Questions about being a vegetarian?

Question

I am considering being a vegetarian, but I have a few questions...

1. Do you have to go to special food stores to buy the food, or is it all the veg. food available at a local wal-mart or target?

2. Can being a vegetarian help with weight loss?

3. When I go out, will I still be able to eat a normal meal?

4. I really don't like trying to make myself noticed by asking for special accomidations (shy), will that be a big proplem?

Thanks :)

Answer 1

1. All that you need are simple things like bread, pasta, rice, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables and a reliable source of B12.

Many people are slightly deficient despite eating meat, dairy AND fortified cereals so their should be no reluctance to take a B12 supplement on a vegetarian diet and there are vegetarian and vegan sources available.

2. If you want to lose weight, you must consume less calories than you burn. You can do this by increasing calories burned, decreasing calories consumed or both. It doesn't matter if you're vegetarian or not.

3. Being vegetarian shouldn't be too difficult these days when going out. Being vegan may be but not as bad as many would make it seem.

You don't need to grill the waiter and before you order something that is apparently vegan.

4. I never make any special requests and usually go out of my way to make things more enjoyable for everyone else on my own birthday when at work.

Answer 2

1. You can find fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, grains, tofu, and fake meats in pretty much every major supermarket nationwide. Wal-Mart and Target are good options.

2. Yes, but you still have to have a healthy diet. You probably won't lose weight if you eat tons of vegetarian junk food.

3. Most restaurants have good vegetarian options these days. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by a "normal" meal, but there's plenty for vegetarians to eat. Even restaurant chains like Burger King and Johnny Rockets sell veggie burgers!

Restaurant guides:

http://www.vegcooking.com/VegFastFood.as...

http://www.vegcooking.com/ChainRestauran...

4. It might be a problem in some situations, but generally should be OK. You can bring your own food (or eat in advance) if you'd rather not ask someone to prepare a special meal for you.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

1.  If your talking about food in general you can pretty much go anywhere.  If your talking about soy products that taste like meat I would suggest Trader Joe's

2.  Of course!  Becoming vegetarian can easily cut fat out of your diet

3.  Yup, I (me being a vegetarian) really haven't found much of a problem with finding normal meals.

4.  You'll have to do it occasionally but I guess it depends where you go.  If the place is diversified you will be able to find something that sounds appetizing that doesn't contain meat.

Answer 4

1. you can buy like tofu and certain brands of vege meat from walmart, like boca and morning star,, but alot of rele good vege meats are at adventist book stores! there are big varities (at mine atleast!)

2.yes

3.yes.. example. taco bell: " hi, can i get the taco bell grande' with beans instead of meat?" example 2. chineese resturant "hi, umm,, can i get the fried tofu with brocli and garlic sauce?" (a personal fave! (: )

4. naahh, nothing special with substuting meat for something else..its usually not a problem unless ur waitress is a nut job,, lol then thats not even ur problem!

Answer 5

1. You can buy vegetarian food in any normal supermarket these days=P.

2.Yes becoming vegetarian can help with weight-loss, but you still have to eat healthy and exercise regulary.

3. You should still be able to eat normal..(just excluding meat), most places these days offer  vegetarian alternatives..if your not sure, it is always great to  ask questions.

4. No it shouldn't be. As long as you stick to familiar foods, you should be right.

=]

Answer 6

1. no! you can find any fake meats and any other meat free product at most grocery stores.

2. yes and no. if you eat peanut butter for every meal, then you will not loose weight. if you dedicate yourself to a low fat vegitarian diet, then you will probably be able to loose the weight a lot quickker than if you were eating meat durring the diet.

3. yes! most places offer things such as grilled cheese, pasta, pizza, salad, and many other thing depending on the type of resturaunt.

4. not ussually. in most cases, you can just eat the side dishes. hehe. but if it is something like a grill out, you can just bring your own food like veggie burgers.

hope i helped! : )

Answer 7

1. There are veggie burgers and other food at normal food stores. Veggie burgers are int he frozen food section and there may/most likely be a small section in the vegetable section usually where like the POM juice and apple cider is that has other options like veggie cold cuts. - my favorite veggie burgers are by morningstar farms especialy the pizza burgers. thats what got me

2. I didn't lose weight at all. But if you eat only the right things no junk food then yes it should help you.

3. Restaurants usually have SOMETHING a pasta,  eggplant. as for fast food.. i usually only go to taco bell (you can get any option with beans instead of meat. i get chalupas), mcdonald makes salads now, subway, burger kign has a veggie burger and so does KFC but I heard KFC cooks it on the same grill, which ist he same i bet for burger king but I lived by "if  i dont know for sure, i will eat it"

4. Pretty much. I was not picky at first. Like for one it all seemed so difficult like i didnt like veggie cold cuts, or veggie hot dogs and was like "omg what am i going to eat? is it worth it?" and then i just got over it and everytrhin seems normal now. but now at bbq's my family knows to cook my burger seperate on tin foil w/ a different spatula. and my mom recently had a fit, for my benefit, at subway when they put chicken on my sandwich isntead of hers. I felt bad but I knew I was notgoing to eat it because i was grossed out.. but other than that and saying "can i ahve that with beans and not beef?" or askign to leave out chicken in a salad.

Good luck. and it is worth it and you will find out that it is not that hard to find other foods to eat. now i dont even notice that i am cooking seperately from my family.

Answer 8

I'm a vegetarian so I'll try answering your questions...

1. You can find vegetarian food at pretty much any grocery store. If you want meat substitutes you can try MorningStar things. (really good!!) They have a large variety of delicious foods.

2. Sometimes...but many chips and other "junk" foods are vegetarian so they won't help. But the vegetables and everything would definitely add to your diet.

3. Yeah, sure. You can order so many different things. Some restaurants would even modify a meal for you.

4. Not usually. Many people are becoming vegetarians these days so you get a lot of choices.

Answer 9

1. i have found all kinds of tofu and meat subsitiutes at walmart. check in the frozen section(for "burgers, chickn")...and in the bagged salad/produce section( for tofu)

2. yes as long as you stick to it. "diets" dont work, but lifelong ones do. but since i turned veg a year ago, the wieght just keeps melting off!

3. not at all restraunts. if all else fails order a salad w/ no meat. subway,fazolis, and taco bell have veg options.

4. it wont be a big problem at all. i work in a restraunt and i understand when poeple ask for certain things. so when you ask, just appologize for any inconviniece and order away! oh if anything, you can call ahead, that way noone will know you specially asked for something!

tips,info

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vegetar...

http://www.peta2.com/STUFF/s-recipe.asp

http://weightloss.about.com/library/week...

good luck!

Answer 10

I'm a vegetarian and I eat a lot of food that you can get at a regular grocer. Depending on what you eat as a vegetarian, lots of snacks making up for meals, or veggies and fruits you can lose eight. When I go out I sometimes have trouble finding meat-free dishes or dishes that I like, but I can always find something yummy (: And I've never had to make an special accomidations usually I just say like a salad without chicken or whatever, no biggie! (:

Answer 11

1. there are many specialty stores and health food dtores you can go to, but for the basics that isn't necessary. i usually find all the things i need at like stop and shop, target and pathmark. they have a great selection!

2. naturally being a vegetarian, if done properly (i.e. not pigging out on junk food), you will loose weight a lot easier because your cutting a great deal of fat out of your diet.

3. well that depends on what you call normal. just make sure you read what's in the food, sometimes it sounds vegetarian but isn't... like it could be veggie soup but it may still be cooked in chicken broth. but a normal meal is possible depending on where your go,

4.the only real problem is when your eating at like a friend's or relative's houde and you don't know what is in their food. but i'm sure if you ask what they cooked with, they will understand.

hope that answers everything.. good luck in your vegetarian journey!!

Answer 12

1. No, you most definitely DON'T. I'm a lifelong vegetarian, who's never had to purchase meat, so I have a long history in finding vegetarian foods. Now I personally don't like tofu products, but sometimes they're okay. You can go to the frozen food section in like giant or acme and get morningstar farm burgers.

2. I mean it can in some situations, but I wouldn't count on it. A lot of the time, people actually gain weight, because they're not eating properly.

3. Yes, you will. A lot of places, such as denny's and burger king offer veggie burgers. You can eat french fries too, but make sure they're not cooked in the same fryer as chicken!

4. Well I don't either. I actually hate attention. But I mean, you are going to have to speak up at people's houses. If they bring up eating dinner, just say "Oh, I'm vegetarian now!". Don't be ashamed of it!

Any other questions, such as good food ideas, and other things like that, feel free to email me.

Answer 13

I'm a vegetarian too! It's a really easy lifestyle and very rewarding!

1.You don't need to go to special food stores to buy vegetarian food, just don't buy food with meat in it. If you want fake meat (made of soy, etc) you can easily buy it at a grocery store.

2. It hasn't really changed my weight, but it depends how active you are and what other foods you eat.

3.Of course you'll be able to eat a normal meal, don't worry about it. I'm really shy too, and I asked my waiter for a chicken Caesar salad without chicken and my cousin asked for a quesadilla without bacon in it, so its not a big deal, it wont bring attention to you being a vegetarian, people will just think that you don't really like something and not think twice about it.

Hope this helps :)