I was raised eating hamburgers with my family every Sunday night. It was a tradition we had and shared, and not only brought my family together, but brought our love of food together. Then one Sunday, I decided to go vegetarian.
If you ask my family, I am known for my "phases," where I say that I'll change a habit and it'll last two days. They, along with my friends, assumed this would be one of them.
However, I have been vegetarian for about six months now and eating meat is not in my future plans. While I feel great now, the process of completely cutting meat out from my diet was hard. Here are seven things that I wish I knew before adopting a no meat lifestyle.
1. It will certainly not be easy.
Going vegetarian is not a simple task, if you didn't already know. You cannot eat meat, ever. Not even on cheat days. Whether your reasons are pro-animals, allergies, or religion, erasing meat from your diet will be a challenge.
2. People will have their opinions.
"Why did you decide to go vegetarian?" "Do you know that you're not going to get any protein?" "You need to take a lot more vitamins." These are just some of the responses I got when I told people I cut meat out of my diet. They will give you weird looks and judge the fact that you don't want to kill a cow to get your food. You have to stand your ground.
3. Your diet can't just consist of bagels.
The first thing I ate when I decided I wanted to go vegetarian was a New York City bagel. Talk about carbs. I slowly learned, by the pounds I added and the trend of bagels getting old, that I simply could not eat bagels for every meal. I needed to eat protein in other ways, along with fruits and vegetables to get the rights nutrients in my body.
4. Fast food options will be limited.
What happens when you go to McDonald's for the first time and can't order a hamburger? The more fast food chains you go to, the more you realize that a lot of them contain a majority of meat products. So next time picking the salad option will be a struggle, but it will be worth it.
5. You NEED to take vitamin supplements.
Visit your doctor, tell them you are vegetarian, and the first thing they will do is talk about nutrients. And about how you are not getting enough. You will think they're crazy, and leave without buying any. But you need to. The two most important vitamins that you could lack are B12 and Vitamin D, which are two very important ones.
6. Beans and veggie burgers.
They are a great way to get protein in other ways besides meat. Your diet is going to have to change and one step will be adding new products. Beans and veggie burgers are some of the biggest substitutes for meat products.
7. It will be worth it.
I love being a vegetarian. I haven't eaten meat in six months and my life has changed completely. I am more confident about my body, my skin is clear, and overall, I just feel better.
Being vegetarian has truly been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. It is hard. It is challenging. It is painful. But it is also good for your body physically and mentally. So next time a friend decides to go "meat free," remember to show them this list.