with several digestive problems including colon cancer. I am dealing with obesity, being nearly 440 lbs the last time I checked. I will get to the point, I have always had very good health throught my life but that obviously isnt a guarantee for the future. One of the major changes im undertaking is my diet, I live in a mexican oriented house. And although mexican food is really good it's not always a good choice health wise. I was reading a few articles based on vegetarian life-style and one form of it caught my attention which was the semi-vegetarian type. Im deciding to change my eating habits because of the health risks not necesarilly because of the "animal abuse". i just want to cut off red meat. are there any sites or books that can help me with this transition, or tips rod advice on making it happen?

Answer 1

Well Ricky, Jess is right, you are not going to be any type of vegetarian. People who eat a plant-based diet, but cut out most meat are called flexetarians, but that is a new term. Just cutting out red meat shouldn't be that big of an issue, but it also isn't going to make a huge difference in your diet. For people who are very overweight, portion control is usually an issue too. I know, I've been there. You have to change your relationship with food. You have to realize that food isn't there for happiness, for pleasure, for reward, or for consolation. It's there for sustenance, and if you don't work on your emotional relationship with food, it can be very hard to change how you eat. It also doesn't help when your family is pushing your old unhealthy favorites at you. Been there too.

Rather than substituting chicken for beef, however, give some of the veggie products a try. The veggie crumbles that are now available in the freezer section of any grocery store are a good substitute for ground beef in any recipe that calls for it. They are easier to use too, because they are already cooked, all they need is to be thawed out. Additionally, when you cook with them, the grease doesn't have to be drained off. And they really do sub out with no extra work, flavorings, etc. I make chili out of mine, and have taken it to parties with meat eaters and they ate it not knowing the difference. The soy crumbles are lower in fat and calories, and have fiber in them. No meat has fiber in it. Not only is fiber good for your colon, it helps reduce cholesterol in your blood. Soy fiber selectively reduces LDL or "bad" cholesterol.

Also, yes, you should eat more beans. They are lower in fat and calories - if they aren't re-fried beans with lard or shortening in them. They are packed with fiber and nutrition. Also, the fiber in them will help fill you up, and make you feel full longer.

There is a product on the market called Quorn, by the way, that is an excellent chicken substitute if you decide to try it. Just cook it briefly in a pan with some water or broth, and it will sub out for cooked chicken in any recipe, with no extra work or flavoring. Again, it is almost fully cooked, so it is less work to cook with than real chicken, but it is more expensive. You will also probably have to go to a health or specialty food store to get it. It is in the freezer section in a bright orange/yellow bag.

Although there subbing veg products for meat is a good start, you'll have to do more than that to lose weight and stay healthy. In traditional Mexican food there are a lot of fried foods you're going to have to steer away from, and it sounds like your family doesn't eat very healthily if diabetes and stuff is pervasive. And yes, if you are 440 pounds, you are going to have problems later. Nearly everyone has good health at 19 or 20, it's later on that the problems from a chronically unhealthy diet show up.

Best of luck to you. There are many good books out there, but I don't know of one that deals with a traditional Mexican diet.

Diet for a New America by John Robbins completely changed my life, and the way I looked at food.

I would advise against buying specialty cookbooks. I did it at first, but a lot of them called for exotic ingredients that I wouldn't use. I have had much better luck with just converting regular recipes, which is not that hard to do. When I look at a recipe I already know, I think:

- how can I reduce the fat and cholesterol? (one of the best ways is to take the meat out, or sub it out, but you also watch frying, cheese, dairy, etc - use less, or use lower fat products)
- how can I increase the vegetable content? (one easy way to start is to double the onions - many times you can sub broccoli or a squash zucchini combo for the meat, seasoned well and cooked. Squash and zucchini have more water though, and that takes a little practice)
- how can I increase the fiber? When I make Mexican-style dishes, I frequently sub out flat breads that are whole grain in place of tortillas. They are low fat, taste about the same, and really ramp up the fiber in dishes.

If you concentrate on those three things, your diet will improve without having to count calories that closely, once your portion size is under control. Add some exercise, and you are on your way.

I have done this myself. Obesity is a problem in my family too, and I have battled obesity. You CAN do this. Best of luck.

Answer 2

The easiest way to transition would probably be to get a few vegetarian books. Even if you are not going to cut out all meat, the books will give you recipes to make on the days you do not have meat. I would suggest only eating meat on two days a week, and increasing fresh fruit and vegetable intake.

Cutting out red meat is a good idea. However, you also need to be sure you are eating healthy overall, cut out junk food and replace it with a healthy alternative. Eat vitamin and mineral rich foods.

It is a good idea to speak with a doctor before making any dramatic changes to your diet.

Recipes websites:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-Cooking/Vegetarian/Main.aspx
http://vegweb.com/

This is an interesting website
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/index.html
It has a 11 week meal plan filled with healthy recipes. It is actually from a show in England. The only problem is that the measurements are from England so they are in grams.

You could also try
http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/
You have to sign up for the challenge, but it gives you are meal plan to follow, and tells you the nutritional information of each meal.

Answer 3

Well, it's good that you want to make a change, but all animal foods have cholesterol and none of them have fiber, and fiber is what makes you feel full. Even if you cut out red meat and eat chicken and fish, you haven't done much to decrease the risk. Dairy has a LOT of fat--after all, cows' milk is designed ot bring a 90-pound-calf to a 2,000-pound cow in about two years. Add all the hormones and antibiotics they give the cows to make them produce more milk and think about what that must do to your body, especially when concentrated in a product called "cheese."

So, eat beans and rice. Yves makes a taco-style veggie crumble that's pretty good. Eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, beans, and nuts and less meat and dairy. There are soy sour creams out there, and even if it's fatty, avocado has healtheir fats.

And please don't call yourself semi-veg. You are the sort of person for whom the term "flexitarian" was invented.

Answer 4

There's really nothing to read up on. Stop eating red meat.

I was going to suggest to get grilled chicken breasts instead of steak or something along the lines of that; but you probably have or will have issues with cholesterol. So maybe you should do more than just replace red meat with white, you should cut back on all of it and replace them with beans and more veggies.

Instead of sour cream, use guac.

And lastly, please don't ever actually call yourself a semi-vegetarian (or a vegetarian of any sort.) :)

Good luck.

Answer 5

I'm glad you have decided to change your eating habits for your health. It is a big step but honestly it's not that difficult. All you do is stop eating red meat. Substitute all red meat with chicken. It's much easier to do these days, they never used to sell things such as ground turkey or chicken. For instance I have found that ground chicken is wonderful in spaghetti. You might also want to back off on your pastas and rices. Stick to brown rice and whole grain pastas. I wish you the best of luck. As for recipes, try foodnetwork.com, they have a vegetarian section.

Answer 6

Stop eating red meat, cut down on all other animals and dairy, and add more fresh preferably raw fruit and veggies to your diet.
Just adding 2 big garden salads, and 3 servings of fruit a day will help you greatly. Try not to focus on what you are avoiding but on what you are adding. Oh and water, drink a lot of water.
Best wishes!

Answer 7

Very simple first step-beans instead of meat. This is easy to do with a Mexican diet. Be sure to go easy on the cheese, avocado and sour cream-all high fat. Choose corn over flour tortillas, or get whole wheat tortillas.

Answer 8

i wouldnt personally call that semi-vegetarian, but anyway, cutting out red meat is realyl pretty simlpe cos it probably doesnt take up much of your diet anyway. the easiest way is toreplace it with things like tofu, soy and quorn, they all taste good when mixed with things and have a very low fat and calorie content
good luck