[catzeyez]

So this is my first week going vegetarian. It's been going okay so far mainly because I have never been much of a meat eater to begin with. Can anyone offer me any helpful tips? Should I be cutting all meat (including fish) out completely or should I gradually decrease the amount of meat that I eat before going completely vegetarian? Do I need to take any supplement pills or am I fine as long as I'm eating enough foods that give me protein? Which foods would you recommend that should be a part of my daily meals? Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[jeezycreezy]

Hey, welcome to veggieboards and congrats on your first week!

I highly reccommend the following books that'll answer all your questions and more:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Becoming-V...e=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...eggieboards-20

Good luck!

 

[Michael]

Welcome! We hava a "tip of the day" thread you might want to read through.

Whether you do it all at once or gradually is really up to you. If you're finding it easy to make the transition there's really no reason why you can't do it all at once. If you find yourself unsure of what to eat, hungry, etc. then you might want to do it gradually. Just do whatever you think well help you stick with it in the long run.

And it would probably be a good idea to take a multi-vitamin (I should take my own advice). You may need to buy multi's that are specifically labelled vegetarian since most of them have a gelatin coating.

Good luck and welcome to VB!

 

[catzeyez]

Thank you! Both books look great and I will definitely considering buying one of them.

 

[catzeyez]

That's great advice, thanks again and thanks for the welcome!

 

[jonjan]

hi catzeyez

(love your image)

welcome to the board, and welcome to the journey

The best stock advice I can give is the same... just light suggestions..

1 - Don't 'eliminate' any old foods... 'replace' them with new foods

2 - Replace foods with similar foods, in terms of protein and fat content. So replace a burger with a veggie burger (not with an apple

)

3 - While you're replacing foods, explore totally new ones too. There's a lot of Amy's, Celentano, and other frozen dinners, and also a ton of great recipes if you're into cooking

here's 4,500 of them! http://allrecipes.com/recipes/vegetarian/main.aspx

and check the recipe tab on this site too

4 - Listen to your body. Does it feel hungry, then give it some more food. Does it feel thirsty, then try more wet foods like fruits and veggies, and other foods with more moisture. Does it feel good,... look in the mirror and smile

slow and steady makes for a solid trend

if you're inspired by health benefits, then see my http://www.helpusall.com/foodandhealth.html

..know how you're helping

and focus on what inspires and motivates you

 

[jonjan]

deleted message posted multiple times

 

[jonjan]

deleted, message posted twice

 

[Irizary]

The "supplement pills" aren't related to protein (unless you were specifically wanting protein supplements), they're for trace vitamins and minerals as a safeguard. I think it's good in general to take a multivitamin/mineral.

It sounds like you didn't eat much flesh food before, but if you aren't familiar with seitan (wheat gluten), tempeh, or the "fake" meat and cheese products, you should look into those. If you're cutting out eggs, you can use a product called Ener-G for baking (and there are some other ways to do replacement too, like with flax seeds, that you can read about). You can use flax or other oils to replace the healthy fats people hope to obtain from fish. http://www.vegfamily.com/health/flax-seed-oil.htm

But it's not complicated, just keep some variety in your diet and ask any questions you have as you go along.

 

[napalmtheory]

If you get cravings and give in to them, don't believe that you are not made to be vegetarian. We all hit that slick spot and some of us still do. We're human.

 

[meatless]

Hi welcome to VB.

I see in your profile you're from Toronto. I'm not in Toronto, but my husband and I go up a couple times a year to revel in Toronto's glorious veganness. PM me if you have any questions about where you can get stuff etc. and I'll do my best to help.

 

[Apple_Blossem]

VegetarianTimes - subscribe to it OR buy 1 or two issues of it at your local grocery store. Lots of recipes and its fun to fill your life with veggie stuff.

VegNews Magazine - this one is free and emailed to you each month. That has about 2 recipes and tips for every holiday coming up (vegan candy brands/vegetarian stuff). I find it helpful and interesting.

Hang around this message board. Make friends (I have not dont this yet) because it helps to have support. There are other good sites to investigate to keep your mind busy and on vegetarianism like http://www.TryVeg.com or http://www.cok.net (Compassion Over Killing).

Do you have a messenger? It would be great if we could add each other to our messengers and find a chatroom where we can make friends

I have AIM, ICQ, MSN.

 

[24fanatics]

I went the route of weaning myself off of meat over about a month long period. I started with pork, then beef. Poultry and seafood were the last to go. I am now working on the dairy and eggs. This board has a wealth of info, and has been a tremendous help to me. Good luck!!

 

[chickadeeeee]

I've only been a vegetarian for six months, but I'll share with you what little knowledge I do have.

- For me, it was better to just eliminate all meat entirely when I first started. However, it might be better for you to start by eliminating red meat, and so on.

- Buy a good vegetarian cookbook or just a vegetarian guide. The one I have is "Being a Vegetarian For Dummies", and it's been pretty helpful.

- Like someone else said, taking a multi-vitamin is really good.

- Experiment, experiment, experiment with new foods.

- Find a good health food store.

- Be prepared for when your family and friends ask you tons of questions about why you became a vegetarian, what you eat, etc. It's always nice to have some answers already prepared for the occasion.

- Know that you're not alone. Even though I just joined, I've been reading the posts on this forums since I became a vegetarian. People here are really helpful!

 

[nat*star]

50g of licorice has a third of your daily iron RDI (I eat about 100g a day for that reason) Yum.

I use Nathan (my partner) to listen to me complain about people not supporting me, and the silly/inconsiderate things people say. Its good to have someone to vent too (as long as they are happy to be vented on). He backs me up at family things and when people start being rude, even though hes not veg*n.

Gelatine is made from animal veins and cartilage, I didnt know this at first either so I thought I would share.

 

[jackie890]

Lots of great advice has been given. I'll add a reminder not to become a junk food veg*n. Make sure you replace the meat in your diet with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and/or fake meat. Not with french fries/cheese/cookies/potato chips/etc. It's an easy trap to fall into, especially if new recipes seem intimidating. But the transition will feel better if you keep it healthful!