So... I Just Became a Vegetarian
- Thread starter TheDrunkNinja
- Start date
Man you're missing out on so much. I love meat. You could have a balanced diet right? Vegies and fruit with some meat?
You're going way off topic into a subject that is well-known to incite flame wars. That's suspension-worthy.BrynThomas said:
My only reason for addressing it (as well as immediately ending it) was due to the fact that it was used as reasoning for specifically living an omnivorous lifestyle. Sorry if I'm being cold, but I just want you to know why I'm not answering. Another time, another day.
I edited my original post just for you!... Actually it was for you and the other ten guys who said that same thing.dark-amon said:
Go check it out.
Yeah I read the whole thing, no misconception, it's just excessive. There is nothing to be gained by being a vegetarian that couldn't be done better by being omnivorous while equally health conscious. My point is that it isn't a good strategy unless you're the kind of person who can't remember anything without a pneumonic. I suppose if you're looking for an uncomplicated way to do it, that's a strategy, not the best but certainly the simplest. But as a general rule if you do something badly, in this case eating meat, you should learn to do it better rather than just not doing it. You know what they say, quitters never make perfect... or something like that. No individual person can say vegetarian is a better diet than omnivorous unless they're somehow allergic to meat or have extremely limited access to dietary information on all local meat products, which are nor required by law to be available at all restaurants.TheDrunkNinja said:
(I'm posting again because I realise I have another point to make.)TheDrunkNinja said:
Yeah, I get this a lot as well. Just don't fucking give a shit about what they say. If you're not bothering people about what they eat, then they really shouldn't be bothering you. You have to get a real backbone about this, because many people you know will take personal offence at you becoming a vegetarian. You will get questions and people will scrutinize your answers. Don't let it get you down, or make you eat what you might not want to eat.
Seriously, explaining my vegetarianism and people asking me questions about it have been the most difficult parts of being a vegetarian, for me.
I hope you have a better time of it.
Aw, sidelined. For the record I find the "meat is murder" argument to be totally subjective and therefore inarguable. Kind of like "I affirm my beleifs with faith instead of science." There's no argument at that point, it's just a view and a moral call and no one can ever tell you you're wrong.latenightapplepie said:
"vegetarianism is healthier" on the other hand is simply factually incorrect.
Go for it if you want, anyone who says being a vegan/veggie is flat out bad for you is just wrong, take a look at someone like Robert Cheeke a famous vegan bodybuilder, if he can compete against a profession of guys who load up on meat everyday to lift then you can easily lead a healthy lifestyle.
I would advise talking to your GP about such a massive switch and asking him to recommend what type of stuff you would be dropping from your diet and alternative ways to put them in. I'm not a veggie but as a student who weight trains a lot I need high protein on a budget, so i eat loads of peanut butter, tofu (yes i know your against it but i love it) and pure whey supplements. I treat myself to good quality meat for one meal a day and generally go veggie for lunch/breakfast.
an excellent site for cheap good quality supplements (protein,vitamins, minerals, fat burners the works) is MyProtein.
good luck with the diet
I would advise talking to your GP about such a massive switch and asking him to recommend what type of stuff you would be dropping from your diet and alternative ways to put them in. I'm not a veggie but as a student who weight trains a lot I need high protein on a budget, so i eat loads of peanut butter, tofu (yes i know your against it but i love it) and pure whey supplements. I treat myself to good quality meat for one meal a day and generally go veggie for lunch/breakfast.
an excellent site for cheap good quality supplements (protein,vitamins, minerals, fat burners the works) is MyProtein.
good luck with the diet
even so its not exactly healthy to ONLY eat vegtables there are some nutriens that are ONLY found in meats
I'm sorry, we can't be friends anymore TC. Nah, I'm kidding 
I've always sort of opposed vegetarianism, but that's probably because I love meat products, granted that I don't feel like puking afterwards from excess fat/oil. Suppose it's your choice, so congrats. Just remember to get enough iron intake so you don't randomly faint.
I've always sort of opposed vegetarianism, but that's probably because I love meat products, granted that I don't feel like puking afterwards from excess fat/oil. Suppose it's your choice, so congrats. Just remember to get enough iron intake so you don't randomly faint.
Bloody good on you, sir.
I'm a meat-eating type myself, but my wife is vegan, so I end up eating and cooking quite a lot of vegan food. Just so long as you eat a good mix of things, you'll come out fine. I think the important thing is that you're actively paying attention to what you eat - meat or no meat is often not the issue, but it's the development of a bit of awareness and control over food intake that matters when a healthy diet is concerned.
The sheer range of vegetarian alternatives and dishes now actually makes it really easy - especially in the 'states. If you do find yourself craving meat, there are loads of really good meat substitutes - although they go best in a good sauce or seasoning. Soya mince or quorn mince makes excellent chilli with lots of beans.
Indian food also doesn't suffer from a lack of meat - the flavour is in the spices rather than what you're cooking, most of the time. There's tons of really good recipes online. I'd recommend looking into learning to make some simple daal or vegetable biryani to get you started and go from there, if you're interested.
Home-made smoothies are also a way to get a lot of good stuff down you and make an excellent start to the morning. Again, there's some excellent recipies a google away.
Good luck with things!
I'm a meat-eating type myself, but my wife is vegan, so I end up eating and cooking quite a lot of vegan food. Just so long as you eat a good mix of things, you'll come out fine. I think the important thing is that you're actively paying attention to what you eat - meat or no meat is often not the issue, but it's the development of a bit of awareness and control over food intake that matters when a healthy diet is concerned.
The sheer range of vegetarian alternatives and dishes now actually makes it really easy - especially in the 'states. If you do find yourself craving meat, there are loads of really good meat substitutes - although they go best in a good sauce or seasoning. Soya mince or quorn mince makes excellent chilli with lots of beans.
Indian food also doesn't suffer from a lack of meat - the flavour is in the spices rather than what you're cooking, most of the time. There's tons of really good recipes online. I'd recommend looking into learning to make some simple daal or vegetable biryani to get you started and go from there, if you're interested.
Home-made smoothies are also a way to get a lot of good stuff down you and make an excellent start to the morning. Again, there's some excellent recipies a google away.
Good luck with things!
I'm fairly sure this claim is wrong. You might be thinking of vitamin B12, which only naturally occurs in meat and animal-products.henritje said:
Besides, the OP is talking about being a vegetarian, not a vegan.
Wanting to be vegetarian to have better health is a fallacy. Humans are omnivores. Enjoy your bucket loads of mushrooms and peanuts. The funniest thing I've ever heard from vegetarians is "You know, there ARE such things as tablets to fulfill any nutritional needs ...."
To which my usual retort is "Well then ... screw eating most things at all and lets just take everything in pill form and eat nothing but oats to fill our stomachs so we don't feel too hungry."
As long as you don't become a veg nazi about it, you're free to do whatever the hell you want ... why make a forum topic about it though? This is what your DOCTOR is for ... why the fuck would you trust what the random person online has to say about what YOU need nutritionally....
That being said any doctor worth his/her salt will tell you to reconsider... so I can understand why not going to one ...
Oh yeah .. don't be making the comment that you're looking for a more natural, healthier lifestyle ... natural lifestyle would be eating things you forage from the wild and substituting your needs WITH meat .... not having to eat twice as much food to substitute the the goodness from meat.
If anything what you're doing is completely UNnatural.... but I digress
Talk to your doctor about 'tips' ... don't trust the idiocy that is the general public.
I swear, the most unhealthy thing about eating meat/poultry/fish is people don't cook for themselves anymore.... *rants*....
To which my usual retort is "Well then ... screw eating most things at all and lets just take everything in pill form and eat nothing but oats to fill our stomachs so we don't feel too hungry."
As long as you don't become a veg nazi about it, you're free to do whatever the hell you want ... why make a forum topic about it though? This is what your DOCTOR is for ... why the fuck would you trust what the random person online has to say about what YOU need nutritionally....
That being said any doctor worth his/her salt will tell you to reconsider... so I can understand why not going to one ...
Oh yeah .. don't be making the comment that you're looking for a more natural, healthier lifestyle ... natural lifestyle would be eating things you forage from the wild and substituting your needs WITH meat .... not having to eat twice as much food to substitute the the goodness from meat.
If anything what you're doing is completely UNnatural.... but I digress
Talk to your doctor about 'tips' ... don't trust the idiocy that is the general public.
I swear, the most unhealthy thing about eating meat/poultry/fish is people don't cook for themselves anymore.... *rants*....
[quote/] Fact: I don't eat well when it comes to eating meat. Fact: My diet consists mostly of meat, which I just told you is not healthy meat. By cutting myself off of meat, I now treat my fruits and vegetables as the main course of the meal rather than just an optional addition.
I'm getting myself back on track when it comes to my eating habits. I don't ever get a decent amount of fruits and vegetables, if any at all. Just ignoring fast food chains isn't enough. I need a complete diet change in order to get myself back on track. Going vegetarian for a little while is a good strategy for this. I can't believe I actually had to recap something that was just on the next sentence. [/quote]
From what I'm getting from all your responses to these posts... The real problem isn't meat.
It's that you don't have the willpower to refrain from overeating, once you get started.
I would deal with that problem first. You may believe your lack of willpower will screw you over unless you go completely cold turkey, but you just need to be smart about it. Here's a way better way to deal with your meat problems.
First, buy local free rang meat. Take this meat and divide it into meal sized portions and seal them and plastic. Put a sticky note on each bag with the date to eat the meat on it, two to three times a week is probably good.
Now eat the meat according to the schedule. Use your original concept of those slaughterhouse films to persuade yourself not to eat at any fast food restaurants. Instead pick up some local fish, eggs and vegetables.
You now have a healthy diet. Enjoy it.
I'm getting myself back on track when it comes to my eating habits. I don't ever get a decent amount of fruits and vegetables, if any at all. Just ignoring fast food chains isn't enough. I need a complete diet change in order to get myself back on track. Going vegetarian for a little while is a good strategy for this. I can't believe I actually had to recap something that was just on the next sentence. [/quote]
From what I'm getting from all your responses to these posts... The real problem isn't meat.
It's that you don't have the willpower to refrain from overeating, once you get started.
I would deal with that problem first. You may believe your lack of willpower will screw you over unless you go completely cold turkey, but you just need to be smart about it. Here's a way better way to deal with your meat problems.
First, buy local free rang meat. Take this meat and divide it into meal sized portions and seal them and plastic. Put a sticky note on each bag with the date to eat the meat on it, two to three times a week is probably good.
Now eat the meat according to the schedule. Use your original concept of those slaughterhouse films to persuade yourself not to eat at any fast food restaurants. Instead pick up some local fish, eggs and vegetables.
You now have a healthy diet. Enjoy it.
First of all, I must commend you on "coming out" as a vegetarian over here... In my experience, the escapist is somewhat anti-vegetarian.
Anyhow, you'll be doing yourself a favour by not staying away from tofu, once you get the hang of how to cook it (or fry it, or whatever), it is actually pretty damn tasty.
Anyhow, you'll be doing yourself a favour by not staying away from tofu, once you get the hang of how to cook it (or fry it, or whatever), it is actually pretty damn tasty.
So, I assume you don't ever look up anything on the internet to read what was written by people, who have had experiences in the specific field that you require knowledge upon.PaulH said:
My god, are serious? First of all, of course I'm going to visit my doctor. I've already made the appointment. Second, I came here because I knew for a fact that I would find many people who have had personal experiences with the vegetarian lifestyle. I've asked my family, my friends, and co-workers. I like getting multiple opinions on a specific topic. Just because these are people I don't know doesn't mean I can immediately discount them as credible sources.
I go out and buy a book on vegetarianism. Guess what? It's written by some guy I don't know. He may or may not be a credible source of information. I don't know, I have to read the book first. You don't think after I've read what he has to say that I don't have the common sense to understand whether or not what he says is credible information or not? And even if I wasn't sure, what would you suggest I do? One possibility is to read reviews of the book, expanding my spectrum of understanding. Reading multiple opinions that were spawned from an opinion. That's called "mass communications". In other words, equivalent to the internet.