Vegetarians?

[turnipmonster]

I agree with everyone that says it's much easier if you enjoy cooking for yourself. I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 11 years and can't ever remember wanting to eat any kind of meat during that time.

like everyone else said also, it's not necessarily a healthier diet, although it can be a good opportunity to change the way you eat. there are plenty of vegetarian things that are terrible for you.

I've spent a fair amount of time on the road and never ever had a problem, but you need to be a little creative (like stopping by a grocery store for pita, vegetables and hummus instead of a fast food place) sometimes and in many restaurants you won't have as many options as a meat eater.

--turnipmonster

[Talk2BigSteve]

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Having been a vegetarian for over 17 years, your reasons for becoming one will not sustain you; you will fail, so don't bother.

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I've been a vegetarian for 3 years, and I'm quite certain it's a choice I've made for life. What makes you think Steve will fail?

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From my experience:

1) People who decide to wait until the New Year to resolve, almost certainly fail.

2) The dozen or so Western people I know who have tried to establish an Eastern philosophy, failed when it came to the diet.

3) There’s a huge difference between say, a macrobiotic diet and a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. To not know which one’s right for you suggests a serious lack of thought on the subject.

4) It was never established exactly why he wants to become a vegetarian. Ethical? Health? Spiritual was alluded to, but it’s not clear if that’s the reason or for some other novel idea.

5) Too much at once- quit smoking, quit drinking and now wants to give up meat? Good luck.

6) I have never met anyone who has been a vegetarian for longer than 8 years- most people break somewhere between 4 & 5 years.


Reason three is no big deal; everyone starts at the same place, but he needs to do some serious thinking because it’s a lifestyle change and like most, requires a severe amount of dedication (at least in the beginning).

Really, I’m not trying to be negative- just being a realist. Most people have a hard enough time with their regular eating habits, let alone sticking with this kind of diet.

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#1 I picked New Year's not as a resolution but simply because that will give me a full month to try out different recipes and slowly incorperate that into my diet.

#2 Thank you for this, it reassures me that I will have to put in major effort to make this a success

#3 Again this is one of the reasons that I am a taking a full month to study and research this so I do not end up hurting myself, that is one reason I stated that I am diabetic in the Original Post.

#4 Spiritual and Health, with out going in to alot of philosophy, it is a belief that in order for the mind to be healthy(focused) the body must be healthy.

#5 Quiting drinking was easy as I was never a big drinker, Quiting smoking was much harder it took me a few attempts at cold turkey to realize that I needed help. I got NicodermCQ clear and did that for 2 weeks. I did not even post on here about it just in case it was going to be another failed attempt. When I went back to the Drug Store to get another 2 weeks I stopped myself and said "I am not going to spend another $50 just to prove that I can do this" so I left the store and still have not smoked. If I can do both of those then what is going to be so hard about this?

#6 My E-mail is Talk2BigSteve@gmail.com send me an e-mail for New Year's 2014 and see how I am doing. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for being real!

Big Steve [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[OtisTheMarsupial]

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Having been a vegetarian for over 17 years, your reasons for becoming one will not sustain you; you will fail, so don't bother.

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I agree with you. The simple fact is, the majority of people who attempt vegetarianism fail. They simply do not have the will power, knowledge, and positive influences of other vegetarians to overcome the mega-marketing of the American meat industry. Steve might succeed, but he will be in the minority, like me and the other smart people [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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6) I have never met anyone who has been a vegetarian for longer than 8 years- most people break somewhere between 4 & 5 years.

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I have been a vegetarian for 23 years.

[4_2_it]

Why don't you start out as a semi-vegi to get used to it and slowly work your way up the ladder stopping where you feel most comfortable? I wish you luck.

[bobbyi]

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How difficult is to eat out when you travel?

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It depends on how strict you are. I still eat seafood in large part because it makes eating in restaurants a lot easier. I haven't eaten red meat or poultry since high school and have never had trouble eating out. OTOH, if you are a vegan, eating out is very hard.

A lot of people are talking about whether you will succeed or not. I think a lot just comes down to how much like meat. I ate it largely out of convenience and really don't miss it all. The thought of never having a pork chop again just never sounded like a big deal to me anyway and I don't understand people who find it difficult and go back after a few years because at this point, it doesn't even look like food to me. I had sworn of fast food burgers from places like McDonalds years before I stopped eating meat simply because I find that stuff gross. (OTOH, the thought of never again having lobster or shrimp is pretty terrifying, which is the other reason I still eat it).

[TimTimSalabim]

I did it for a couple of years once. No fish, but I did eat dairy. It's very difficult to sustain unless you have very strong reasons for doing it, and it also helps a lot if you do most of your own cooking. Eating out a lot when you only have one or two menu choices (or none if you go vegan) gets tiring.

[Talk2BigSteve]

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Why don't you start out as a semi-vegi to get used to it and slowly work your way up the ladder stopping where you feel most comfortable? I wish you luck.

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I am basically doing this, I have been for about the past week eating one vegetarian meal each day I set the date of New Years so that gives me about 5 more week to learn and eat. I am calling tomorrow to set up an appointment with my doctor to tell him my intentions and get some advice as well, but I am the type of person who will not go there like a completely uneducated moran looking for all the answers, like some people do when they go to a doctor. I am also going to set up an appointment with the Diabetic Counselor at Rush Hospital here in Meridian to go over some of the information that I have found doing some research.

I love to cook and I have plenty of time to do so.

I have also stopped eating anything after 6:30PM I think that fact alone with have a great impact on my health and well being.

Big Steve [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[nothumb]

My girlfriend is sort of a vegetarian from an environmentalist standpoint... she has no problem with eating meat but she can't support factory farming, etc. So she pretty much only eats fish and organic dairy, or free-range meat. Thanks to us living in the crunchy granola [censored] of the east coast this is not difficult.

I have been trying to cut out red meat, which is hard because I really love steak and burgers and whatnot, but I definitely feel better sticking with more fish and lighter fare. Makes it easier to [censored], that's for sure.

NT

[theBruiser500]

being a vegan is healthiest. a lot of people will say that moderation is best and some meat is good. they are wrong. these people are stupid and have not researched the subject, also they are feeling better about the easy choices they have made regarding their diet. the less meat and dairy you eat the healthier you will be.

[Paluka]

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being a vegan is healthiest. a lot of people will say that moderation is best and some meat is good. they are wrong. these people are stupid and have not researched the subject, also they are feeling better about the easy choices they have made regarding their diet. the less meat and dairy you eat the healthier you will be.

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this man speaks the truth.