How to go vegetarian

If you’ve ever tried to go vegetarian and failed, maybe this post will help.  Scott Young did it, liked the results, and has some suggestions for how to go about it.  Some of the important points include:

1. Expand your diet.  If you just remove something from your diet, you’ll feel deprived.  Replace it with other stuff, and you’ll feel like you’re having a great adventure (there’s plenty of very tasty stuff out there that’s not meat).
2. Do NOT focus on replacing protein.  You really don’t need as much as you’ve been told – you’ll get plenty of protein from all sorts of sources.  (More detail in the original article.)  Besides, animal based protein is hardly better than meat, and soy has its own dangers, which I’ve experienced firsthand every time I’ve used it in an attempt to become vegetarian. Lentils, nuts, leafy greens – you’ll do fine.
3. Tell people around you.  They may not be supportive, but if they don’t know they can’t be expected to accommodate you, and this might push you into eating meat in order to avoid making a host feel bad.

I would add a tip of my own (I say this as someone who’s never quite managed to go vegetarian, but has cut back on meat and may yet make it someday), and that is: forget about cutting out carbs, unless you’ve been instructed to by a doctor because of a condition like diabetes.  Carbs are not bad for you.  They support neurotransmitters, which are responsible for the quality of your thinking and your emotions.  Yes, carbs need to be worked off with exercise, but avoiding them doesn’t mean a lack of exercise won’t harm you.

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Posted in Health and Beauty on March 13, 2007