How I went from meat three times a day to a vegan (post your story here)

I thought it'd be cool to start this forum out with a thread so we can all share how we came to vegetarianism, cuz let's face it, nearly all of us were meat-eaters at one point.

For me, it was the summer of 2001, and I was reading a lot of eastern spiritual literature. The books I was reading frequently talked about vegetarianism as a way to help raise your consciousness. I was a big meat-eater, I loved a good, med-rare steak, I ate fast food practically every day, and eat meat in some form probably for just about every meal.

However, my health was suffering, I was almost 200 lbs., and had gained most of it in just 6 months. I decided to try being a vegetarian for 30 days, just to see what would happen. So over a 3 week period, I eliminated more and more meat products, and then went 30 days without eating any meat (surviving mostly on imitation meats from Morningstar Farms and Boca.... mmmmmmmm!).

After the 30 days, I thought I'd "reward" myself by going to my favorite italian beef joint and gorging myself. I got so sick to my stomach I nearly puked, and I never ate meat again.

Over the next year and a half, I started cutting out more and more dairy and eggs, and eventually starting reading animal rights literature and moving towards veganism. On Thanksgiving of 2002, I "officially" became vegan, and have been ever since!

I lost 40 pounds, I feel great, my health is fantastic and has never been better. The decision also changed my life in other ways, and I can't imagine going back, and I can't imagine how dull my life would be had I not made that decision.

So, that's my story- feel free to share yours as well. :)

Well, not anymore! Like Elad, I ate meat at almost every meal. I was watching a show about Mad Cow Disease that really affected me. The next morning I consciously decided to NOT have sausage with my eggs. For lunch I had a tuna sandwich. And for dinner that night, Mrs. Chiburb had made a veggie quiche (coincidentally). I realized that my effort to REDUCE meat consumption had actually resulted in a meat-free day! The next day was even easier, and the next day... well, it's been 4 1/2 years now.

I don't pretend to be vegan, as I still eat eggs daily and fish 2 or three times a week. Maybe I'll stop those too someday, maybe not.

(Btw, the only time I've fallen off the wagon was when I ordered a cheese pizza with extra sauce about a year ago. The waitress wrote extra sausage instead. The place was crowded, we were starving, and the wait was interminable. So we ate the pizza (holy shit was it good!) when it finally arrived. Thank god it was on a Friday night, because we hardly left our bathrooms for the next 2 days. Never again!

As a child, the notion that "animals are ours to eat" always bugged me. I was never a big meat eater....So, when i was 20 (back in 1987)(yes, i'm old!) i decided to make it official. I was vegan for about 5 years, and for the most part i still am....However, i admit i'll have a Stoneyfields yogurt, or a Balance Bar on occasion.

But then I read Animal Liberation by Peter Singer and formed a clear ethical feeling that I shouldn't eat animals!

I don't wear leather but I do eat free-range eggs and organic milk and cheese (I try purchase things from the farmer's market as much as I can).

I have had a few long journey's into veganism, but it didn't work out. It was just too much trouble for me and my family.

The taste, the texture, the smell, the visuals, there is just nothing to like about it. As a kid, I remember chicken noodle soup that had veins in it. Hamburger that had hard things in them. It's still repulsive enough to gag me.

I come from a meat eating family but never took a liking to it. So by the time I was old enough to decide what to eat, meat just wasn't one of my choices. Red meat was over by the time I was 7ish, chicken and fish a few yrs. after that. And eggs a few yrs. after that.

I have always looked much younger than I am no matter what age I was and I think this is the direct result of not eating meat.

experience.

Undergroundrailroad

My general story . . . Stopped eating red meat and pork sometime in high school. Have been veggie for about 6 years now. I cook a lot at home, so I'm looking to share recipes if you are so inclined.
-jen

It really opened my eyes to the industrial meat industry. I quit eating beef soon after that. I quit eating chicken after following Peta's links from the "Milk Sucks" website. Debeaker machines are something from hell.

I am also "boycotting" ranchers for the way they treat the land and the water of the west. I read a lot of Edward Abbey.

I have been a vegetarian for about 18 months. When people ask me about it, I tell them that there is am important moral issue in how the animals are treated that has to be addressed.

I have my hubby to thank for converting me to vegetarianism. We met when I was 16, and he really taught me a lot...in more ways than one (LOL!) :D But, anyway, he was a vegetarian and really into animal rights, and we were both kind of just getting into the whole anarcho-punk scene. There was always lots of animal rights literature around at the punk shows we'd go to, so I got really educated about animal cruelty issues. I've always had a profound love and respect for animals, but it took that education and his good influence to ultimately get me to give up meat.

We had been dating for several months, and one night when my mom was making chicken fajitas, something inside of me told me that this was the day I was going to take the veggie plunge. I told my mom I didn't want any chicken in my fajitas...so I had ate grilled peppers and onion fajitas that night! :-) And the rest was history...I haven't eaten meat in about 8 years now. I do still eat dairy and eggs, but I don't do leather.

Well, I'm glad to meet some fellow veggies/animal lovers here! I look forward to talking to you guys! :hi:

...increasingly gross for me. Its the whole dead animal thing, you know the veins, the fat, the connective tissues, the...:puke:

Anyway, then I discovered I love tofu! And there is so much one can do with tofu, that I've never looked back. :hi:

have lots of other good habits too like meditation and yoga. Also, when I finally grasped that humans have long intestines as opposed to short ones like cats -- and that meat acutally stays in your body for way longer than vegetable-based foods, putrifying as your digestive system expends so much energy trying to break it down -- well that was enough for me! I was grossed out. Found I had lots more energy. Clearer mind. Clearer skin. Better stomach. Trimmer. Greater sense of well being.

was when I was a teen and I saw Todd Rundgren on the cover of Vegetarian Times in a health food store. I wasn't a veggie at the time but I WAS a huge Todd fan, so I bought the mag. This was sometime in the 80's. Something he said really stuck with me, he said something like, "I feel if you're going to eat an animal,you should be capable of killing it yourself and since I'm not capable of killing animals, I don't feel right eating them." It's not the exact quote but you get the idea. I thought about that for years after and then eventually became a veggie in 1993. I always knew I would be one someday as I've always had a bleeding heart when it came to animals.

We were eating roast beef sandwiches one day when we looked down at our dog and made the startling connection with how much she looked like a cow -- stopped eating meat that instant. We were still a little veggie for a year (pizza and ice cream) until I read Diet for a New America while on a business trip and made the dairy connection. That was 15 years ago and it really is easy to be vegan in California. I think in a lot of ways veganism is an extension of progressive beliefs - animals deserve to be able to determine their own fates.

I was 13 years old and up late. I was just flipping through the channels on tv and I flipped past a dog in a dress. I thought, "aww, I'll watch that". So I turned back to that and was watching all the animals dressed up so cutely and WHACK! they switched to a cat being cut apart. Then they showed how they boiled an animal alive and then skinned it. I couldn't look away. I was aboslutley horrified. In the back of my mind I was thinking "Well, that's China...that doesn't happen here." But then they switched to U.S. slaughterhouses. I was almost sick. I saw the chickens with their heads stuck in racks on conveyor belts just having their throats slit and being left to hang and die. I saw how cows were picked up with a rope and just dropped as if they were already dead. I was so shocked I couldn't move for half an hour after the show ended. I went right to my mother's room and told her that I was never going to eat meat again. And I never did.

I was becoming interested in Krishna consciousness, and it seemed that vegetarianism was a necessary prerequisite for making progress in that direction. So I eventually screwed up to try not eating meat. Turned out to be easier than I thought!

I was a picky eater as a kid -- I really never liked eating meat, especially if it looked like an animal or on a bone. I preferred it unrecognizable, like in the form of baloney or hotdogs or hamburgers -- good ol' lips and butts. :) The only other meat I would eat was steak (burnt to a crisp) and chicken/turkey (dry). I never ate fish or prime rib or roast or chops of any kind.

Problem was, I hated veggies too! Especially cooked green ones -- my Grandma was from the midwest and boiled everything to within an inch of maintaining a form. Bleck, to this day I can't stand most cooked veggies.

I started getting grossed even by the lips and butts around freshman year of high school. I was eating a baloney sandwish and someone just casually mentioned I was eating a carcass. It took me by total surprise because it was really this first time I had actually thought about it. After that it became harder and harder for me to eat meat.

At 28 I finally just gave up on it and went veggie. Today I do eat a bit of cheese and eggs in baked goods. I have tried to go vegan and have failed several times. I compromise by using no animal products at home and saving it for when I eat out.

I have had some challenges with being a vegetarian. I have to be very careful with my blood sugar -- I need to "graze" a lot or I have episodes. And I do have to be diligent with my protein and iron intake, otherwise I can run into trouble.

Otherwise, I am glad I remain a vegetarian. :)

and so that is around 40 years! As a little kid I just never cared for the taste of meat plus I was an animal lover, I never ate slabs of meat, I never had a steak or ribs etc. I would only eat hamburgers and hotdogs cause being young I did't connect that with animals there was no animal named hotdog or hamburger but there were chickens and beef steaks etc. When I found out that hotdogs and hamburgers were from animals, that was the end of that! I'm lucky that my parents were pretty progressive and spoiled me plus they didn't eat much meat themselves so when I quit they were OK with it. :-)

:)

I was 27 when I started to really think about where meat came from. I had done anti-vivisection projects in Jr. High School, so I guess I've been on this track for a while. I stopped eating red meat when I was 27. I call it enlightenment, you know, thinking about my impact on others. My veg friend said, "good. when you want to hear about how they treat chickens, let me know." So I looked into it. Never touched another animal product again. I was vegetarian for around 7 months before going vegan. Milk=veal. No way. I've done open rescue for broiler hens. The conditions they live in are for shit. I'll never touch an egg again, either.

All beings have a right to life. I respect that. And here I am.

and it came back bloody. I nearly threw up right on my plate.

I have gone back to meat on occasion (it hasn't been a totally smooth transition). But I realized that more often than not I was grossed out by meat, not appetized by it.

so when my husband to be (who has been a veg since '72) asked me to marry him, he also asked me to give vegetarianism an honest effort. Six months, he said, try it for six months. I thought, what the heck? I've just committed my life to him, what's six months?

In the meantime I purchased a book by Peta, "101 Things You Can Do to Save the Animals." It was the hardest reading I've ever done in my life. I could only read a chapter or two at a time & I wept with each reading. Not only did it explain slaughterhouses, it explained animal testing for cosmetics & pharmaceuticals, wool, down, silk, all these things I had never thought of! That did it for me. I never looked back. BTW, I still have that book.

I have always stayed away from red meat because of the taste/texture. Around 13 I had pretty much stopped eating all red meat and beef. When I tried it again during a visit to my grandmother's house, I gagged. I couldn't hold red meat down anymore! When I was 15 or 16, I gave up chicken and turkey. I made no concious effort, they just sort of disintegrated from my diet. That's how I became a vegetarian.

Never have even THOUGHT of giving up dairy or eggs.

elad, that's so cool that your vegan anniversary is on Thanksgiving.

Congratulations!

I switched to being a vegetarian.

It was a combination of factors really.

My father had become a fulltime vegetarian a few years prior, so it wasn't an unfamiliar thing for me. And I was used to regular and occassional vegetarian meals from childhood. My mother and many relatives have a specific number of days during each month that they devote to vegetarianism (it's a religious thing). And I believe having been exposed to vegetarianism throughout my life has inculcated a bit of that into me.

One of my favorite fantasy authors was a vegetarian, and in the afterword of one of his novels, he had mentioned how darkish-skinned chicken hatchlings were killed at birth because they weren't as marketable.

And finally, there were the logical arguments of resource usage and bio-accumulation. It made sense from a resource standpoint, because a pound of beef requires a lot more water usage than a pound of vegetables. And creatures higher up in the food chain are more likely to have higher concentraions of toxic elements, like mercury in fish.

A few times during our upbringing (I have an older brother), she tried to get the family to go vegetarian. This was in the mid-to-late 70's and it didn't go over well, especially with my dad. But the way we treated our pets (as our family) really stuck with me. After my dad had his first heart attack (late 80's), she tried again. It didn't last very long. He had an angina attack and finally accepted that he needed to change his diet. In early 1994, my mom cut out all meat from our meals (I was still hanging around at this point, though I was an adult. LoL). I followed her lead and have been meat-free since. She was totally vegan for quite awhile, but is now lacto-ovo like me. Now my brother and SIL are also almost totally meat-free as well. My dad only eats meat on occasion (usually seafood). My dh only eats meat out (since I won't have it in the house). I'm raising three very healthy vegetarian children.

I'm almost there anyway. I (also) grew up in LA so I love the vegetarian meals.I am never without Tofu in my house. I love vegetables and fruits, its out of lack of knowledge that I still eat animal products. I have many health issues (VERY hypoglycemic!)

I can give up meat tomorrow with out a problem. Turkey and chicken maybe a little more difficult. I use soy cheese, love (real)eggs and milk?? I am currently 40 lbs overweight.
Should I do a colon cleansing before I change..how quickly can I do this (I'm 54) ?? What about fish?

Time for an education...thanks!

If you have that mindset it's easy. If you have lots of soy you're doing fine. Vegetarian Times has a book called "Beginners Guide" or something close. That will help A LOT. There's great advice on transitioning in a healthy way.

Congratulations to you serryjw!! :toast:

Stop eating certain things one by one. Don't push yourself harder than you're comfortable moving.

You don't have to do a colon cleanse, but I personally believe everyone could benefit from a good cleanse once or twice a year.

There's a great book I recommend that covers everything you need to know to do it, it's called Becoming Vegetarian, but unfortunately I can't remember the author's name. You can find it in most health food stores, though, and probably also on amazon.

It will help you with everything from social situations to recipes to nutritional planning, etc.

I always felt weird about eating meat. My traditional Italian "eat your meatballs or I'll guilt you to death" family made it difficult when I was younger, and I suppressed the truth about what I was eating. You know, If everyone else eats meat it must be ok, right?

Around 5 years ago, I was half way through a Wendy's chicken sandwich. I looked at it, and all of a sudden I realized it was vile, and that was it. I never ate meat again, and never missed it. I'm just sorry it took so long.

That did it for me. I grew up eating meat once or twice a day. A typical Midwestern farm town diet.
Fast food nation freaked me out. For political and health reasons I decided I needed to start eating better.
Also, since I dated left wing activist a lot I was forced to figure out what restaurants a vegetarian or vegan could eat at. That made it easier to gradually switch over. I still eat meat on occasion because I don't know how to cook anything, but I'm 90% vegetarian at this point.

But have been ovo-lacto for nearly 15 years now. I'm with most folks here - I never liked meat much growing up. But, my family was very much "meat & potatoes" - there was simply NO way my family would have supported me (ok, ALLOWED me to become vegetarian while living under their roof)! When I moved out, I pretty much cut out all beef & pork, eating only chicken & seafood.

A couple years later, I met a vegan who became a very good friend - she loaned me Singer's book. I read it & did some research - quickly came to the conclusion that vegetarianism was for me. One day, I woke up with a horrible hangover (having drank some beers with my vegan friend - I'm not much of a drinker!). That was my first day as a vegetarian - I just couldn't stomach the thought of eating any kind of meat. In that entire time, I've had maybe 2 cravings for salmon, but haven't had a single regret!

I keep soy products (soy milk, soy cheese, soy butter) in the house because my youngest is truly allergic to dairy products, so I find that much of the time I'm actually eating vegan. Perhaps one day soon, I'll make the final step... who knows? :)

I started to work with a hunting and fishing publication in 1997. Even though I was a meat eater, I had always hated hunting. But it was a job and I needed one desperately, as I was getting laid off. Since I am a copy editor, I have to read every hunting article word for word. And, believe me, most of the first-person stories are quite graphic (example: "Whomp, I heard the arrow hit and knew that I had made a solid kill.")

I become involved in an on-line discussion with a hunter and I condemned hunting. He said to me, "Well, you eat meat, don't you?" My reply was, "As of this moment, not anymore."

That night I cooked up a pork roast I had in my freezer and my dog had a real treat.

I still work for the magazine and it is very difficult reading these hunting stories, but I bite the bullet and bear with it. The fishing articles are not too bad since most fishing nowadays is catch and release because of the high mercury content in most of the fish in the rivers and streams around the country.

Please don't flame me. It is just a job and they are hard to come by nowadays.

just tell 'em that you're operating "undercover" there. Snort.

Occasionally, I get news that I pass on to animal rights groups, which helps in their cause. At one time, I found that there was going to be a deer hunt on the Toyota testing grounds in Kentucky because the deer were in the way of the auto testing. Well, I contacted a few animal rights groups and believe me they put up such a stink that the hunt was cancelled. At least I can pat myself on the back for that.

We (family of three, matriarch speaking;)) were on a bad track. We, like most families in this country ate allot of fast food and every meal had a giant hunk of carcass as it's main feature. I was putting on weight, and we were ALWAYS tired. My husband was suffering bouts of hypoglycemia. My husbands father died at age 50 from cancer, his mother is an obese cancer survivor with heart disease. He lost two grandparents to cancer and two to heart disease. My father had heart disease, both of my grandfathers had diabetes, my mother is obese and has heart disease and diabetes, my sister is obese and has heart disease. I did NOT WANT to walk down the path I saw ahead of us.

Time was my favorite treat would have been a rare steak and whole Lobster. I can't believe how much has changed and how much better I feel now, soul and body.

On my mothers last hospital visit, she was diagnosed with renal failure and diabetes. That was it, I went home and cleared out her cupboards and refrigerator, making sure that everything there was low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt and low cholesterol. I then went to our home and did the same thing. I announced to the family that we had eaten the last of our food from a window.

Not long after this we picked up "Supersize Me" in the bargain bin at the local video store. We loved it. I was particularly interested in the interview with Eric Schlosser and was disgusted to learn that ground beef in burgers and at the store may be composed of 1000 or more animals. I had to buy his book, "Fast Food Nation". Learning just a hint of the abject horrors of the meat industry, I had to keep digging. At this point, I had decided to purchase only free range, organic animal food. I then started checking out articles on PETA's website and bought a book by John Robbins, "Diet for a New America". That was it. No more animal products for me. My husband has gone veggie with me, our 16 year old daughter still eats meat away from the house but I will not be serving animal products here. I have hope that eventually she will decide on her own to abandon consuming flesh but I will not force the matter on her, it's her body and her decision.

I have never felt happier than I do now. Making the decision not to be a part of industrialized death and the denuding and rape of the planet anymore lifted an enormous weight from our shoulders. My breath and teeth are healthier. Our house smells better. My weight is slowly peeling away. I no longer have to handle raw flesh and treat our meal preparations like hazardous waste drills. I would never have dreamed that I could enjoy cooking as much as I do now.

It's taking some time to get the household switched over to vegan, but it is a worthwhile endeavor, I think. I now refer to myself as an aspiring vegan. I'm so glad to have this forum, to be able to ask so many of you for help and share with. Thanks, everyone. :grouphug:

may all be loved
may all be healed
may all be fed .......I love that - from John Robbins. What a cool guy.

I loved Supersize Me, that's great that the movie was able to help you change your lifestyle! Thanks so much for sharing that! :)

I have started this year with a resolution to stop eating beef and pork. I may eventually give up chicken and fish but for now I am still eating both. I am doing it for health reasons and because the idea of eating animals has really been bothering me.

The one incident that really got me was over the holidays. My family and I were travelling from Los Angeles to San Jose on the 5 freeway. Any of you that have made this trip know that you drive past a huge stockyard and thousands of cows. As we drove by, I could not take my eyes off of them...and this extreme feeling of guilt came over me. I decided the time was now to do something...and therefore made the resolution regarding beef and pork.

I am very interested in a vegetarian lifestyle and any tips that any of you might have for me would be appreciated. Also, please tell me any health benefits that you have experienced.

Thanks for listening...

That's so great that you are moving towars becoming a veggie!

If you check out the thread in this group "Best Veg*n Websites", you will find a bunch of really great and helpful links.

Meg

That's what I call it...

I ate my last scrap of meat in some Chinese the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was white meat chicken and for the first time I really looked at it, the stria and the texture, and saw the muscle tissue of a dead animal.

It was kind of scary at first, I'm 37 years old and I cook for the family. I've never even known a vegetarian. I'm sure I've met some, but none well enough to know that they were veg. I had never known another way to eat. I was amazed....... once I made the decision how easy it was. Poke around the recipes. Google your favorite dishes and add the word "vegetarian" or "vegan". Think of three dinners you like to eat right now that don't have meat. Replace the meat in your tacos or burritos with refried beans. (without lard) I promise it gets easier every day.

Health benefits:

Average daily cholesterol intake of a meat eater.........300-500 milligrams
Daily cholesterol intake of a vegan............................0

My blood pressure (which I admit was not terribly high) dropped significantly in about two weeks. I was running about 128/80 and now I run around 107/64.

My skin, teeth, and breath all smell and feel better.

I've begun shedding extra pounds with an almost embarrassingly negligible effort on my part.

I'm at peace. That's my favorite health benefit of all.

The more I hear from people that are vegetarians the more I feel like I am making the right decision. I have been toying with the idea for awhile now and I'm feeling like this is the time for me to do something about it.

You're making me cry over here... :hug:

I'm really happy I made this choice, there's no way I could go back now. :grouphug: At this point I'd rather just starve than eat animal misery.