Why are you a vegetarian?

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  • Thanks, Myrtle.

    Thanks again for the answers. I just thought he was kinda reaching when he said he would never have to worry about weight gain when he's clearly put on 2 sizes in his pants. It's good to know that I wasn't losing my mind.
  • Oh yes, cheese is what did it for me. As a kid, I snuck cheese sticks out of the fridge all the time. Anything creamy like macaroni-and-cheese or chicken and rice made with lots of oil was pretty much what did it. I don't think I'll ever become vegan, but I do want to find some cruelty-free, humane, organic dairy companies out there. If I have to wait until I own my dream organic farm, so be it.

    I had no idea we had that emoticon! It's ridiculously cute!

    Oh, and I have noticed that ever since I went vegetarian, I have been feeling better, and it helped me snap myself out of my depression and graduate from high school with honors when I was in danger of not graduation at all. I never thought it would have been my vegetarian diet, though, but that's awesome!
  • Honestly I think if someone is on a clean vegetarian diet it would be next to impossible to gain weight. Everything I eat is primarily broccoli, carrots, snow peas, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, zucchini, raw spinach, water chestnuts, salsa, (oil free), beans, and typically 1-2 cups of whole grain a day. ( no bread, but brown rice, and oatmeal), very little nuts. I eat when I want to, I dont have cravings. If I feel the need to have something sweet, vanilla soy milk and a banana satisfys ( i dont look at this WANT as a craving, because it doesnt overwhelm me, and I dont HAVE to have it.. I want it). I eat a ton of fresh fruits, i dont count calories and I dont limit myself to how much to eat. I feed my body when Im hungry and I stop when I am full. Since 11/02 Ive lost 15lbs.
  • I'm a vegetarian of 20 years. I just joined MRC two weeks ago and was told they could accommodate vegetarians. When I started using the HSNs, I read the label and discovered they contain gelatin - animal bones. How did you deal with that issue?
  • I don't know what MRC or HSN are, but presume they are pre-packaged diet meals? I try to eat as little processed food as possible, to me that would include any of those meal plans, so I'm not familiar. If you find you absolutely need to have your meals pre-portioned for you I'd try to find a more veg friendly plan, I'm sure some must exist that don't rely on nasty byproducts like gelatin.
  • As far as gaining weight as a vegetarian, I imagine it comes down to portion size in some respects....for example, a bowl full of pasta with tomato sauce may be a vegetarian meal, but it can be a pretty hefty calorie count if you have a large bowl (say, like most Italian restaurants here serve...you could eat for a week off of one serving!) vs. a regular portion size.
  • Don't think it's right to kill animals
    That about sums it up. It's also why I do not wear leather, silk or wool, etc. Been that way 21 years. Decided to go veggie when I was 19.

  • Hi guys,

    I have just happened onto this part of the board after joining yesterday.

    I used to be a vegetarian, then vegan, but then fell off the wagon, so to speak, not long ago, and am attempting to get back on it.

    My reasons for becoming a vegetarian/vegan were partially for health reasons and partially for environmental reasons.

    Since gaining a significant amount of weight after plateauing for awhile, I was looking for a diet that I could feel good about doing. I had flirted with the idea when I was age 11, lasting only 3 weeks before caving. So, when I was older, I decided to try it again. I really enjoyed the way I felt... the clarity of mind and the overall happiness I was feeling. Combine that with doing yoga regularly, and folks said that they could tell I was losing weight.

    As for my environmental reasons... I read a book about the benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet, as well as Fast Food Nation, and was saddened by the inhumane treatment of animals in slaughterhouses and dairy farms. (Not to mention the deplorable conditions they're kept in...) So, I decided to begin the vegetarian/vegan diet.

    I have really been trying to get back into the swing of things, but I haven't been able to successfully. But... coming here, trying for the 40 millionth time, I hope to get some support.

    I have also observed just from reading the posts here how controversial the issue is. I have observed that even in my own life; my parents did not like the idea of it at first and my ex-fiance (whom I was still with at the time) did not support it at all. (Which could be one of the reasons it was so difficult to maintain... I don't know.)

    Anyhoo, thought I'd contribute my two cents.

    Michelle
  • Hi Michelle

    Glad to hear you're giving this another shot! It can be hard being the lone vegan in an omnivorous world, I know it took some maturity (and a lot of learning) on my part before I was ready to commit. But now it is so easy, as natural as breathing. I can't imagine ever not being vegan now. Everyone has their own set of circumstances and challenges, I found it really helpful to join an online community of vegans to share (and sometimes vent) with, and get support. It's nice to feel like you're not alone.

    Good luck! Hope you find the help and support you need.
  • I have been a vegeterian for a while. For me it has to do with the animals.I find it repulsive to eat anything that had a face.However not liking to cook,I do eat alot of high calorie foods.I cook anything that is easy pasta,rice,baked potatoes.
    I do eat the Boca products too,but they are not filling for me. Does anyone have any suggestions on easy vegeterian meals?Or maybe a cookbook with easy recipies? Thanks
  • Hi tracy, I'd recommend looking at http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/ there are loads of recipes on the blog itself plus others in the recipe archive. Its one of my most favorite resources for low calorie, delicious and fairly easy recipes.

    I eat a lot of beans myself and I will buy canned beans but I'll also make them in the crockpot. I also use a rice cooker to cook rice, qunioa and other grains. Sometimes quick cooking beans as well like adzuki (after they've been soaked).

    Also, one thing I do is I will cook large batches of meals when I do cook. Cooking doesn't need to be strenous or time consuming. The other day I made indian spiced lentils with green beans over quinoa.

    1) Measured quinoa, measured water, put in rice cooker, added a little salt, pushed start

    2) Measured lentils and put in large sauce pan. Added a large can of tomatoes, dried onion, dried garlic and plenty of curry powder. Stirred, tasted and covered. Brought to a boil then simmered for about 40 minutes, stirring ocassionally.

    When quinoa and lentils were done, I poured about a cup of frozen green beans on a plate and microwaved, then I added quinoa and lentils. It probably took me 5 minutes total of actual 'work' but I made lunch/dinner for multiple days.
  • why am i a [vegan]:

    one day i was cooking up a new chicken alfredo recipe (which doesn't exist in my diet anymore for obvious reasons), and i pulled out the large boneless chicken i had bought at the store. when i pulled it out of its container and held it in my hand, i had a brief freak-out because i felt like i was holding a human organ in my hand. it killed my appetite completely.

    that was the trigger, but ultimately i gave up meat and all dairy/egg products because of my views on animal rights. i don't need to go in detail~ you could probably watch youtube videos about it!

    there are a million amazing things that can happen to you once you begin to slowly incorporate a more vegetarian/vegan diet into your life- as long as you don't take the sneaky shortcuts like stocking up on carbs and bread and more bread.

    for me- i went french fry crazy... so don't let that happen to you!
  • think of all the foods you love that don't have meat in them... and focus on those!

    example: i love hummus and falafels (baked falafels not deep fried!)-- and i went hummus and falafels crazy. or i ended up eating lots and lots of tofu-- because tofu tastes amazing =)

    you don't have to go straight to eating just raw veggies. trust me- as soon as you begin to incorporate non-meat foods, you'll begin to enjoy vegetables and fruits as a core for your diet!
  • I've been a vegetarian since August of last year, and so far it's been nothing but great!
    I did it because I was doing a research paper on factory farms and... it was just really depressing, disgusting, and horrible.
    My mom's also a vegetarian, so it wasn't like I woke up one day and decided to try it. Growing up with a vegetarian gave me the information and a bit of experience to decide that this would work for me.
    It's only been 9 months, but I'm already considering trying going vegan. [I most likely will when I go to college.]
  • I was a vegetarian in my late teens and early 20's, and I did it for weight and because of peer pressure. Whenever I'd get together with all my friends and they'd want to eat whatever the junkfood of the moment was, and when I would say "I can't have that I'm on a diet" I'd get a whole bunch of flak for it, nobody has respect for people who are trying to watch their weight, or they didn't at that time. However if I said "I can't eat that, I'm a vegetarian" well, nobody jumped in with the "oh, come on, just have a piece" thing, there was a certain respect for it. Plus, the added bonus was that vegetarian choices were *generally* lower in fat, calories etc. That worked for me for many years, and in fact my whole family joined in. I eventually added fish and chicken back into my diet and now on the odd occasion, red meat, but I've found I don't like red meat that much so it's pretty rare (pardon the pun) that we have it.