becoming vegetarian...slowly

Re: becoming vegetarian...slowly

• Kissimi21 member

  February 2011

  You don't actually have to go completely vegan/vegetarian.  I used to be vegan, did it wrong and got really sick (super low protiens, anemia and hospital sick).  So now I eat a very veggie & whole grain based diet, a bit of dairy, with occasional meat. You can limit your meat intake to once or twice a month and still enjoy cheese. 

  If losing weight is your reason for wanting to become a vegetarian, cutting out meat isn't really the answer.  (If you are doing it for other reasons, then go for it.) As for weight loss, the best thing to cut out is anything processed.  Seriously, if you remove any foods that have ingredients you can't pronounce or foods that have been so far removed from their natural state that they need 20+ ingredients to make them last longer on a shelf, you will see a huge difference. 

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  

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• saraboston

  February 2011

  I've been vegetarian since I was 12--ovolacto, which means I still eat (and LOVE) dairy, just nothing dead. I completely agree with PP, you don't need to go V to be healthy... I do it because meat creeps me out (I don't care if you kill the cow, I just don't want to eat it). There are plenty of obese vegetarians out there, after all, there are lots of meat-free junk foods.

  I'd definitely give running two thumbs-up... I lost a lot of weight that way. IMO there's no workout as good.
  

   
  

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• SpruceGrouse member

  February 2011

  Good luck with your goals.  Please just be careful about how you go about being vegan or vegetarian, either grow your own protein or buy from small local hobby farms. Tofu is very bad for the environment and a lot of animals die in the process.  If you buy tofu or soy, buy from somewhere you know it came from.  Try other sources of protein like nuts.
  

  You should try almond milk it is very tasty, especially in smoothies.
  

  I am sort of vegetarian but I do eat meat.  I eat meat about 2 times a week.  I only eat meat that I have shot myself and butchered myself.  Wild game is half the fat of beef and double the protein and iron. It is very healthy and very easy to digest.  Don't buy from game farms, I don't think they are a good idea because disease spreads easily that way.  If you can find a friend or neighbour that hunts, that is a good way to get it.  I think Bison is the exception to the disease problem so you can probably buy bison at a farmers market.

  You could also consider hunting yourself, it was the best decision I have ever made. It is nice to know exactly where your food comes from and how it was handled from field to table (I butcher my own meat also). There is more satisfaction and every bite brings me back to the moment in the woods and I find the dinner conversation goes to the memories of the hunting trip or I daydream about it while eating.  This experience was amazing, I can't even describe the emotions that I felt through the entire hunt. I feel a special connection with the forest now and with the life that exists there. Hunting gave me an opportunity to not only be with nature but to be a part of it and fear it and enjoy it and be in awe of its beauty. This experience made me feel closer to nature than all of my other outdoor experiences. I will always feel a special connection to the forest every time I enter them.  Dinner has a new meaning, it is now an experience, not an action, you become connected to your meals, no longer distanced from nature.

  I hope that you reach your goals, it sounds like you are off to a great start!
  

  

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• Firedancer1013

  February 2011

  I was vegan prior to getting pg (once first trimester hit, I ate anything that sounded good and stayed down), and my hardest thing was cheese as well.  I am trying to get back into the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle now that DS was born earlier this month.  I shop at whole foods (and sometimes Kroger's organic section has fake cheese as well) to buy rice cheeses.  I try to stay away from too much soy because it has been shown to mess with your thyroid in large quantities, so much of my cheese is rice cheese, and in a lot of cases, I can't tell the difference.  I buy a lot of the rice vegan cheeses from galaxy international, and they work pretty well for me as an alternative.  I also take a b complex supplement and calcium + vit d supplement in addition to the prenatals that I am still taking per a nutritionist and LC.

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