Becoming a vegetarian

DefaultM

Snap said:

Travisthedog said:

Yeah yeah 

But I've never really eaten a lot of red meat, the of steak and bacon sarnie really. 

As part of a doctor induced getting myself healthy I've given up booze, caffiene most dairy (lactose anyway) and bread. I seem to have inadvertently become a vegetarian in amongst this.

I know it's a healthier way to live - the science is is there to support it.

Any advice from any long term forum veggies on maintaining this. It seems pretty easy so far with the exception of the slightly er, explosive side effects of dropping a big chunk of protien out of my diet.............

Hi, I've been vegetarian for about 25 years. I do eat eggs and dairy though, but not a lot.

Key to it - just eat fresh and cook it yourself. Tbh, that goes for any sort of food doesn't it?

People get all hooked up about protein: I get most of my protein from pulses. You only need 0.8g of protein (per day) per kilo body weight. So, for me that's 56g. That is naff all. For example, there is a yoghurt Lidl do that contains 22g protein per pot. Well filling actually. If you are worried about protein, get a bag of pea protein supplement and put a bit in your food, more or less tasteless.

Possibly the only thing I find tiresome about being veggie is other people who believe they have the right to question your reasons behind it. Well boring, to the point where I now answer the question with "I just am", or "why do you eat meat?" It's no-one else's business tbh, don't see why it#s so interesting for some people. Usually they are after challenging your reasons for it, but as I say, gets tiresome and can't be arsed with it.

I've been vegan for a year now. When I started I said I was going to make a point of not ever mentioning it unless asked. Mainly just to dispel the 'all vegans never shut up about it' thing. Then when I'm asked I just say "oh I just like it". 

I also suspected it would be other people bringing it up rather than me, and yes. The amount of shit I get is unbelievable. People bring it up every single day at work. Say I'm weird and should eat proper food blah blah. It's bizarre.

"Ooo are they vegan? Lololol"
"well I'm eating them so I hope so! Hahaha lololol"

skunkwerx

axisus said:

I like the idea of being vegetarian but it would be impossible for me. I'm virtually a carnivore! I literally can't eat any veg, I would throw up. I seem to have a severe mental reaction to it which I have had all my life. Add to that, I love the taste of meat. I do feel not great about the killing of animals to eat though, it is something that has come on in old age for me. I'd be happy to go with 'artificial' meat grown in a lab if that ever becomes a thing. 

Sounds similar to me but with fruit. 
So I try to eat more veg to compensate. 

I was tested for fructose intolerance, which came back negative.. 

But my bowels determine that test was inaccurate.  

Reverend

As someone that eats a lot of chicken and beef, I have to say I am enjoying the Vivera range a lot. Their chicken kebab type thing is great. 

octatonic

EricTheWeary said:

The trend now is flexitarian which is pretty much as Octatonic described it. That rather nasty woman who appears as a critic on MasterChef is vegan all week but then eats dog brains or whatever as part of her job. I have thought about that ( eating rose veal might be an ethical thing to do of you drink milk for example) but I think it would be the thin end of the wedge and I'd be living on big Mac's within a week. 

I guess flexitarian sort of describes what we do, although the are much more about eating whole plants.
It is possible to be vegan without eating much in the way of vegetables- you could live on a diet of bread/rice/chips and Oreo's and still be vegan.
We are going for 'minimally processed' but sometimes it is tricky- Mrs Oct was at a steakhouse for a work event the other day- there was literally nothing else she could have, so she had a steak.

Tonight we had vegan kimchi fried rice with Bok Choy and tofu.
It was delicious.

Emp_Fab

Travisthedog said:

Just ordered it!!

And me!

Phil_aka_Pip

Snap said:

Here's another thing that gets on my nerves - when people give you stick for eating meat substitutes, as in "why do you have stuff that tastes like meat, if you are a veggie??"

The answer is chuffing simple: I didn't stop eating meat cos I didn't like it.

very well put

thumpingrug

Veggie for 35 years.  It was harder when I started and i remember eating lots of beans, pulses and lentils.  Now with the supermarkets stocking a wide verity of veggie options it has got much much easier.  I actually do like quorn and dont care that microprotien is a processed mushroom.  It makes a chunky sausage, that fry well on a sunday.    Read up as much as you can,   eat a balanced diet, dont worry too much and take it slowly.  

Veganic

I have just two pieces of advice:

1. Don't label yourself and don't sweat it. If you are out and fancy a steak then have one. 

2. Learn to cook if you can't already.

Rocker

I believe that there is no one answer for everyone regarding diet.  We are all different.  Vegetarianism works for some, probably not all.  Don't feel bad about eating meat.  By all means try the vegetarian option.  If it works for you, fine.  If not, you can always go back to what you eat now.

mellowsun

I was a veggie during my 20s. Gradually lapsed back into eating meat, but now if I eat meat it’s all locally produced organic stuff. Fortunate to have an organic farm just up the road (along with London’s only vineyard!).

My big problem is sugar. Have managed to cut down, no more sugar in tea or coffee, but still a bit of a chocolate addict 

octatonic

This is the book we used moving from meat to plant-based:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plant-Based-Nutrition-2E-Idiots-Guides/dp/1465470204

This is worth reading too: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presto-Pounds-Disappear-Other-Magical/dp/1501139525

JD50

Been Veggie for at least 26 years now... Veg society is a good place for recipes if you need some inspiration.

https://www.vegsoc.org/

ToneControl

Travisthedog said:

Yeah yeah 

I know it's a healthier way to live - the science is is there to support it.
..

I'm not sure it's as simple as that
And I knew a veggie doing a PhD in Biology who told me about extra amino acids you need to take, so it's clearly possible to have a bad veggie diet.
I've also met plenty of fat veggies

TheMarlin

mellowsun said:

I was a veggie during my 20s. Gradually lapsed back into eating meat, but now if I eat meat it’s all locally produced organic stuff. Fortunate to have an organic farm just up the road (along with London’s only vineyard!).

My big problem is sugar. Have managed to cut down, no more sugar in tea or coffee, but still a bit of a chocolate addict 

Try moving to dark chocolate with high cocoa levels.  I personally am not a fan of chocolate, I very rarely eat it.  If I do though, I prefer a small piece of 90% cocoa. 

jonnyburgo

ToneControl said:

Travisthedog said:

Yeah yeah 

I know it's a healthier way to live - the science is is there to support it.
..

I'm not sure it's as simple as that
And I knew a veggie doing a PhD in Biology who told me about extra amino acids you need to take, so it's clearly possible to have a bad veggie diet.
I've also met plenty of fat veggies

I didn’t know we’d met 

Snap

And here's more nonsense.....

why this need to label diet choices? Pescatarian- oh give me a bleeding break, that's such a made up word. That;s not a thing!

And here comes the big one, the award winner.....

Flexitarian - is this a laugh? Just wtf is this then?? Ah, I know, its someone who eats lots of stuff, and err, takes care of what they eat. Gah, flexi chuffin tarian!!! Aka omnivore?!!

All this bollocking need to label yourself and align to some sort of group, its just crap.

Vegans & vegetarians, yes, I get that, but anything else is just self congratulating cack.

"Oh, yaaah, only this morning, Oscar, Hugo and I had a turmeric latte before going to our fave flexitarian community collective ultra organic bistro in Haggerston, and well, just totes wow, the quinoa alfalfa rucola flatbread with soil was out of this world, natch.."

CRAP!!!!!!!

(ps, not really angry, tongue in cheek n that)

ESBlonde

It is said that during our evolution meat was the only source of protein available to fuel the development of the human brain to such a point that we can think about not eating meat on a principle.

Of course nowadays we can get protein from rice and nuts and exotic vegetables flown around the world to our plates. All of which it is argued, came about because we ate meat during our development.

I grew up on a farm in my early childhood so animal welfare was always a daily issue as was slaughter and butchering. I do eat meat but make a concious effort not to eat much and definately avoid processed meat and factory food/takeaways.

I think I'd like to try the diet where abstinance or starvation for hours on end constiture part of the routine. I do have an allotment and grow a large element of our regular diet with organic methods at the heart of production.

p90fool

I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't really eat meat anymore either. 

I don't think NOT doing something really needs a name tbh, there isn't a name for people who don't eat peanut butter or chicory. 

I've pretty much stopped buying meat because I just don't find it particularly appetising any more, but that doesn't mean I feel any kinship with anyone else who doesn't eat it. 

I don't have much of a tribal instinct I'm afraid, so I'd no more describe myself as "vegetarian" than I would as "driver of blue car". 

prowla

I eat what I eat; if it's veggie I'm fine and if it's meat that's OK too.

I'm also in a low-booze phase; I had a bottle of plonk last week for the first time in months and it was quite nice (over 3 days).

I'm not a fan of fad diets, but I guess some folks need to find meaning in their otherwise empty and futile lives...

sinbaadi

I stopped eating meat when I was 12, but i have always eaten seafood.
I do drink whey protein shakes because I don't have to think about it then.  I think if you are active it is easy to not consume enough protein as a vegetarian or pescatarian.  I don't want to eat seafood every single day.

I do enjoy tofu and meat substitute products are way tastier than they used to be, but I would rather be free to eat veg stuff without forcing anything like that in there.  

I'm not scientific about it, but I feel it's a decent balance.