What type of vegetarian lifestyle is right for me?

Question

I am a 13 year old girl. I recently decided I wanted to become a vegetarian. I want to be a vegetarian that does not eat eggs but does have dairy and eat seafood. I have read about the different types but they don't say anything about connecting two(example pesco-lacto vegetarian, is there such a thing?) titles to make one. Also, the pesco-vegetarian definitions say fish, does that mean I can eat all seafood? Or just fish?

Also, can you clearify common confusions.

Like.......does pizza dough have eggs? What foods have hidden ingredients that vegetarians have to look out for.

And what do I say when I tell people I am a vegetarian. Most kids my age don't know what a pesco vegetarian is. Some people will not even consider that a vegetarian.

Answer 1

I don't see what the deal is with people saying what "kind" of vegetarian they are. Just say, "I don't eat meat or eggs." That's it. Most people don't consider seafood meat anyway, so you're good. I think the special variants are just to make people feel special.

Answer 2

Why do you have to find a label for yourself?  If you don't want to eat meat, poultry or eggs, then that is what you choose to eliminate from your diet.  You don't have to eat certain foods just because there is no name for what you don't want to eat.  

Pizza dough does not have eggs.  You will just need to do a lot of label reading until you learn what ingredients are in what.  

Tell your friends you are a vegetarian and leave it at that.  You don't owe them an explanation.

Answer 3

Vegetarians don't eat fish.  If fish is the only meat you eat, you would be considered a pescetarian.  Pescetarians are not vegetarians.

Pizza dough does not have eggs.

Watch out for McDonald's French fries if you live in the US.  They contain beef tallow.

Answer 4

Forget trying to explain to people what you are. Just tell them you have your own tastes and leave it at that. You'll be stuck explaining it over and over and people won't ever be satisfied. Meat eaters don't understand and eventually you'll realize that you've been answering the same types of questions and people still don't understand what you are. "I'm a human being with different eating habits than you." If they're not satisfied, tell them it's not worth the effort to explain. If they really need to know, they'll research it online.

All seafood is fine (not just fish) unless you don't like it.

Pizza dough does have eggs in it.

Focus on eating a lot of vegetable and fruits. Ask your mom to get you a vegetarian cookbook as this will make it easier on all of you to make something that's good for everyone. Many of those meals can be used with meat, so when your mom makes them, she can just not put meat on your plate.

Check out this page: http://vegetarian.lifetips.com/faq/0/0/q... and click on the links to read about it.

Also, this link ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002... ) will show you a list a vegetarian cookbooks that you can get and see if your mom can make some of the recipes in them. Yo may want to volunteer to learn to cook them yourself if you feel it'd help convince her to make you some of the yummy vegetarian dishes most of us know and love. Some books are better than others but I'm sure you'll find one or two (or even more) that you'll love. You can look inside of some of them, too.

Answer 5

Your  mom can't force you to eat something you don't want to.

Veggies don't even eat sea animals because that is meat.

This link is healthful for veggies

http://www.exploreveg.org/resources/ingr...

Answer 6

It's true, most people don't consider pescetarians to be vegetarians.  You can be an ovo-, lacto-, or ovo-lacto-vegetarian but not pesco-.  If you're going to be a pescetarian, just tell people "I don't eat red meat" if they offer you meat, or "I don't eat chicken" if they offer you chicken.

As a vegetarian, you basically need to read the ingredients on everything.  Watch out for gelatin in anything gummy, marshmallows, yogurt, and things with hard frosting like Pop Tarts and Frosted Mini Wheats.  Look for animal shortening or lard in snack cakes (like Hostess), cake frostings, and refried beans.  Anchovies are in Caesar salad dressing and worcestershire sauce.

Answer 7

you can be whatever type of vegetarian you want to. there is no rule book, it is whatever you beleive in. and, when people ask say that you still eat fish. that is what peso- means. even if they don't know already, explain to them, open up a whole new world.

Answer 8

You're way too fixated on what to call yourself.  Just eat healthy and stop worrying about it.

Answer 9

I was raised a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and now, at fifteen, i am a vegan.

if your mother won't let you be a vegetarian because of your age, it is because she doesnt realize the many benefits of a vegetarian diet.

fish are animals just like cows and pigs and chickens, and they deserve the same luxury of being called meat. fish is meat. vegetarians don't eat meat. if you eat fish, you are not a vegetarian.

so instead of figuring out what to call yourself, do some research, and show your mother this : http://www.fishinghurts.com/

and if she's worried about you not getting omega 3 fatty acids found in fish, tell her that there is soy milk (BETTER FOR YOU THAN DAIRY AND SO MUCH YUMMIER :D) and eggs that come fortified with omega 3 for the same price !

the one thing i can tell you about vegetarianism/veganism is RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH ! find recipes, learn to cook, and be healthy. dont just cut out meat without replacing it with anything else. learn to love tofu, peanut butters and veggies !

good luck sweetheart. x

Answer 10

Eat they food your comfortable with and do not worry about the title.

Answer 11

Forget "Labels", eat what You care to eat...!!

Answer 12

Only you can decide what is right for you.  It depends on your motivation for changing your dietary choices.

"Most kids my age don't know what a pesco vegetarian is. Some people will not even consider that a vegetarian."

1.  Vegetarians do not eat animals.

2.  Fish are animals.

3.  Vegetarians do not eat fish.

If you have decided to give up other kinds of meat because you are opposed to factory farming, or the environmental impact of cattle, that is an admirable decision.  If you need a label, call yourself an activist, or an environmentalist.

Answer 13

that's a made up vegetarianism. but, you could just eat and not eat what you explained above, and you don't need to call yourself anything. eat what you want.

Answer 14

The difference between a vegan and a vegetarian is that a vegan eliminates all animal products from his or her diet, including dairy. Those following a vegan lifestyle generally do not wear leather and avoid products made from animals such as wool, silk and down. Vegans’ tremendous humanity for animals is an abiding, overriding conviction in their lives.

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or poultry, but might eat dairy products such as cheese, eggs, yogurt or milk. Vegetarians are not as predictable in their beliefs, as there are many reasons to become vegetarian that don’t necessarily include altruism as a primary motive. For example, many vegetarians have eliminated meat for the sake of their health. In fact, there are a great many people lumped into the category of vegetarian. Lacto-vegetarians will eat dairy, but not eggs. Ovo-vegetarians will eat eggs, but not dairy. Lacto-ovo vegetarians will eat eggs and dairy products. The reasons for these choices are varied and based on individual beliefs. In some cases they are based on moral choices, and in others on dietary needs or simple preference.

A vegan, on the other hand, is self-committed to upholding a personal standard of living where animals are concerned. The vegan will often go beyond eliminating meat, dairy and animal products, to become an activist for animal rights. Generally, the vegan point of view is that animals are not here to be exploited by man, and that commercialization of animals necessarily involves a fundamental, inhumane component and lack of respect for basic life. Unfortunately, cruel methods are often cheaper methods, and animals raised for meat or dairy products by commercial interests are commonly and routinely kept in abusive conditions and slaughtered inhumanely in the interest of a competitive marketplace.

Answer 15

Pizza dough generally doesn't have eggs (or dairy)

You need to look out for Gelatin in yogurt and marshmallow, and lard, and rennet in cheese.

I don't see why you wouldn't eat eggs and meat, but would eat seafood? That just doesn't make sense to me, as fish are animals that feel pain and such.

If you still eat fish then I guess you'd still be a pescetarian, but Not a vegetarian.

If you decide to omit fish (and all seafood) then you would be a lacto-vegetarian

Answer 16

best solution eat watever u want and don't call your self anything

Answer 17

You CANNOT seriously call yourself a vegetarian if you are going to eat fish. This just causes confusion among omnivores who have encountered people who claim to be "vegetarian, but eat chicken and fish." Every time someone learns that I am vegan, they ask me if I eat chicken or fish, and it is really aggravating because I have just told them that I don't eat any kind of animal product. Please do not tell people that you are a vegetarian if you eat fish.

Answer 18

Vegetarians do not eat seafood.

You could eat seaweed, but no sea animals.

Pizza dough usually contains no eggs.

If you want to eat fish and seafood, you might call yourself a "pescetarian". This is not related to vegetarianism and pesco-vegetarians do not exist. Such a term is an oxymoron.

==============

What does your age have to do with anything? That's just an excuse to end the conversation.

It doesn't matter if you're 8 months old or 8 decades old, the correct vegetarian diet can be just as healthy as any other.

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

The American Dietetic Association doesn't agree with your mother.

Answer 19

I think a lot of people think that vegetarian is the way to go, but by my own observation and experience, most vegetarians are not educated in nutrition and will do themselves great harm by consuming lots of soy foods... which are endocrine disruptors... they will start by putting your thyroid on its back, make you tired and fat, then block all the nutrition in everything else you are eating, and you can't access the alleged protein in soy/tofu either.

In order to go vegan successfully and keep your health optimal, the ideal vegetarian diet is RAW FOODS.

Check out the books by Victoria Boutenko... and do a search on Amazon.com for raw foods books.

Expect to buy a good food processor, a high-powered blender, and maybe a dehydrator to make this new kind of cuisine with. Your primary protein sources will be RAW nuts and greens, and your energy will be good.

Answer 20

Just forget about labels and make your own choice about what is right for you. If you are serious about vgetarianism, now is the time to start learning what things you can and can't eat-you are sitting right in front of a wonderful learning tool. Maybe if you show your mom you are dedicated and that  you have collected the info you need to insure you get the proper nutrients in your diet, she might even back off on making you eat fish. There is no reason that anyone of any age cannot be healthy without eatiing animal flesh.

As for what you tell people, you say "I don't eat meat". I f they ask why you say "It's a personal choice". If they persist or criticize, you say "How do my personal dietary preferences affect you?" After that, it helps to have that info I referred to before to rebut comments like"you can't be healthy not eating meat". Remember though, stay calm and dispassionate-getting defensive just makes them feel like they're right.