Have you eaten meat after being vegetarian for years?

[K8Davidson]

If so, how did you find it?

I’ve been a vegetarian for five years, and I’ve tried eaten meat today (tried a pepperoni pizza on a whim.) I feel so guilty, and I doubt I’ll be able to eat meat again. Found it too greasy etc.

No but my DD has.

she didn’t like it much and it gave her the runs.

Only by accident !
A soup in a resturant that I fount later had a meat base - gave me bellyache
I was given a pepperoni pizza by MIL, i din;t think she was trying to kill me but I found out before I ate it thankfully .

Been vegetarian 45 years .

A relative went back to eating meat after being vegetarian for a 15 years due to pressure from her partner. When she finally binned him, she went back to being vegetarian and is now aiming to be vegan. She says she felt and still feels guilty for eating meat and didn’t enjoy it.

The smell of some meat makes me feel ill so I can’t imagine eating meat (or any animal product) ever again. I know a lot of vegetarians and vegans, they’re all very committed as they’re doing it due to animal welfare concerns.

I was a vegetarian for 6 years. I ate a bacon sandwich when I was tremendously hungover. It was literally the single best thing I have ever eaten in my life and I’ve never forgotten how it tasted, thirty years later. I’m thinking about it now. Might have one for dinner.

I am a lifelong vegetarian. Last weekend I got something to takeaway in a cafe and stupidly didn’t check what it was properly. My husband had just eaten his sausage roll. I asked him to have a bite and check if it was meat.

“no, definitely not meat, I am certain”

I took a bite. It immediately clear to me that it was most certainly pork.

“oh yeah, now you mention it, that is sausage. I was distracted by the herbs”. Last time I rely on him!

It made me feel very uncomfortable but I put it out of my mind quickly - I was surprised by how quickly I got over it, I always thought I’d end up crying or something if I accidentally ate meat but no.

I started eating meat after 4 years of being vegetarian. I was pregnant with my daughter and had the most intense cravings and was even dreaming about meat. I continued eating it after the birth and my daughter has now turned out to be a huge meat fan.

Yes, the other night, we ordered takeout in from a place we hadn't used before. I ordered from the "vegetarian dishes" section but when we came to eat found it had chicken, pork and prawns in it. "Vegetarian" my arse. 😕 We'd have felt bad throwing the whole lot out, it was late, we were hungry, so we ate half of it. Normally we'd have the other half the following night, but we froze it instead. We'll offer it to DC2 when they next visit. I didn't enjoy it and won't make that mistake again. It confirmed that I really don't miss meat one bit.

I accidentally ate meat 3 years after being vegetarian. It was a "vegetable" spring roll at a buffet... Instantly knew it wasn't vegetable, host swore it was. I swore it wasn't. Package checked.. It was chicken.

Tasted very salty, greasy, strong and.. Well.. Meaty. Even fake meat tastes nothing like that, stands out.

It wasn't a lot of meat and so didn't make me ill (I'm vegetarian for physical health reasons, meat gives me awful stomach issues).

I had an ex boyfriend who had been vegetarian his whole life (parents were veg) and then randomly ate McDonald's big mac with friends one day. No idea why. Made him very sick for a day or so, really bad stomach. He said he didn't even like the taste that much. He was veg for at least the rest of our relationship.

A very little. Mainly because my MIL makes the best vegetable soups with (organic £££
home made) chicken stock. I eat tiny amounts of organic chicken or turkey every now and again if DH cooks it for visitors, and small amounts of steak when in France.I can’t bear the thought of mince, sausage, or anything like that, but I occasionally (like once a year) eat a jambon beurre from Pret then feel guilty. I think very small amounts of meat do me good, as I struggle to eat enough protein. I was a strict veggie for 10 years, ate fish (but not much) for about 20 years and have eaten this way for about 9 years. I can’t eat meat or fish without remembering I’m eating a fellow creature 😁 I ethically approve of game but can’t stand the taste of any of it.

I was veggie for my first 30 odd years of life (parents veggie and never really questioned it) But i really struggled with my eating after having kids which followed years of disordered eating so for various reasons I became a meat eater to avoid any kind of restriction on food. I eat chicken and fish now, not often, maybe a couple of times a month. It didn't really impact me physically at all, only ate small amounts to start with though.

I started eating a small amount of meat in my diet after 10 years as a vegetarian. I had completely burnt out and thought maybe it would help with recovery. If I’d had the wherewithal I could’ve massively improved my protein and iron intake without reintroducing meat so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. I never went back to being veggie but I still don’t eat much red meat, and wouldn’t ever fancy a steak or roast lamb or anything like that. To be fair pepperoni is amongst the greasiest of all meats.

I was a vegetarian for 10 years. Started eating meat in after joining the military. I was starving during basic training,I just needed protein and vegetarian meals were just not enough food.
Definitely wouldn't go near processed meats like pepperoni 🤢
Now I eat chicken (once a week), rare steak (maybe once every couple of months), fish (haddock, mackerel, salmon, hake tuna) etc.

I would say that 75% of my meals are vegetarian/vegan though.

How do I feel? Soooooo much better! I do a lot of sport and I feel like I function so much better by adding just a little bit of meat to my diet. I have quicker recovery and am able to focus more? I feel like I have more energy too.

I very nearly ate a piece of ham that was in a vegetarian pasta salad in 2005. That was close enough for me!

My grandpa used to offer me ham ‘because you’re vegetarian’. In his mind, nothing cold or salad-related was meat!

My DD1 returned to eating meat this year after 10 years as a vegetarian. She now eats it regularly, in small amounts, and enjoys it. She also feels better for having added it back into her diet.

We're all different.

Been veggie 35 years few years ago I was violently sick could think what had caused it, I'd accidently eaten a chicken pie instead of a quorn chicken pie

I was brought up a veggie and ate that way until 30, but recently started introducing fish and chicken in, taking it slowly before going onto the red meats, basically started eating it for health and so I can have more options, really enjoyed the various fish I tried, chicken texture was interesting to get used to

This has just made me think of "Can she have wafer thin ham, Barbara?" 😂

My nan thought chicken was vegetarian for some reason.

Like nana from the Royle family when she kept offering Anthony’s gf wafer thin ham. 😂

Ha, cross posted.

Following with interest, I'm 17 years a vegetarian but have always wondered how my body would react if I ate meat after so long

Same! I was a vegetarian for about 8 years then craved meat whilst pregnant, gave in and have been eating it ever since, although I still eat more vegetarian food. My daughter is really into eating meat 😂

I was out for dinner with a vegetarian friend and the waitress muddled up our meals. I got my friend’s veggie lasagne and she got my meat one. She didn’t realise- she thought it was quorn or similar. I certainly noticed the courgette and carrots in mine so she only had a couple of mouthfuls. She was up all night being sick.

DD did
12 years of being vegetarian then wanted meat - long story

I offered various meals with disguised meat but she went straight into steak etc.

She says she feels better physically and mentally than she has in years. She says her thoughts are sharp and clear and she has better energy and stamina. She's recently done her first park run off the back of this.
She had some bowel/ digestive issues too which have cleared up completely to my surprise.
She did not have significant upf to be vegetarian so I doubt it's related to a general improvement in diet

I was vegetarian for the first 30 years of my life and then started to eat meat. I've been kind of underwhelmed by it to be honest. It's a more convenient form of protein for sure, but if I had to veggie again tomorrow I wouldn't be sad about it. I still often order the vegetarian option in restaurants. I'm still not that confident cooking it and prefer cooking vegetarian dishes.