How to become a vegetarian?

[malcolm x]

I'm thinking of becoming a vegetarian, I know that I consume wayyy too much meat in my life.
I'm looking to become a healthier eater and I'm looking to eat less sodium/cholestoral in my diet.

How should I start?
Does anyone have a link to a good article?

 

[soleasian]

Just lay off the meat.
It's not like you're addicted to eating meat like someone is addicted to cigarettes.

 

[thytkerjobs]

Lol at this being your 1st post.
Smh at people not wanting to google today

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+become+a+vegetarian

 

[wooly willy]

ask eracism i'm sure he'll be more than happy to tell you and will probably tell you a story involving whole foods

 

[6dollaburger]

Eat so much meat that you get sick of it.

 

[blazea4]

I would suggest you check out two important books that actually helped me understand why being a vegetarian (for the past 4 years) wasn't working for meanymore. To each his own, and body chemistry's are different, as are what you should eat based on what your ancestors ate, but...you should definitely seedifferent points of view and you'll learn that a lot of the misinformation about what is "healthy" and what is not is actually not true. Noteating meat may actually not be a good thing, and using vegetable oil is one of the worst things you could do to your body. My final suggestion is to be opento points of view, find out what your options are, then decide what works and what doesn't, don't blindly follow.

Check out these two books:
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes (not a diet book, actually a science book)
The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith

And definitely check this guy out on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/UndergroundWellness?ob=1

 

[marcgrat]

Found a good article

http://tinyurl.com/yekpqh3

 

[kojinman]

you should look in to the macrobiotic diet/way of living. Very insightful for those who want to stop consuming foods that are harmful for your body. Check outa book by the author Mishio Kushi, and you'll be all good my friend.

 

[mykickgame]

Stop eating meat

 

[phat703]

Originally Posted by Malcolm X

I'm thinking of becoming a vegetarian, I know that I consume wayyy too much meat in my life.
I'm looking to become a healthier eater and I'm looking to eat less sodium/cholestoral in my diet.

How should I start?
Does anyone have a link to a good article?

I couldn't help myself

 

[youmadyoubad]

Just because you eat a lot of meat doesn't mean you need to stop eating it completely. . If you're going to become a vegetarian it should be for otherreasons besides your health. You can eat meat and still be healthy.

 

[mangudai954]

Originally Posted by SoleAsian

Just lay off the meat.
It's not like you're addicted to eating meat like someone is addicted to cigarettes.

Some people are actually. Its very hard for some people to become vegetarians because they love chicken breast or burgers so much.

Originally Posted by YouMadYouBad

Just because you eat a lot of meat doesn't mean you need to stop eating it completely. . If you're going to become a vegetarian it should be for other reasons besides your health. You can eat meat and still be healthy.

I agree.

 

[ghenges]

Since I started dating a vegetarian girl I find myself eating less meat (pause). I use to feel bad at first and just tell her to order and I'd have thesame thing she was. Then I started eating light stuff like chicken incorporated into pastas, etc. In a few weeks I might muster up the courage to eat a steakin front of her. Yea, I'm simpin' hard.

 

[Methodical Management]

It's wonderful that you're looking to reduce or even eliminate your consumption of animal products. Since you're concerned about cholesterol,you'll be happy to know that vegan diets are cholesterol free and it's easy to create a diet that's low in sodium as well.

Don't fall prey to the scare tactics. You DO have the option to enjoy a healthy lifestyle without ingesting flesh. The view that meat or other animalproducts are somehow essential to the human diet is a virulent myth. Think about it: humans have historically been scavengers, so we're pretty versatile. The overwhelming majority of the human diet has traditionally consisted of plants. Meat could not be relied upon.

There are many different ways to meet human nutritional needs. That some people have a hard time doing so while vegetarian or vegan is more an indictment oftheir individual practices than of plant-based diets as a whole. B12, for example, which many poorly planned veg*an diets currently lack, is present in thesoil. It's only because of the way most of us purchase and prepare vegetables that we can become B12 deficient without meat. This was never a problem forour ancestors and it's not a problem for our primate relatives. These days, however, you have to go a little out of your way to ensure that you'rereceiving it in sufficient quantities. So, if you go into a vegetarian or vegan diet without proper planning, odds are you will acquire a B12 deficiency in afew years. That's not because there's some magical quality to meat that offers the only viable source of essential nutrition for the human diet,it's because the individual failed to locate a suitable non-animal source.

I'd suggest picking up a copy of Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports andLife by champion Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier. It offers a complete meal plan including recipes along with nutrition information. I'm happyto offer additional book suggestions as well. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions.

If you need a quick, free source immediately, you'll find plenty of vegan recipes online and some websites offer sample meal plans to get you started, likethis one: http://living-vegan.blogspot.com/2007/02/vegan-sample-meal-plans.html You'll also want to be certain you avoid the pitfalls of poorly plannedvegan diets: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/vegan-nutrition.html

I wish you the very best of luck with your transition!

 

[youmadyoubad]

Originally Posted by Method Man

It's wonderful that you're looking to reduce or even eliminate your consumption of animal products. Since you're concerned about cholesterol, you'll be happy to know that vegan diets are cholesterol free and it's easy to create a diet that's low in sodium as well.

Don't fall prey to the scare tactics. You DO have the option to enjoy a healthy lifestyle without ingesting flesh. The view that meat or other animal products are somehow essential to the human diet is a virulent myth. Think about it: humans have historically been scavengers, so we're pretty versatile. The overwhelming majority of the human diet has traditionally consisted of plants. Meat could not be relied upon.

There are many different ways to meet human nutritional needs. That some people have a hard time doing so while vegetarian or vegan is more an indictment of their individual practices than of plant-based diets as a whole. B12, for example, which many poorly planned veg*an diets currently lack, is present in the soil. It's only because of the way most of us purchase and prepare vegetables that we can become B12 deficient without meat. This was never a problem for our ancestors and it's not a problem for our primate relatives. These days, however, you have to go a little out of your way to ensure that you're receiving it in sufficient quantities. So, if you go into a vegetarian or vegan diet without proper planning, odds are you will acquire a B12 deficiency in a few years. That's not because there's some magical quality to meat that offers the only viable source of essential nutrition for the human diet, it's because the individual failed to locate a suitable non-animal source.

I'd suggest picking up a copy of Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by champion Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier. It offers a complete meal plan including recipes along with nutrition information. I'm happy to offer additional book suggestions as well. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions.

If you need a quick, free source immediately, you'll find plenty of vegan recipes online and some websites offer sample meal plans to get you started, like this one: http://living-vegan.blogspot.com/2007/02/vegan-sample-meal-plans.html You'll also want to be certain you avoid the pitfalls of poorly planned vegan diets: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/vegan-nutrition.html

I wish you the very best of luck with your transition!

Method Man you sound like a hardcore Roman Catholic trying to convert Pagans.

 

[gumbottombandit]

what a coincidence, i'm also becoming a vegetarian starting tomorrow.

thanks for the book links fellas!

 

[thapeopleschamp]

alotta unhealthy vegetarians

 

[essential1]

no chicken wings........ helllllllllllllllllll nawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

 

[shaunhillftw49]

Sing

 

[gumbottombandit]

15 days and still going strong.

 

[letitshine24]

Yeah going to veg. or vegan is not the way to go. Especially vegan. My cousins whole family is vegan and they are now having serious problems. First off, yourlosing the calcium you gain from dairy products which leads to weak bones. Second, meat is a source protein which cannot be substituted from eating beans. Ifyou think you eat too much meat, then DONT EAT SO MUCH MEAT.

 

[kash55]

You don't need to become a vegetarian, but it is highly recommended that people reduce their consumption of meat.

 

[al audi]

Insane I don't eat red meat, but all meat?!?? Hell no

 

[datznasty]

I did it, wasn't that hard. Just went cold turkey, ate the last of the meat in the fridge and haven't bought anymore since. It has been like 12 days. Ifeel like it's actually making me more groggy, tired, and mentally fatigued than ever before though. Hopefully when I get my protein in that will helpalleviate that though. I do still eat dairy products though for the protein so that makes me a lacto vegetarian

 

[miceyj77]

I believe its all about determination and the proper discipline......
If you want to become a vegetarian, do it! Read up on it & Make tiny steps toward that goal.
I don't eat any beef of pork..going on 5+ years now, and it feels great. One day I plan to eliminate all the other meats as well...
Best of luck to you!