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Is it hard to be a vegetarian?

I was contemplating becoming a vegetarian for my resolution, as it's something I believe in and support. However, I want to know some basic facts. What's the hardest part? Should I go the whole way now, or just give up red meat? Is it hard to be without meat? I already am positive that giving up red meat won't be hard. What other things can't I eat besides fish and poultry? Thanks :D

16 Answers

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  • Mee
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    For me, it wasn't difficult because my dad and sister were vegetarian, and so vegetarian food was easy to get at home. But it really depends on where you live. I live in Texas, and lots of people think of steak as a staple.

    The hardest part is finding food at school or when you go to family/friends gatherings. You end up eating a lot of side dishes, unless the person hosting is considerate. This last Thanksgiving, my fiance's family was considerate of his vegetarianism, so they bought a tofurkey for him to eat (which is really good, although I don't think it tastes like turkey from what I remember).

    You can probably easy just go straight to vegetarianism real easily, just make sure to plan ahead how you're going to replace the nutrients you used to get from meat. For example, don't just take it out, but replace it with something. Replace meat with soy products, or milk products, or beans, nuts, or even eggs.

    You can't eat fish, poultry, deer, beef, pork products, and lard. If you're eventually going vegan, you'd be giving up honey, milk, and eggs as well.

    Make sure you have a reason to be vegetarian. Is it for health or animal rights? People will ask you about why you're vegetarian ALL THE TIME, so be prepared to answer their questions. You have to be able to answer them sensibly. If it's for health reasons, let them know that when eaten right, a vegetarian diet can be even healthier than a typical diet because there is less cholesterol and saturated fat in your diet.

    Trust me, once you get a hang of it, the whole vegetarian thing will be pretty easy. When you go out to a restaurant, a lot of times you won't find much that is vegetarian, but if you talk to the waiter, he or she will talk to the chef to see if they can replace the meat with tofu (at an asian restaurant) or grilled vegetables, or even cheese. You probably have to ask a lot "is there meat in this dish?" many times when you order, and often they can replace it with something if there is meat.

    Good luck. I don't know how old you are, but make sure you talk about it with the people you live with. If you're really young, parents are often unsupportive.

  • 1 decade ago

    Hi. In the beginning being a vegetarian can be hard. It's a big lifestyle change, and you have to adapt to it like you would any other big change in your life. The first 2 months seem to be the hardest as you're dealing with emotional attachments to foods you used to eat and trying to figure out what you can/can't eat. I'm at 10 months now and things are definitely getting easier. Some things are always going to be a pain- like trying to find something on certain restaurant menus that you can eat, but all in all it's worth the pain. :) You can always contact the head offices of your fave restaurants and find out what is vegetarian and what isn't. A lot of that information is listed online as well.

    Other things you'll want to look out for will probably be hidden animal ingredients- gelatin (marshmallows, etc.), glycerine (can be vegetarian or not) and rennet (in cheese) being the 3 biggies. You'll have to do some research on those items and other hidden ingredients. The words "natural flavor" will become your worst enemy. lol You'll see them listed on the ingredients of so many items, and a lot of times you'll have to make a judgement call as to whether you think it would be animal-based or not.

    Giving up meat is actually not as hard as a lot of people think, and soon you just become a person who doesn't eat meat. There will be times when you miss it- but after a few months you'll probably find it wouldn't even taste good to you anymore.

    *I'm torn on whether or not I would recommend watching videos like "Meet Your Meat" from PETA. Yes, they will certainly strengthen your resolve to not eat meat, but they're EXTREMELY disturbing, and remain in your psyche for a long, long time.

  • anon
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    The hardest part for me is going to a new boyfriend's house for dinner! I hate having to put people out to make something special for me... and I live in a state where many men I meet belong to ranching families. Talk about awkward!

    Going without red meat really is so easy, and that's a great first step. I noticed a huge surge of energy now that I don't eat it. The rest of what you should avoid depends on how far you want to take your resolution... Whatever you decide, best wishes for health and happiness in 2008!

  • Dart
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Why do you ask the question: hardest part? I guess you have to ask yourself the question: Do I believe in something strong enough to support it when it becomes hard to do? And only you can answer that. Look at all some of the answers here, they agree that it is hard to do - as oppose to the easy way of just eating whatever you want with no regards to the impact it is making on the world (no awareness. but you are starting to be aware and it will be more difficult to go back when you start learning more and more about what it really means to the world around you to become vegetarian).

    Some of the basic facts are that in order for you to become, and I want to emphasize the word BECOME vegetarian, you may want to go slowly. First cut out all red meats, and eat only chicken, fish, dairy, and eggs for your meal entree. When you have handled that, then start to cut out the chicken and fish. It will be difficult at times, and there will be times when you either eat the chicken that is offered, or you say no thank you and quietly fast till you can get home to eat (that has happened to me alot of times and everytime I said no thank you I felt more empowered about myself. I was not a slave to my stomach!). You will have some times like that, and you just tell yourself you are still BECOMING vegetarian, and are not there yet. It took me a whole year to become established as a vegetarian (and another year to become vegan -cutting out cheese was the hardest! but it was just my mentality of submitting to my stomach and its cravings (casein in cheese is a food additive that is addictive). I won in the end!). So good luck and enjoy your journey of awareness, and try not to be to downtrodden about all the violence and abuse that is in the world (humans and animals). You are helping to eliminate it - one person at a time.

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    It's not hard at all if it's something you really believe in, although I guess it depends on how much meat you'd eat normally. Before I became a vegetarian, I didn't really eat meat too often so it wasn't a big deal.

    Just make sure you get protein and other good stuff some other way.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    When I first became veggie (5 years ago), I found it sooo hard, especially as the rest of my family were eating meat around me. Then it got easier, and i stopped thinking about it really, but recently I've really been craving some good meat. Like a bacon buttie or something.

    I'd say the hardest part is christmas! There's not much to eat really, apart from Quorn Roast!

    Good luck though! :)

  • 1 decade ago

    Becoming a vegetarian was the easy part. What I find hard now is trying to find new foods and meals to eat at home and when we go out. I think that it would be hard for me now to go back to eating meat. I had cravings at first for about the first 6 months but now no cravings at all.

    Source(s): me a vegetarian
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I became a vegetarian 7 years ago, and I gave up all meat RIGHT away so thats all I really know. I personally think its easier to give it all up so you dont just start craving other meat again if you still eat some. Chickens are probably treated the worst anyway...

    And gelatin and lard you cant eat.

    Gelatin is in marshmallows, jello, skittles, starburts, etc.

    Just make sure you check the ingredients :)

  • 1 decade ago

    I went from average meat eater to lacto-ovo vegetarian all at once. I didn't find it hard at all. I thought going vegan would be really hard, so I put it off for two decades... but that hasn't been hard, either.

    You can definitely cut out one type of meat at a time if you think that will make it easier on you. There's no law that says you can't spend some time tranisitioning to vegetarian.

    Vegetarians don't eat any dead animals and they don't eat ingredients that came from a dead animal. So, no beef, pork, poultry, seafood, etc... and also look for slaughter ingredients like gelatin, lard, tallow, rennet, and more obvious ingredients like chicken flavor, beef powder, chicken fat (you'd be surprised at how people don't seem to think those are really made from chicken or beef...)

  • 1 decade ago

    Well if you were to become a vegetarian, they usually don't eat poultry. But really you should be asking yourself this question. How much do you like meat? How much do you eat meat? How hard would it be for you to stop eating meat?????

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