Going vegetarian...where do I begin?

[hollywood926]

OK, I guess I begin by not eating meat! But what else should I know? I'm worried about feeling weak, craving meat, being in a bad mood, things like that.

Should I ease into it or just stop abruptly?

I actually eat more chicken than anything else. I eat red meat maybe once or twice a week. I don't like fish much, but I eat tuna a lot.

I just feel like this would be a healthy change.

[curse10]

1. If you think a phase out would work best

then, by all means, do it. I immediately cut out all red meat, poulty, and pork, but eased out of fish (I still crave sushi).

During the transition you may like to try some fake meats :-)

And you shouldn't feel weak. If you do then you aren't doing it right. Just make sure you are getting enough calories and vitamins/protein.

I have found that my cravings now change. Cravings is your body's way of letting you know what you need. When I first started my life as a vegetarian I would often crave Sesame Chicken when I was low on protein. Now I crave black bean burritos :-)

[RebelOne]

2. PETA has a vegetarian starter kit.

Go to their Web site and if I am correct, they will mail it to you. It's http://www.peta.com. At least I they sent me one a few years ago when I decided to go vegetarian.

[hollywood926]

3. Great, thanks! n/t

[smbolisnch]

4. Glad to hear it!

I stopped eating meat all at once, but I never ate that much of it or liked it anyway! Do whatever you think will make the easiest transition possible.

I have never heard of people craving meat, so that shouldn't be an issue. You shouldn't feel weak either unless you start to live on cookies and ramen noodles. Eat plenty of fruits and veggies, drink lots of water and be creative! You'd be amazed at how easy it is to make the same meals you used to using replacements.

I agree with the veggie starter kit from PETA. It a big help! Go to your library too and check out some books on vegetarianism. Look through the posts on this board for recipes and advice etc. You will feel so much healthier before long!

:D

[Maru Kitteh]

5. It's not like giving up cigarettes

You're not going to have "withdrawal". If you eat allot of tuna you had better do a bit of reading about how much mercury you are consuming. Even if you are not a female or pregnant, do you really think mercury is a great idea to eat? Here is a nice little list of symptoms and effects of excess mercury consumption. http://www.mercury-poison.com/symptoms.htm

Are you concerned about feeling weak because you fear you will not get enough protein? That is a TOTAL MYTH. Human breast milk gets 5% of it's calories from protein. Stay with me here. Your needs for protein and calcium are never as high as they are in the first year of life when you triple your weight in just those twelve months. It stands then to reason that any food you eat which derives 5% of more of its calories from protein will be a perfectly adequate protein source. If you ate nothing else but the common potato (11% calories from protein) you would be just fine. The fact is, anyone who is eating enough calories is virtually guaranteed to get enough protein.

Here's a great article on WebMD that discusses the disease prevention benefits of a plant-based diet. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/64/72282.htm