Any former vegetarians out there?

[CutItOutAndRestart]

I have been vegetarian for over 20 years. Tonight, I have for the first time started to think about whether this is the right choice for my overall health and well being.

I have come across a number of instances in the past couple of years of diet writers (for want of a better description) advocating the re introduction of meat for optimum health. I have always dismissed this but I am at a point now where I think all options need considering as my general health has not been great in recent years.

I fell into the usual high carb vegetarian trap years ago and have spent the last 20 years yoyoing with frequent weight loss and weight gain.

Low carb of some variety is the way I need to go. I am too sensitive to carbs - they make me binge, fact.

has anyone else considered or even switched back to eating meat? How did you get started? The thought of actually getting anything meaty in my gob let alone digesting it and liking it is scrambling my brain at the moment as it is in direct conflict with everything I have 'known' for most of my life!

I did crave meat when pregnant, the smell drove me mad but it still wasn't enough to result in me actually eating meat. So am I mad to be giving this any consideration at all?

Reading your post...it was almost as if I'd written it myself! :) I hadn't eaten meat for 25 years and then, last year, it was if my body was telling me that it needed it. Before becoming a vegetarian I was never a big meat eater anyway so it wasn't too much of a shock to my system. I tried taking vitamin supplements to try and get my body back up to speed but to no avail. I dithered about starting to eat meat again for a good few months before I eventually gave in and had a very small piece of chicken which I virtually carbonised so that I didn't have to deal with the 'texture' of the meat itself. I didn't have another piece until about a week later and then gradually over about two weeks I introduced chicken, and pork, back into my diet. Still don't eat red meat (would never eat lamb as I gag at the very smell of it) and have never liked fish. Won't have meat cooked in a restaurant/takeaway as I have to virtually dissect to make sure there are no fatty bits etc. I have to say that physically I'm in much better shape now than I have been for years. However, I can't say that I wouldn't be in a similar position if I had just persevered with pumping my body full of vitamin supplements rather than going back to eating some meat. For me it's worked out fine although I would say I'm still meat-free on 80% of the week.

just reading the word pork in your post made me gag

thank you for posting Pavla. I think I have a long way to go and I can understand why it took you months to actually try something. I am also worrying about the taste and texture of things but also how did friends and family react to your decision?

I was brought up a vegetarian. A meat virgin for 23 years. Then I got pregnant and very very very anaemic so I was advised to eat a little red meat. Meat is amazing I am making up for lost time now. Mmmm steak. Mmmmm KFC. Mmmmm crispy Chinese duck etc

lol at mmmmm steak etc. I think my biggest hurdle in this decision is going to be a mental one as opposed to not liking the taste.

I was not raised vegetarian. I am the only one in my family. I can distinctly remember the thought process as a young child that resulted in my rejection of meat. It suddenly dawned on me mid chicken dinner at age 7 or younger that my chicken leg I was happily munching on was in fact just that - a chickens leg. I was at the sudden realisation as to where my dinner had come from and I could not reconcile my need to eat meat with the understanding of where it comes from and how it ends up in Tescos.

the question is how to address this thought process now and whether the potential health benefits are worth it?

Family and friends reacted very positively....my husband, and brothers, were mightly relieved that I had started to eat meat again because they thought the years of being a veggie was starting to take it's toll. I don't think I'll ever eat meat like 'normal' people :) and, like you, if I think of what it is that I'm actually eating it does affect me. I still would never be able to eat, say, a chicken leg...anything with a bone in is still a complete "no no". Also, when I crack an egg open I have to try and not look too closely at it as, again, I'm easily put off....I'm a complete nightmare when it comes to food. :)

Omg cutitout, are you me? I too remember realising that the food chicken was indeed a dead chicken! I have considered bringing meat back in but just cannot do it. I am sort of low carbing ATM, and am managing just about so far.

thanks for all the feedback on this. I have been talking this through with dh the past couple of days (he is the complete opposite - meat eater that hates veg). He wants me to do what I feel is best for me and is keen to emphasise that I should feel under no pressure to commit one way or the other.

I am going to take tiny steps and see how I get on. I may not be able to do it when it comes to it. I do eat eggs (that took years to do ) so I am going to start with some fish.

I did say to dh it would be so much easier to do this if I was pregnant again but he is not that supportive

real can i ask what a typical day looks like for you when low carbing minus the meat?

Bf - this am I had mushrooms, eggs and quorn sausages fried in a tiny bit of olive oil

Lunch - Greek salad of olives, feta, cherry tomatoes and leaves (could add cucumber but I'm not that keen, or red onion too maybe?). Or salad with tomato, mozarella, avocado, basil and olive oil. Roasted butternut squash with goats cheese makes a nice warm salad. Or goats cheese with beetroot and toasted pine nuts.

Dinner - tofu with stir fried veg and an egg stirred in and scrambled, and do noodles or rice for dd and dp. Or last night I had cauliflower cheese with quorn sausages, and also did some new potatoes for dp and dd. Red pointed peppers stuffed with ricotta cheese served with salad and asparagus, and did couscous on the side for dd and dp. Dp really loved this one, it looks very posh on the plate!

Probably not managing to get Atkins level of low carbs, and only been doing it for a few days and drank a bottle of wine last night so can't say how it is long term!

Cut it out, I also tried to reintroduce fish but I just couldn't do it as it turns my stomach!

Well I am a former vegetarian, but the other way round, I went vegan. There are no inherent benefits to meat, you can still get all your essential nutrients on a vegan diet. It just seems to be the first thing people look at when they feel unwell.

You don't actually sound very keen on eating meat so why not contact this organisation and ask for some advice from their nutritionists? www.vegetarian.org.uk/

I have to say I did go vegan a couple if years back and I felt amazing. I was getting almost daily migraines and I didn't have a single one whilst I was vegan. I gave up because I found it too difficult to eat out and at friends' houses - and I missed cheese!

no I'm not keen on eating meat but it is something I think I really need to consider with regards to my current health problems. This isnt just about wanting to loose weight. Thanks for the link sc, I will have a look :)

your meals sound lovely real. I wish it was that simple in our house at meal times! Dh hates veg, dd is similar, I'm veggie and ds eats everything.

I was vegetarian for 3 years in my teens (I know that's relatively short term!). I think I'd have continued it longer term but I suddenly started craving meat. Like salivating when I saw it! My Mum made me wait 2 weeks to make sure I didn't do something I regretted! It turned out a few months later I had glandular fever. I wondered retrospectively if I needed the iron? I did feel better for it.
I would introduce it very slowly because I found it difficult to digest initially! It's fun when you go out to restaurants and have loads more choice from the menu! I second 'mmmmm steak'!

I moved from a veggie diet to a meat eating one. Started on fish and then moved onto meat. Am a little bit disappointed by how dull it tastes, often I can't even taste the meat - my veggie food is much tastier but it is also fairly carb heavy and I'm no longer of the opinion that starchy carbs are healthy. I jumped into eating meat, tried to not think about it too much, tried hard not to be picky and fussy and just eat it. I still feel more comfortable eating veggie food, I still think it tastes better. I have some way to go before my knowledge of meat cooking is anywhere near my knowledge of veggie cooking maybe then I'll change my view.