AIBU to quit vegetarianism after 10 months?

[Crystal15]

Please don't flame me if you're a veggie! But I'm seriously considering this now. My health is in a bad way, I have low iron and low b12 despite supplements.

My doctor didn't push me into anything but my health made me realise we as humans can't survive in optimal health without animal products. I mean there is no decent substitute for omega 3 at all from fish. Our bodies without certain nutrients will fail us won't they?!

Although I now see this there is still a block in my mind, sadness for the animals suffering I guess. If I could afford organic free range meat I would feel at ease but that's not an option on my income hmm.

So, should I eat meat? Would you? I'm aware this is my decision but it's driving me insane trying to decide by myself.

Try the liquid iron the tablets made me heave when I was pregnant

You are pregnant and baby is sucking you dry it happens to a lot of women they could munch on nails and still not have enough iron in them its bloody exhausting i had iron injections do what you think is best for you introduce some meat see how you feel

littlepeas is right you can care and eat meat and fish

I was a vegetarian for 20+ years, including a very short stint as a vegan. I am now mainly vegetarian but I eat salmon once a week and prawns occasionally. I feel better for it. I've always eaten a lot of eggs, soya products etc.

If you aren't feeling your best then change your diet. You can stick to your principles whilst eating meat. My DH is a big animal lover but loves meat (which I happily cook for him) so we only buy decent, free-range meat/poultry. It is more expensive so he only has it every other night and we eat veggie meals in between.

Vegetarian food is fine - as a side dish to some lovely delicious tasty meat.

I was vegetarian for 20 years but when I was pregnant with dd1 I felt really awful, my iron was through the floor and iron tablets did not agree with me at all. I decided to eat meat for the sake of my health (I was in tears when I first had some - 50/50 mince/quorn). Over time I felt a lot better and continued to eat a little meat during my next pregnancy and about a year or so afterwards.

I'm now back to being vegetarian. I don't feel even remotely guilty about it.

Go back to meat and see how you feel post pregnancy.

I used to be veggie but occasionally eat fish. I'm chronically ill and one day I had to walk up a hill from the beach and I'd run out of food - silly thing to do with my health. I ate dhs ham sandwich and instantly had more energy. That day I learnt my body needs meat.

My body doesn't tolerate dairy (unfortunately). My body doesn't tolerate beans and pulses either. So I have to eat flesh. I went from eating none to eating it 2/3 times a day. It has greatly improved my health.

Do what you need to do to survive. I had to make the choice. The choice to put me first so that I could look after my child. I prefer not to think about the animals as it really does make me sad. But I had to make a choice between being bedridden and in a wheelchair to having some energy.

I bought some vegie bake things Dh cooked them as a vegtable to go with his pork steak

you could be a flexitarian. Reduce your meat intake to minimal, enough to stop you getting ill, but eat a mostly vegetarian diet.

I hardly eat meat or dairy, but I do at times. I'll always go for the vegetarian option if I can, but I dont tolerate pulses/beans, soya, dairy or eggs very well, so I do need occasional meat or fish, although usually im ok with quorn in moderation, thats not an option when travelling abroad for instance or when eating out.

Just saying it doesnt have to be all or nothing. Most people eat too much meat and could easily cut down, even if they dont cut it out.

We buy organic meat, which means DS 14 eats red meat once a week and chicken once a week only. Lots of blue fish, though - anchovies, salmon, tuna, mackarel.
You don't need meat every day. Lots of people I know who say they can't afford organic are eating meat daily.

When you go veggie you might have to be a bit more careful about what you eat with what. Eg what nutrients are more bio available or not - things like dairy can inhibit the absorption of iron for example so being careful what you have cheese with etc etc. Whereas with meat it probably matters less.

I wouldn't go full on veggie as I'm not careful enough - but I have gone down to meat free 3 days a week. Seems a good compromise

The problem is eveyone is Diffrent some people can live on noddles and chicken nugget for some people it would really harm them I once watched a show were a lo day ate crisp sandwiches and nothing else I would be very fat and very ill if I ate that

How about eating just fish or what about insects I belive this growing a lot I seen this one line you could get your protein form shrimp and insects it's not cheap

My friend (60s) hasn't eaten meat for about 10 years now and is very healthy. However she does eat fish -- she found plant protein alone was not sufficient for her body. So we have fish of various sorts most days or cheese or egg based meals. I realise fish are living beings but we feel they are less sentient than animals and less cruelty is involved. I've given up red meat but do eat chicken as ai have numerous health problems and feel I need meat of som sort in addition to fish.
I suppose we now have the luxury of choice whereas previous generations did not and felt themselves lucky to have adequate nutrition. I am descended from the clan of Helena (mtdna) which was the earliest European hunter gatherers who would not have survived to produce me if they had been strict vegetarians.
So OP don't be hard on yourself. Take what course I'd best for you and your children
Good luck

I obviously didn't read your post properly, as I've only just noticed that you are pregnant. I was a vegetarian for many years (went through a few phases of eating fish, other times was full veggie), but stopped when pregnant with my eldest - I know many people feel fine on a vegetarian diet during pregnancy, but I absolutely did not. I remember that first shepherds pie (first meat I ate in years) and how I felt better almost instantly after eating it. I am still eating meat 9 years on, but use my power as a consumer and do my best to make ethical choices.

My sister only eats chicken

You absolutely can get everything you need from a vegetarian diet. I've been vegetarian for 20 years and workout 6 times a week so it gives me enough energy too.

If it's not working for you then do what you think will, just wanted to say it can work and does for many peopld.

Oh, and we still eat a vegetarian supper at least 2 nights a week, often more, and have the odd completely vegetarian week. It does not have to be all or nothing.

Only you can decide what kind of diet is best for you, you don't need permission from anyone to change it.

But it is perfectly possible to get enough B12 and iron on a vegetarian diet, if you are aware of what to eat. I wouldn't rely only on one food source (spinach) for iron but try and get a variety of iron rich foods every day (e.g. lentils, tempeh, sesame seeds/ tahini, olives, chickpeas, dried apricots, brown rice).

If you track your food intake on apps such as cronometer you can see how much iron and b12 you get via your diet. It might be a good idea to do this for a couple of weeks just to see whether your body gets enough iron from your diet.

I would never flame anyone for eating anything- they can eat what they want. However, I do have to disagree with people saying you can't be healthy and be a vegetarian without huge effort.
I'm a vegetarian. I have NEVER eaten meat (the odd mistake every few years, maybe the odd fish finger grandparents gave me as a baby etc) but for the whole, I have never eaten meat. I also don't drink milk, eat eggs or like nuts.
What do I eat? All the other hundreds of foods in the world. I don't find it at all difficult, I am heathy as a horse and there is absolutely nothing wrong with me health wise other than conditions I was born with.

Crystal15 I've spent 10 months trying supplements, b12 flakes in My food, adding spinach to just about everything. I managed to sort my b12 but my iron just won't budge

Spinach contains iron, because of a chemical process that means it can hang on to it from the environment, as it grows. When you eat it, it still hangs on to it, and can hang on to some of the rest of the iron you are eating too. The usefulness of spinach for iron is very overstated.

If you are relying on non animal sources, you need lots of vitamin C. Eggs are probably better, but like to hang on to it too.

Also, you can get find high levels of Omega 3 in vegetable oils, nuts and leafy vegetables.

I disagree with your statement about how most meat is produced in this country. Although some is "factory farmed" much of it isn't. I live on a beef and sheep farm, we are part of the "red tractor" scheme but not considered organic or free range however every animal on the farm is currently out in the fields, with the exception of the Bull and one Cow (to stop him doing the deed with the "underage" heifers, cow is to keep him company) even they are in a barn were they can look out on green fields. I passionately believe in animal welfare as I believe do many farmers and I would like there to be more information available to consumers about how their meat is produced so that they can make informed choices. Maybe you could visit some farmers markets and ask them about their welfare standards. Also do not presume that the organic label means high welfare standards, this can sometimes mean that certain medicines are not used on sick animals and actually causes more not less suffering.

I think you might need to push for more investigations of what is causing your low iron, particularly if you've been making an effort to get enough. Going vegetarian may just be coincidence. I'm pregnant, have been vegetarian for decades and have the iron levels of a healthy man! So do get it checked out in case there is another cause.

Apart from that, of course YANBU. It's your choice whether to be vegetarian.

Your diet is entirely up to you. Eat what makes you feel healthy, particularly when you are pregnant. You might find that when you are not pregnant or breastfeeding, which puts extra strain on your nutritional requirements, a vegetarian diet would be fine for you, if that is where you would like to be from an ethical point of view.

I have been vegetarian (standard vegetarian, i.e. eat eggs and dairy but no fish) for more than 30 years, including two full-term pregnancies with large, healthy babies, and have never had to take supplements apart from being prescribed iron towards the end of the second pregnancy. A varied vegetarian diet seems to work fine for me.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've known three meat eaters who've had the same problem as you, OP. My dd is almost a lion, the way she prefers meat, and she got exactly the same problem during her pregnancy.