I want to stop eating meat

[CBname]

Hi guys,

First off apologies if this is the wrong forum for an "introduction" type post, please move it to the correct forum if this is the case.

Well anyway, I'll start with a little info on myself. I'm 20 years old, I've eaten meat my entire life. Around 15 I developed an anxiety disorder and barely attended school from then on. I had a lot of free time on my hands and decided to use the internet a whole lot more then I had been... Not just for games or speaking to friends, for research on a wider variety of subjects then what I learnt from school. I decided to question everything I knew. My life changed quite a lot. I started to read about a lot of the abuse animals endure for slaughter. I really started to question what makes mankind so great that we can play god over Earth's creatures. The arguments for this, (certainly from what I've heard) just seem rather primitive and barbaric to me. I don't want to eat meat.

I'm a little ashamed to say that when I decided to try going vegan, I lasted only 2 weeks. My entire family didn't really support me and wouldn't help me maintain a the new lifestyle. But the blame was certainly myself, being a mixture of lazy, naive and selfish I decided to give it all up. Well I'm 20 now and it's really bugging me. I want to really make the effort this time. For the past few weeks I've thought about this, tonight I sat through 'Glass Walls'. It's brought back what I've been trying to oppress for all this time. I'll use my own money to buy food I can eat without feeling awful.

From today I really don't want to eat meat, "I'll start tomorrow" simply doesn't work. I'll have a bigger read of these forums but I may add reply to this topic with questions I hope people don't mind answering. Hopefully I can get some moral support here too, because I won't get much away from the computer.

One of the points which bugs me a little, is the fact I may not be able to respect non vegans/vegetarians if I do go through with this. I already feel a little annoyed with people happily eating meat already which is massive hypocrisy on my behalf! :p My biggest concerns are maintaining good nutritional lifestyle and maintaining some willpower. My only reason for doing this is moral. I must admit I'm a little ignorant of veganism so I hope I don't come across to everyone too badly!

I have no idea where to begin if I'm honest.

Many thanks,
Chris.

[Blueberries]

One of the points which bugs me a little, is the fact I may not be able to respect non vegans/vegetarians if I do go through with this. I already feel a little annoyed with people happily eating meat already which is massive hypocrisy on my behalf! :p My biggest concerns are maintaining good nutritional lifestyle and maintaining some willpower. My only reason for doing this is moral. I must admit I'm a little ignorant of veganism so I hope I don't come across to everyone too badly!

I have no idea where to begin if I'm honest.

Many thanks,
Chris.

Hi Chris and welcome!

This is a forum for people who are vegan for moral reasons, so hopefully you'll find support here. I'm glad that you want to go vegan, the most important thing for you to do is become educated about veganism. Its not nearly as complicate as people seem to think it is! Just make sure you're eating a balanced, varied diet which gives you enough calories and eating B12 fortified food or taking a B12 supplement. Everybody transitions at different rates, some people become vegan overnight, others do it slowly over weeks or months, just take it at your own pace.

As for willpower, once you see animal products as the cruel, unecessary things that they are it becomes easier to resist eating them. Some vegans just don't see animal products as food and therefore put them in a mental category with inedible objects while others are tempted but then remind themselves how objectionable they are. As I say, we're all different.

Lastly, regarding respecting omnis (what we call non-vegans, shortened from the word omnivore), I take a 'hate the sin, love the sinner' approach simply to stay sane! Otherwise you end up angry and bitter, which benefits no one.

Good luck with your vegan journey! If you have more questions let us know :D

[Andy_T]

Chris,

welcome to the forum!

Great decision you made to stop using animal products. Registering on the forum is a good idea, too, because it can be hard to keep up the decision if you do not have anybody supporting you.

I would suggest the books "Vegan Freak" on veganism in general and "Generation V" on how to deal with parents and other relatives (have not read that one myself because I am not in the age group, but heard good things about it).
Regarding nutrition, there's a great book called "Going vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, two registered dietitians that answers any questions you might have as to vitamins, nutrients and such.

Best regards,
Andy

[Glory]

Yes, Vegan Freak is a great book!

You can also try the 30-day Vegan Challenge by Colleen Patrick-Godreau. (don't let the title put you off).

Once you internalize the ethics of it all, veganism will come as easy as breathing. Good luck!

[TarekF]

Hey Chris,

Welcome to the forum!

On the nutrition thing, i made some mistakes at first so ill pass advice to you. Do not just take meat out of your diet and otherwise eat like you used to. You will need to replace not only the calories but the nutrition. Tofu, soy milk, lentils, beans, nuts are all good calorie dense items you could add to your diet. As for nutrients, if you eat enough you probably won't have an issue getting protein and also i dont know many vegans or vegetarians who have iron problems. Im sure you may have heard of B12. We have a huge section dedicated to B12 science, however even though you can get it from plants i highly recommend a good vitamin for it. I use a sublingual methyl-B12 one. Its a chewable one, or you can let it melt in your mouth. I also recommend getting some flaxseed or something for omega 3 acids. Id say thats a good place to start as far as diet.

Dealing with a completely unsupportive family is another issue though. I can't say i know exactly what you are going through. But some tips. If you can shop for yourself as much as possible, do it. Also if you can, try to cook for yourself. These (if possible for your situation) may show them that you are not backing down. And they could begrudgingly start to accept it.

Depending where you are there could be a vegan group. Check "meetup.com" or just search google for groups in your city. I found "Vegan Arizona" through meetup and have since met a bunch of really nice vegan people, it really helps to have supportive people around you.

I wish you the best of luck with the family and keeping healthy. Its amazing that you discovered all of this on your own and had the courage to question yourself, most people cannot do this,

[CBname]

Hi guys, thanks for the kind words. It's been 2 days so far, it's still incredibly early but I've stuck to avoiding all non-vegan friendly products. :) I'm defiantly going to look at everything which has been suggested, I appreciate the advice. The thing I'm finding hardest to avoid is chocolate. Anyone know of anything similar to Diary Milk? ;)


I take a 'hate the sin, love the sinner' approach simply to stay sane! Otherwise you end up angry and bitter, which benefits no one.


This is fantastic advice. Shortly after posting this topic I thought a little about this and it seems to work. I don't bear any ill feelings towards non-vegans. I still think it's too early for myself to develop any kind of mentality like this without being a sort of hypocrite.

It was pretty funny driving my friend crazy looking at ingredient and nutritional content at the supermarket the other day! :P Regarding my family, I'm still getting grunts of disapproval when I sit down without eating meat etc. I have told everyone not to keep lecturing me why this lifestyle is "wrong", unless I can explain to them why I have chosen it. They're still being very intolerant, I get the "la la la, I'm not listening!" approach from them if I try to get a word in.

As for book suggestions, I'll order a few (including a cookbook) next week. I'll also be getting some vitamins. I'm starting a new year of college soon and I hope to see if there are any groups with similar interests.

Your words mean more to me than you may realise. I've not been known to shy away from forums before so hopefully I can get to know you guys.

Cheers!

[CBname]

I didn't include this in my first post, I suppose it may be interesting to some here as to why I decided to do this when I did. I'll try to steer clear of graphic descriptions...

We have cats, our previous ones died when I was 16. I was the one which decided to bury them. It was a very powerful life lesson.

When I was 18, my sister and I with permission decided to get 3 kittens from a rescue shelter. Let's just say these cats are now real hunters. Well twice I've had to "mercy kill" birds because they are beyond help (trust me), yet the cats will "play" with them. I couldn't stand by and watch them suffer if I could help it. But I won't stop them, you know, just being cats. I can't any-way. The day before this thread was the second event of the mentioned. It really stays with me and saddens me. It caused me to realise that this is what humans do to animals every single day, I decided to go back to researching after all these years and I stumbled onto 'glass houses' with Paul McCartney. It's really put everything into perspective for me. I really don't think I could go back to eating meat. I was going to carry on with milk and eggs, however I discovered it's best to avoid those also.

Cheers.

[chickpea1]

well done on your decision! once you see the reality there really is no decision is there?- i certainly didnt feel like i had a choice once i knew the facts.
as a chocolate fan i thought i'd respond to the chocolate question!- im afraid i havent found anything that i personally would compare to dairy milk, but i have found some very nice dairy free chocolate which does satisfy the cravings. i would recommend moo free- i like the little chocolate drops they do, although they can be hard to find- some waitrose shops stock them. tesco also do really nice dairy free white chocolate buttons- their 'everyday value' plain chocolate is also vegan-friendly (it does say that it MAY contain traces of milk, but milk is not an ingredient). ive found these all really good in the evenings when all i want is a lump of chocolate after my meal!
good luck!

[Cacique]

Howdy, and nice to hear you're working on becoming vegan. Remember not to beat yourself up if you accidentally eat something with animal ingredients, just remember to make note of the item/ingredient and eventually it'll get much easier to avoid.

Chocolate wise, my girlfriend HATES dark chocolate, so we get this brand called Dark Chocolate Dream or Rice Chocolate Dream. We've only found the Rice Chocolate Dream a couple of times, but it is very much like milk chocolate, just uses rice milk. I believe the Dark Chocolate Dream is the one we find locally, and it is still very sweet compared to usual dark chocolates, so it's still a very good option to get that craving for a sweet chocolate.

[gmc]

[QUOTE=CBname;709997]Hi guys, thanks for the kind words. It's been 2 days so far, it's still incredibly early but I've stuck to avoiding all non-vegan friendly products. :) I'm defiantly going to look at everything which has been suggested, I appreciate the advice. The thing I'm finding hardest to avoid is chocolate. Anyone know of anything similar to Diary Milk? ;)

I used to love cadburys dairy milk, but find frys peppermint creams hit the spot for me.

For a special treat seek out BoojaBooja chocolates................they beat cadburys any day, but they are expensive!