I want to become a vegetarian, but i am a big meat eater. How can I make the transition?

Question

I want to become a vegetarian because the USDA has approved serving meat from cloned animals and I think that this is immoral.....

Answer 1

Well. Option one for you solves your moral dilemma without requiring you to give up animal flesh of any kind.

Do your research. Buy only organic meat. It means that you probably won't be able to eat meat in restaurants (especially fast food), but it's healthier to cook your own food anyway. If you buy at a store that stocks natural/organic foods, that's your best bet. Go to the meat counter and ask them where they get their meat (ask for the farm's name). Look the farm up online and find out how they raise the animals.

If you're really set on becoming vegetarian, be it for health, economical, environmental, or ethical reasons (or all of them), good for you! If meat is a huge part of your diet, go slowly. :-) Cut one kind at a time. One thing to look out for is replacing one meat with another. Same goes for eggs and cheese. While all of these foods do contain valuable nutrients (and, yeah, taste great if you like them), too much is unhealthy. Try to toss in more plant sources.

My suggestion? First, give up all prepared meat, especially processed kind. If you want to eat meat, cook it yourself. Don't order it in restaurants, don't order it in take-out, etc. If you want a sandwich, go to the deli and get the real meat, rather than the pressed kind from the deli aisle. (Blech.) With this, start doing at least a couple of meals a week where meat is only used as a side dish or flavoring, rather than the main course. Commit to one vegetarian meal a week. For the vegetarian meal, you can order out if you want to. May as well make it a treat. :-)

Lots of people suggest using fake meats, but I'm tepid at best about a lot of them. I don't really like the ones that are widely commercially available. (Except Morningstar Farms... mmm.) Check out www.goveg.com. Read Diet For a New America. Read Fast Food Nation. Try A Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian (it's for teens and their parents, and is a great crash course in the basics). Great information out there! And heck, you might find some new reasons for going vegetarian. (And some great new foods, too.)

Answer 2

Why do you want to become a vegetarian if you are a "big meat eater"? I was a vegetarian for a long time but it was easy for me because the only meat I ate was boneless chicken. If you enjoy eating meat, why not just continue to do so? Being a vegetarian is risky, you have to be educated about your nutrition and ensure that you are getting enough iron and protien. In other words, unless you want to get sick, you need to be smart about it. If you really want to stop eating meat, just slowly phase it out of your life. Don't cut cold turkey (lol), do it graudally.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! =]

When I was a vegetarian, right before I started eating meat again, I would have the same dream like once a week. The dream was me chasing a flying hamburger! It was really funny. I knew that was my body's way of saying that I needed to eat meat again to stay healthy.


***EDIT*** Well then maybe your morals will help you get over the cravings for meat.

Answer 3

It goes to show you that you don't want to be one. I think people become vegetarians because it is so cruel to kill animals to eat and in the human world it is classified as murder. If you want to become one, you will have to discover your true inside of and figure it out for yourself. I know quite a few people that do not eat red meat but eat white. Before you start, make sure you know all the nutritional facts on what you will be eating without the meat.

Answer 4

I myself am a vegetarian. It was hard at first, but after about a week, meat really didn't sound good to me anymore. I sometimes eat vegetarian "chicken nuggets" that are made of vegetables, and they really do taste like real chicken, their not gross or anything. So does the vegetarian hot dogs and bbq ribs. They all taste great, but i dont eat them very much because, like i said, i dont feel like eating meat anymore. Remember, become a vegetarian for the right reasons, not just because you want to be like someone else, or because you want to be unique. And remember that if you do become one to get your protein from other foods.
Well Good Luck!

Answer 5

You do it in easy steps that you and your body can adjust too. If you body is not adjusting well to go back a step and research for what your body is missing a a phase would be like this.

Month 1
Give up red meat

Month 2

Give up white meat

Month 3

Give up fish and any other meat produces I've miss out.

Before you start I would go and talk with an unbiased dietarian and ask that supplements you would need to keep an eye on and how you would get them from plant based sources.

Answer 6

I am a vegetarian, but I only eat fish, no chicken, beef or pork. It was an easy transtition for me because of the fish. That made it easy. I found it very difficult to say I will eat less meat and then cut it out of my diet, but it really didn't work, because it was hard to plan when and when not to eat meat. Personally, I would just start out by not eating any type of meat except fish.

Answer 7

don worry! reduce ur intake of meat gradually.
firs treduce to twice a week,
then once a week.
then once in 2 weeks,
then once a month.
then u'll loose ur attraction 4 meats.
u can then stay vegetarian.

Answer 8

You think cloning an animal is wrong, but scalding or skinning one alive is not?

You're not going to last long as a veg.

Answer 9

You might want to google "Flexitarian Diets" and check out the websites. You might find ways to moderate your lust for red meat in favor of poultry, fish and seafood.

Answer 10

The reason you are a big meat eater is because your body knows how good it makes you feel. I wouldn't even attempt it if I were you.