Im trying to go Vegitarian but need a head start?!
is it true vegitarians live longer and reduce bad health?
What kind of food could i substitute besides tofu?
What kinds of food should i buy?
Is it healthy to just drop meat all at once?
Im 15 years old and my parents are against me not eating meat. I also and a PETA supporter.I would really just like a headstart or a push in the right direction. any advise or tips for my new diet? thank you!
Answers: I have been doing resurch for a wile and i realy want to go vegitarian, but everyone around me is against it. It is my life, and i want to not only save animals from being killed, but keep myself healthier.
is it true vegitarians live longer and reduce bad health?
What kind of food could i substitute besides tofu?
What kinds of food should i buy?
Is it healthy to just drop meat all at once?
Im 15 years old and my parents are against me not eating meat. I also and a PETA supporter.I would really just like a headstart or a push in the right direction. any advise or tips for my new diet? thank you!
You can do whatever feels right for you. There is nothing you will lack in a varied vegan/vegetarian diet. The American Dietetic Association supports a vegan/vegetarian diet for all stages of life. If you want to cut back one meat at a time, then do it. If you want to go cold turkey (no pun intended), then do that.
Regarding your other questions,
1. living longer and better health: This depends on your diet. If two people are eating the exact same foods, but one is adding animal products in on top of it, yes, odds are the vegetarian will be healthier. However people vary in their diets. You can have a vegan who lives on oreos and pepsi, and an omnivore who eats mostly fresh produce, beans, lentils, and eats fish once a week. The omni would be healthier. You really can't answer that question, it's a very gray area.
2. There's really nothing to "substitute". Just open up your options. Eat more fresh produce, a variety of beans, nuts, lentils, rice, and you'll be just fine.
3. Is it healthy to just drop meat all at once? Sure it is. It's definitely not unhealthy.
4. Regarding PETA, peta supporter and vegetarian are not synonyms. You can be one without the other. There are omnis who support peta and vegetarians who despise peta. I really wish the assumed link between the two would die.
Well it IS your decesion after all. It probably won't save any animals from being killed because so many people do eat meat, and you for sure will not live a longer life because of it. Vegetarians are more apt to eat sugary foods, and other bad foods to make up for the meat they can't eat. It's best to talk to your doctor about a lifestyle decesion like this. It will be a big change and probably won't make much difference in the world, but it IS your decesion, and nobody can stop you from being a vegetarian if that is what you really want to do. Good luck which ever route you take!
you just need protein. beans /legumes are a great source. my girlfriend is a vegeterian. she buys lots of vegetarian chili / taco bell refried beans . rice and beans equal great protein. eat all the vegies. spinach. whole wheat products . if you aren't having meat , you can have more breads / pita / potatoes / pasta in your diet. be careful not to get hooked on sugar. she developed a problem in allowing herself a sweet everyday /justified it cause she gave up meat. now she's hooked on brownies / cookies, etc. her weight has increased a little.
If your parents are against you becoming a vegetarian, they'll serve you meat regardless of how you feel.
Discuss with them why you want to do it, what is motivating you, what brought it up, why now, what might be influencing you...etc. Be mature about it, that way they can see you're serious and try to look at it from your point of view.
I don't know about vegetarians living longer.
You don't even have to EAT tofu to be a vegetarian. There are a lot of foods out there that you can eat and still be vegetarian. Beans, Rice, veggies (of course), Grains, etc. Depending on how strict you want to be, you can either keep consuming dairy or cut it out.
It's best to go slow, gradually eliminate meat from your diet, a drastic change would cause you to get sick, like a stomach ache.
You also don't have to be vegetarian to be a PETA supporter (i don't think...I don't actually know, but...). You could wait to be a vegetarian when you're 18, that way it doesn't conflict with your parents (they love you and want you to be healthy, they may not understand that it's okay to be vegetarian).
Good Luck!
Hello. I am a vegetarian and my mom is too. Yes there are other meat substitutes to let you have your protein. I could not go vegan I don't know how people do that. Some meat substitutes are:
Boca
Morning Star Farms
Tofu (of course)
All of the things I listed you should be able to find in your regular grocery store. It is true, vegetarians live longer...I think. You have to eat vegetable though. I am not the best fruit and vegetable person either. I am trying to eat more of them though. Don't worry if other people are against it. I know what that is like my mom's family is against it. I dropped meat all at once but I didn't eat a lot of meat to begin with. Try not to drop it all at once but slowly minimize your meat intake.
P.S. ~ i am 13, I started a year or 1 1/2 years ago.
I hope this helps!!
GOOD LUCK!!
happy new year!
Pilates and <3 have posted some good info about foods and eating healthfully. It may be that the people in your life who are concerned about your wish to go veg will feel better about it if they see that you're educating yourself and making efforts to eat well.
Since you're living at home with your omnivore folks, making the switch to being vegetarian can be a little rough - both for you and for them. Have you tried talking with them about why you'd like to make this change? Maybe this book would help you and them too: Help! My Child Stopped Eating Meat! An A-Z Guide to Surviving a Conflict in Diets by Carol J. Adams. You can probably find it at your local library.
For "head start" info on foods, you might check out http://www.vegsource.com/ (they also have a teen section). PETA also has tons of links.
Good luck!