Becoming a Vegetarian

[mtm88781]

So, I have made the decision. Becoming a vegetarian is the right thing for me.

But now what? I need help with ideas trying to convince my parents, and ideas as to what to do since I know that the rest of my family isn't converting?

How should I convince? How should I start? How does it work for you?

Since I am new at this, any and all help is welcome

[Ankara]

Hey!!

Well, first of all let me warn you: it is not easy. I was raised as a meat eater and everyone in my family looked at me as if I was crazy when I made the same decision over 6 years ago. Aside from the occasional meat crave I would get, in a couple of months I was able to live off of pastas, veggies, and soy products.
At that point I was still living with my parents, so I had to go through the same thing you're going through now. Luckily they were really understanding and they were pretty supportive (every time they would do groceries I would see some veggie burgers in the bags!). Try to cook something for your parents with veggie meat in it (maybe pasta or just grilled veggie burgers). It actually tastes really good and most people are very receptive to it. My mom, even though she still eats meat, always has veggie burgers and veggie ground beef in her fridge because after having me cooking and eating it all the time she ended up loving it.

Based on my personal experience, the best way to start is by quitting one type of meat at the time, for example, just red meat first. As your body gets used to it you really stop craving it. It's almost as if your body goes through detox. After you have "conquered" red meat move on to white meat (chicken, turkey, pork, and eventually fish if that's your choice). This process will be a lot easier if you were successful the first time. It may take a while, especially when people eat it right in front of you. But trust me, with time you won't be even able to have meat at all. Not too long ago I had meat by mistake (just a bite) and I got really sick after it. My body will not tolerate any of it.

As far as cooking goes you can go to any supermarket and find tons of products made out of soy that will allow you to continue with any recipe you want (try Morning Star or Boca brands). You'd be surprised as to how many varieties of "fake meat" they have: anything from ground beef to chicken nuggets and ribs. And they taste even better than real meat (I think).

Also, nowadays you can practically go to any restaurant and chances are they will have a vegetarian menu or you can get your regular dishes and modify them. That works for me all the time and very rarely can't be done.

Hope this helps at least a little. Congrats on your decision!!
Good luck!!!

[treyfan88]

Becoming a vegetarian is a decision you should think over very seriously. I was in the same boat as you when I went veg at 14yrs old. A healthy vegetarian lifestyle is much more expensive than a traditional omnivore diet. So if your parents aren't going to support your lifestyle choice, don't even start. Yes, you can buy cheap french fries and cheese pizzas (which is technically a vegetarian diet) but is that healthy for you? No. Make sure you can afford to eat well.

Secondly, start slowly. Some people can quit cold-turkey, but others need weeks to prepare for the switch.

When I first went veg, my parents were NOT supportive (in fact, they are STILL not supportive...I am made fun of constantly and I am the only vegetarian on both sides of my family). Consequently, it took me 2yrs to become a full-fledged vegetarian. I took out red meat from my diet first...then poultry and fowl...last to go was fish and sea food. If I had went vegetarian in a day I don't think I would've had the will-power to stick with it. I've been a full vegetarian for six years now and I'm starting to transition into veganism.

Take it slow. There's no rush to a "finish line" just so long as you get there, right? Do what's right for you. Good luck!

[1frankie7]

Treyfan88: I actually disagree, I am a full on vegan and cost the same to feed as my omnivore family.

At first my parents werent supportive, it still chills my dad to the bone to think that his eldest daughter(being brought up in a west-eastern hunting area) does not eat or support meat/hunting.

I was on and off veggie since I was nine years old, and went full on lacto ovo 2 years ago, and vegan about 8 months ago.

I went cold turkey(pun intended), and never looked back. To me, when you go slowly, you will look forward to that teeny peice of chicken, or that little crumble of cheese, etc. You may suffer like an addict the first week or two, but after that, its easy, the cravings go away, and super fun, thinking of meals, snacks, etc.

Im not saying cold turkey is for everyone, but it was certainly for me, and in my opinion it works for the majority of people, just make sure to try for three weeks before deciding that you NEED meat.

Good luck and have fun!

[treyfan88]

Treyfan88: I actually disagree, I am a full on vegan and cost the same to feed as my omnivore family.

At first my parents werent supportive, it still chills my dad to the bone to think that his eldest daughter(being brought up in a west-eastern hunting area) does not eat or support meat/hunting.

I was on and off veggie since I was nine years old, and went full on lacto ovo 2 years ago, and vegan about 8 months ago.

I went cold turkey(pun intended), and never looked back. To me, when you go slowly, you will look forward to that teeny peice of chicken, or that little crumble of cheese, etc. You may suffer like an addict the first week or two, but after that, its easy, the cravings go away, and super fun, thinking of meals, snacks, etc.

Im not saying cold turkey is for everyone, but it was certainly for me, and in my opinion it works for the majority of people, just make sure to try for three weeks before deciding that you NEED meat.

Good luck and have fun!

I completely disagree with you on price. But it really depends what the omnivores are eating to compare the two. My parents ate fast food (cheap) 80% of the time. Going vegetarian was way way way more expensive in comparison to that. Stocking up on fresh veggies and planning out complete protein meals took much more effort than simply driving to McDonald's for a cheeseburger. My meals as an omni consisted of frozen TV dinners, pizza deliveries, and fast food. Very little cooking went on in my household. We microwaved, haha!

As for going slow vs. cold turkey...it depends on the individual, like I said before. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to transition into veg*nism. All too often in the veg*n community, there's a holier-than-thou attitude toward the "right" way to become a veg*n. Everyone and their mother has the "proper formula and timetable" for success. It's all silly. For anyone wanting to go veg, take my advice (and others) with a grain of salt. You know your situation best. Do what works for you! So long as you're not walking into it blindly, any choice you make is the "right" one!

[mtm88781]

Well, all about the price, yes, treyfan, I see how it can be more expensive for you, as you had a poor wuality diet to start with. Eating frozen TV dinners and Mac 'N Cheese is cheap, of course, but is also very bad for you. I had a well rounded, omnivore diet to start, consisting of fruits, veggies, meats, etc, and with the price of meat, it was more expensive. Veggies here are a lot cheaper than meat, so in my case, and a lot of members that started with a well-rounded diet, it will save me money. But money is not why I am now vegetarian, I did it for aniaml welfare reasons, and animal welfare reasons only

Also, my mom wanted me to go to a dietrician, so I did. The dietrician is a MAJOR animal lover, has her own vet practics, her own line of holistic pet products and meds, etc. She said because I am a growing teenager, and work long, hard hours at a horse rescue, I need protien. I said, "Well, I don't care, I am saving animals." She is ok with that, but told me I must eat fish to sustain my muscle mass since I am so active at the barn. The fish is locally and privately caught.

What do you guys think? Should I just say "no", and become a srict vegetarian, or say "yes" and just eat the privately and locally caught fish?

All ideas are welcome!

[1frankie7]

I personally would refuse and become a full fledged vegetarian. It is up to you, I would say do what YOU think is right .

Good luck!

[brindyzoeycandy]

It's actually would really be hard to not get enough protein. I have my own horse and in Florida it's hard to even just muck a stall and groom a horse due to the heat, and I'm perfectly fine being a vegetarian.

I switched the next day to being a vegetarian, and I have been one for about six months. I tried "progressing" to be a vegan and it didn't work at all, I went back to being a vegetarian, so in my opinion going cold turkey worked better.

[mtm88781]

1frankie7 - that is what I thought. I truely wanted to become a full on vegetarian.

brindyzoeycandy - I am trying to convince my mom of this. I tried showing her sites, with sample diets, and everything, and she is really understanding. I am very frusturated with her being so stubborn.

So, does anyone have any good, useful, reliable sites I can direct my mom to. Hodo you guys get your protien. I really want to show her you can be perfectly healthy and get enoughh protien being a full-on vegetarian.

I am going back tomorrow with some one on one time with the nutritionist, and I will tell her what I think. Hopefully, she will give me some sample menus, and this will work

I will update after my visit to the nutritionist tomorrow, and tell you all what she says.

Thanks again, everyone, for your support!

[Catayn]

In my case, even though I am amrried and haven't been living with my parents for a long time, my family just wouldn't accept it. They were ok with beoming a vegetarian, but there was no way they could accept me and my husband going vegan.
They accidentally ended up watching a movie called Earthlings and became aware of why I was doing what I did. And now my mom calls me every week for vegan recipes.
I would try to show yout reasons to your parents. It won't be easy, so you have to be prepared. Also be prepared to, sometimes, go to parties and eat probably nothing.
I think it is something you can do, but it will take lots of time and patience. There is no magic formula.
When I was a meat eater, I used to think: If I don't know what happenes to the animals then I will be ok. But then I thought: Is it ok to be ignorant just because it's self implied?
So I watched tons of videos and read a lot and made my decision, little by little. Well, I went from vegetarian to vegan cold turkey, but I took baby steps with all the rest.
I was first and then my husband became interested in my reasons and now he is a vegan too.
Maybe you could make your reasons very clear to your parents.
I wish you the best of luck!

[mtm88781]

So I went back to the nutritionist today, for a very long two hour visit. However, due to the length I learned a lot.

Basically, she said because I am a growing boy and expend much energy at the horse rescue I volunteer at, she does not reccomend a completely vegetarian diet. She reccomends eating meat two times per week, even if it is only in small amounts. The only two meats she reccomend I eat are chicken and fish.

I respectfully told her my point of view, and she understood it (she is a MAJOR animal lover) but disagreed. She explained that many times becoming vegetarian, especially if you expend much energy, will make you tired, and you will eat foods high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates make you full, and give you a short period of energy, but once it wears off, you get very tired.

She also explained how soy products are made with a femenine hormone, and interfers with a males metabolism.

So for now, it looks like I am semi-vegetarian, eating only chicken or fish two times a week, in small amounts. We will see how it goes. I have another meeting with her in thirty days, and we will talk about how the thirty days went, and among me, me parents, and the nutritionist, will re-evaluate and change the plan if nessceary.

[Silverbeat]

I was a vegetarian for three years, and a vegan for two years. I am now an omnivore, because of several personal reasons. Please do take the advice of your nutritionist, especially since she is an animal lover, that ought to tell you something.
I ate too many meat substitutes, many containing GMO soy and corn, when I was veg [ages 14-19, as a developing girl] and I am now suffering the consequences of that. I am really glad that you care so very much about animals, but you need to remember to take care of yourself as well.

[Catayn]

I would see another notritionist just to make sure. I have had much more energy since I became a vegan. I am still sick, but nothing compared to how I was. My nutritionist has just told me to give up complementary vitamins because I don't need it. But anyway, eating less meat is already half way there! I would just avoid much chicken though, since it contains too much hormone and that would be even worse for a teen. Believe me, I loved chicken and ate a lot of it and I think I will never recover from the hormonal damage I've caused to myself.
And do avoid meat substitutes. Too much soy and gluten is bad for you.

[brindyzoeycandy]

Is Soy Bad for You? What About Soy? by John Robbins

I don't believe soy is as bad as people make it out to be. You should always get organic, though, in things like soy milk because the non-organic ones are very heavily sprayed.

I disagree with your nutritionalist, protein-wise. Too much protein is bad for you and if you are going just vegetarian (not vegan) and not starving yourself it would be nearly impossible to not get enough protein.

I agree with Catayn, I would maybe look into seeing a different nutritionalist, at the very least to get a second opinion.

My mom now tells me all the time that she's read in her health books that meat is bad for you. I personally agree with this.

Eating meat is bad for you

[Catayn]

I don't think soy is bad, I just advise people not to try to eat absurd amounts of it.
After my mom got to menopause, her doctor told her to drink soy milk instead of animal milk.
And you are right, if you have a bit of good sense, you'll get all the good protein and good fats that you need.
I always find it funny when people ask me if I just eat salad, because I hardly eat salad or fruit, even being a vegan. But I make wonderful dishes with veggies and fruits which are more than enough protein, minerals and vitamins for me.
I know people who have vegan babies and they are very healthy babies. So I think it must be the same for teens. I am not a doctor though. But it's worth checking.

[1frankie7]

Ok, well, happy cow is great, I dont feel like getting the link right now but I will edit and get it .

Also, as for vitamins, I know you didnt ask, just something to add. I know many people think vitamins are unnecessary or even harmful, but I would like to vouch for the vitamins that I take. I don't take a multi, if I were I would probablt take high potency quintabs(a brand of vitamins, that just happen to be vegan), but I take B12, Calcium(be aware of the sources though because mant come from shell fish) , and C(I take 500 mg/day, I wouldnt take any less, I know the DVA for C is 60/mg/day, but that os just what your immune system needs not to get scurvey or damage the immune system).

[mtm88781]

Silver - In this case, I think I am going to do what the doctor says. I dont think I will stay this way for ever, in fact I know I wont. I am only going to be on this limited meat diet until my late teen years when I dont need as much protien. I have been to three nutritionists, and they all say the same. I am really cautious about health problems, and really want to avoid all possible problems. I have read many books, web pages, and forum posts myself, but I am going to do exactly what you said, and follow the expert.

Catayn - I have seen three diffrent nutritionists, and they all say the same. Energy is not a problem here, it is the fact that with the amount of nine hour days I put into a horse rescue, I can't rish loss of protien, or theese nine hour days would not be possible. On energy though, this is what the nutritionist said:

When you stop eating meat, you natrually will get tired. You will go eat something from your pantry, most likely somethink high in carbohydrates. Many chips, pretzels, beans, etc are high in carbs. Carbohydrates give you short term energy, so if I eat a bowl of beans now, I will have energy for a short"ish" period of time, and then be tired. You need long term energy, which comes in the form of protien. Now, protien is not only meat, but meat is a big source.

I actually am not that concerned with my meat intake, as it is only chicken, and only consumed two out of twenty-seven meals a week. I also am buying local, well cared for, organic chicken, trying not to support battery cages and inhumane slaughter.

Haha, I too find it funny when people ask me if all I eat is salad Vegetarians or Vegans can have many yummy, tasty dishes that are not salad! I aslo do not think soy is bad for you. However, what all doctors (three) tell me is that soy products have many hormones, that are not particuarlly bad for you, but are feminine, meaning it interferes with male metabolism if consumed in large quanities.

brindy - Please read my note on soy I made to Catayan above Also, I understand for you it may be hard to not get enough protien, but I am EXTREMELY active, lifting havey bales of hay many times a week at a horse rescue. Protien also helps with energy ratees. Now, protien is not just from animals, I understand. However, if you eat beans, yes they are high in protien, but they are also very high in carbohydrates. So meat is one of the most direct forrms.

frankie - thank you for your note on vitamins. I have been debating on taking them or not. I have a protien shake for breakfast (with one scoop of protien powder) but I do not know what other vitamins. I will deffinately take into consideration what you said, and bring it up to my nutritonists.

Thanks again guys, you help is VERY MUCH appreciated. I am going back in a month to the nutritionist, and we will re-evaluate and go from there Thanks again.