What to be careful about when becoming vegetarian?

Question

Hey everyone! Name is Dania and I am 17. I have thought about vegetarianism over the past few months and have decided it is something I wish to pursue. I have put in a lot of effort to research but I need some help. I have wrote lots of notes and numerous pros-cons sheets. I have talked to other vegetarians.

1. I want to know what precautions to take when becoming vegetarian.

2. I also wanna know personal stories about how people did it.

Thanks soo much!

~Dania Sahfire

PS. I am planning on going lacto-ovo.

Answer 1

Prepare to be judged. People will ask "Why?" all the time. You will be asked if you eat fish. You will be told it must be hard. You will be asked if you worship PETA. You will be told you'll change your mind someday. It can get annoying, but it's a good idea to have a few set answers.

You also have to understand that while, yes, a balanced vegetarian diet is healthy, it is absolutely possible to be a junky vegetarian. Cake and ice cream and french fries are vegetarian, but they're terrible for you. You still have to eat healthily.

Vegetarianism isn't hard. I went cold turkey. Never looked back. :}

Answer 2

The only precaution worth taking is to keep it to yourself unless someone is REALLY genuinely curious. Some people will try to suck you into a heated argument just because they are insecure with their own choices and other people will just think that you're annoying and preachy if you talk about it without a good reason.

I went vegetarian the night that I first saw the "Meet Your Meat" video. My immediate goal was to become vegan and I waited a year before I called myself vegan because I was slowly eliminating different foods and sweets were the last to go.

Vegetarians do not need any special food. It is actually very cheap if done correctly. Bread, pasta, rice, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies are all that you need.

I recommend that you take a B12 supplement regularly as almost everyone has levels that are lower than recommended. If you do not eat dark green leafy vegetables such as mustard, collards and kale; I suggest that you start. They are packed with vitamins and minerals that many vegetarians worry about missing out on as well as those that most people fail to incorporate into their diets.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/

Don't let anyone tell you that being veg is any sort of sacrifice:

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

Answer 3

A locto-ovo vegetarian diet isn't hard to follow. When you give up eggs and dairy, it gets a bit tricker. I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian who limits my dairy intake, by using soy milk, but I do like a cheese pizza every know and then.

Answer 4

That is awesome! You could become a vegan though, it is better and healthier.

The basic precautions is read your labels, be prepared to be judged and asked ridiculous questions by ignorant people. Also some places and restaurants are not veg*an friendly. And get read for the best descion of your life! You also need to make sure you eat a good veg*an diet, which is easy to do!

And of course there is such a thing as soy cheese, but be careful if you go vegan some soy cheeses still contain animal products. But there is Teese, Cheezly, Sheese, Follow Your Heart, and some other vegan cheeses. Also you can make your own cheese mostly with nutritional yeast and cashews.

Sites to check out:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/03/v...

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/eat.html

http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/

http://www.veganimprov.com/

http://www.vegcooking.com/

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=07groce...

http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

http://vegweb.com/

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com

http://vegetarian.about.com/

For information on vegan nutrition check out:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/02/v...

Recipes:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/08/v...

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/09/o...

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/09/v...

Answer 5

Precautions: gird your loins.  People will attack you and challenge you constantly.

Lacto-ovo isn't worth it.  The most abused animals are dairy cows.  Do some research.  Lacto-ovo is fine for transition, but strict veggie (aka vegan) is the only way to go.

Answer 6

well, im also an vegetarian, i know its hard for the first time to resist the desire to eat meat for first couple months, but by the time you'll hate the smell of it . 1. make sure even when you go out to eat something, ask them about the sauce or something that i dosnt have any sea food water, meat water, instead you can start out with soy. Soy its a good source of everything for vege foods, you can make everything with soy, even there is soy meet which is completely natural. thats all i know of being an vegeterian. well good luck with your healthy life.