I was a vegetarian for 5 years. I did it to reduce my environmental impact. The most difficult part of it was the first two weeks when I suddenly realized how much I was not allowed to eat. After I got over that hump, it became an easy lifestyle as all my friends and family knew that I was a vegetarian. The following are some key points that you should consider as you transition into becoming a vegetarian:
You Still Need Protein - Just because you decided to stop eating meat, does not mean you can stop consuming protein. Lack of protein in your diet can lead to loss of energy, sleep deprivation, and slow healing of minor scrapes and cuts. It is simply unhealthy to do. Fortunately, you can still consume vegetable protein such as soy. In my case, I was a pesco-vegetarian. A pesco-vegetarian does not consume animal meat, but will consume eggs, dairy, fish, and other seafood. Even though I stopped eating most meat, I was still getting plenty of protein by eating eggs and fish.
You Need to Readily Be Able to Explain Your Reasoning - Your friends, family, and coworkers will be curious and intrigued as to why you became a vegetarian. You better have a good reason on hand to explain why you do not eat meat anymore. Whether it is for the environment or for animal cruelty, you will need to have facts on hand if anyone challenges your motives. My reasoning was for the environment. I readily explained that 80% of the energy a cow consumes goes to the cow's processes, while only 20% gets transferred to you when you eat beef. If you ate grain instead, you would be getting 100% of the grain energy rather than just 20%. Know your stuff, so you get respected rather than frowned upon.
Eating Out Can Be Stressful - Go to a restaurant and suddenly all your options on the menu panel dwindle to a few items. You spend most of your time looking for the vegetarian options, rather than looking for what you actually want. And if you're going out with a group of friends and only one item on the menu is vegetarian, that is what you are eating. In my experience as a vegetarian, I never looked forward to going out, unless I was familiar with the place and their menu. Fortunately, most restaurants these days have vegetarian items. If you are sitting at a table, you have plenty of time to find the vegetarian section.
The Biggest Issue Was When Friends Cooked for Me - When friends decide to make you dinner or you go to a backyard barbecue, you will have to refuse a lot of the food that they cooked for you. It seems simple when thinking about it in your living room, but you will feel like you are being rude when refusing a perfectly good meal, simply because it has meat in it. Someone hands you a fresh burger off the grill, and you say "no thanks, I'm a vegetarian," you will see the look of disappointment in their faces. To combat this issue, you have to let people know that you are a vegetarian, so that they are not surprised after they just cooked a meaty meal. The good thing is that once your friends and family know, they will likely not have to ask again.
Being a Vegetarian is a Personal Choice - Being a vegetarian should be a personal choice and should have little impact on your family and friends around you. Do not instill your beliefs on other people or make them feel guilty for eating meat, just because you decided not to eat meat. If someone else cooks for you regularly, you will now have to cook your own meals. This now becomes a family dilemma and not a personal one. Try your best and keep the impact of your diet decisions to the personal level. You do not want to put unnecessary stress on the people around you, especially if they are not going vegetarian with you.
I quit being a vegetarian after 5 years, because I craved meat again, and I was tired of refusing food, especially when friends cooked for me. The reasoning for quitting is simple, but I did do it successfully for 5 years. Know that being a vegetarian is not necessarily a life long decision, but many choose it to be.
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