It grieves me that I am not a vegetarian

[Dayala 0]

I would like to get advice (if possible) from those of you who have made the transition from being a carnivore to being a vegetarian.

 

I tried to be a vegetarian last summer, but I was gaining weight from the increase in carbs. I can't afford to gain weight because I am already 130 Ibs. overweight, and at serious risk for diabetes.

 

Plus, I did not have very many food options so it got boring. I cannot eat many of the pre-cooked (packaged) veggie meals because they are too spicy and doused in tomato stuff, and that was aggravating my GERD (heartburn).

 

Also . . . I am concerned about eating too much soy. I have a hormonal problem that causes me to put on more weight and makes it hard to take off. My hormonal problem involves having too much estrogen in my body. I'm worried about the added estrogen that comes from the soy proteins.

 

When I think about the way animals are tortured through modern farming and slaughter practices, my heart if filled with so much grief. I'd like to ultimately become a vegetarian again, but I don't know how, and I'm afraid of gaining more weight or making my health conditions worse.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[theist 1]

I'm not a dietician but I do know that animal flesh is pumped full of hormones to increase the animals weight. So trying to avoid hormones by eatting meat is counterproductive.

 

It can be hard in this culture, I know. I can't digest starch in any form. So no grains even for me. I am vegan so I take no milk products but even when I did use them I could not really digest it.

 

I rely on tofu, beans and nuts for protein. Nuts are especially good for people desiring low carb but high nutritional value.

 

Saladswith other raw and steamed veggies plus a little fruit round it out for me.

 

Even with all the restrictions, there tons of choices and combinations.

 

I share your view on animal abuse. It is horrific. Plus who wants that kind of karma.

 

I hope others can be more helpful.

 

Hare Krsna

[livingentity 0]

I saw something the other day on the internet news about a recent finding that meat and meat fat causes diabetes in some people so if this is also an issue or concern for you it is wise to stop eating flesh asap.

[Dayala 0]

>>> Even with all the restrictions, there tons of choices and combinations.

 

Yes, I guess I just have to learn what they are, and then maybe I wouldn't feel that is was so restrictive.

 

I think I will make a commitment to eat vegetarian (ovo-lacto) for two meals out of each day. With the help of people here, I know I can do that. And then . . . I'll start eating only one omnivorous meal every other day and so on. I know I have to start with small steps, otherwise I'll overwhelm myself again.

 

Thanks theist and livingentity for your advice. Did either of you have a process of making changes slowly? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

 

Theist, I'd like to hear more about what you said.

 

gotta go. I have friends who have just arrived to be social with us.

[Dayala 0]

I meant to ask if anyone has had experience with weaning themselves off of sugar and white flour. This seems like an impossibility for me, but also a necessity. I have tried cutting these things out cold turkey a few times, but I only survive a couple of weeks before I go crazy.

[hare_krishna 0]

If you give up meat, fish and egg eating you will become a vegetarian.

 

Just do it /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Gauracandra 1]

That’s an interesting comment about the carbs. I’ve wondered about that myself as a vegetarian. Carbohydrates are such that if you don’t convert them into muscle they turn into fat. So even if you have a low fat diet but sit around and eat breads etc… you can put on a lot of weight. Often I wonder if we overcompensate with oils, butters, sugars in order to make vegetarian foods taste better. Vegetarianism is healthier but that doesn’t mean all vegetarian food is healthy. Think about a typical Sunday feast. You have sweet rice (lots of sugar), puris fried in ghee, pakoras fried in ghee, samosas fried in ghee, subji with ghee.

[Dayala 0]

>>>>>Think about a typical Sunday feast. You have sweet rice (lots of sugar), puris fried in ghee, pakoras fried in ghee, samosas fried in ghee, subji with ghee.<<<<<

 

Te he he, I don't know what ANY of this food is. But maybe I'll find out.

 

I have decided to take the plunge and be a vegetarian again, not just for 2 meals a day but for all of them. I'm undecided on dairy and eggs at this point, but I'll probably keep them for now and limit them, and then get rid of them when I feel I can make the next step. For now, this will be hard enough, but I'm sick of limiting my perspective to thinking I can't do it. I can do whatever I want, right . . . if I stop believing i'm the only moron who can't follow through.

 

I hope everyone here can support me.

[livingentity 0]

 

Did either of you have a process of making changes slowly? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

 

 

For me it was quite easy to give up flesh. I was never much of a meat eater. When I was a kid I was sent to my room for not eating the meat on my plate whereas for most kids it was for not eating their veggies.

 

Meat actually made me gag even as a kid (still does) as I understood all too well where it came from. I have vivid childhood memories of chickens being murdered in my yard to be made into Sunday dinner. The same goes for rabbits, huge turtles and some other creatures (I am from Louisiana).

 

Finally, at some point in time my family managed to put the fear of death in me if I did not eat meat so for I would occasionally pick at it just so I would remain alive.

 

This idea remained with me for years and then finally I realized that many lifelong vegetarians live very long and very healthy lifes and I gave up the little meat that I did force myself to eat.

 

Think of that beautiful peaceful mother cow grazing in the fields. She looks up at you with those soft long lashed eyes. Tears come to my eyes even now thinking that people murder such sweet creatures.

 

I am not vegan. Haven't quite given up all dairy products. I can not digest milk so that is no problem but I can eat yoghurt and butter. Theist has me 98% convinced with his posts however, to give up all dairy so I am very close.

 

Eggs - double ick ick!! I was allergic to eggs as a kid so I never developed a taste for them. They totally disgust me and yes, they make me gag to even consider eating.

 

Just remember that flesh you are considering eating was once a living creature just like you - just like the rest of us - just like your pet dog. They feel pain, love, fear and all other emotions. JUST SAY NO TO MEAT.

[Dayala 0]

>>>>>JUST SAY NO TO MEAT.<<<<<

 

Consider it done!!!!!!!!

 

It sounds like you had a horrible family, LivingEntity.

 

You know though, I was just about to criticize your family for slaughtering animals in your back yard when I realized . . .

 

My Dad used to work in a meat research institute and would somehow take part in some practices that I consider untoward.

 

So I guess my family has to be implicated too. It makes me ashamed to think about it.

 

[sinimat 0]

For me, I gradually stopped eating all red meat. I ate only fish and chicken maybe twice a week total. Then, I cut out chicken and finally cut out fish and seafood altogether. Make sure you eat plenty of raw foods- veggies, fruits, and nuts. Also, you might want to take a protein shake, which can help you from becoming sleepy during the day due to a lack of protein. Good luck and you can do it!

Hare Krishna

 

 

[Subala 1]

Dayal prabhu,

 

64% of Americans are overweighted, so solution is not there problem is.

 

hi carb diet vs high protein diet.

 

Eating meat with high protein will keep your weight down for to digest proteins body needs to burn lots of calories (which if not burned stored as fat in a body)

 

if you like send me an email listenevs@bww.com I can give you more information to read about vegetarian protein diet which may be an answer to your situation.

 

 

 

[madanvrao 0]

Dayala, you want to loose 130 lbs, then the best way is to buy for yourself a tread mill. It costs around Rs. 7,500 in India. The benefits of using a tread mill are many.

 

First of all you loose fat by burning calories.

 

Discharge of excess sugar and salt from your body in the form of sweat controls your blood pressure and diabetes unless you are a Type I diabetic.

 

Tones up your leg muscles.

 

Good for your heart, increases the HDL content in your blood.

 

Improves your blood circulation.

 

Makes you more active.

 

Makes you hungry naturally.

 

As soon as you get up in the morning, it cleans up your bowels.

 

Your lymphatic system becomes more active. This removes sluggishness from your body and cleans all your internal organs and you feel fresh.

 

I now weigh 43 Kgs and eat like a pig (not stool of course /images/graemlins/smile.gif )

 

No need to eat any non-veg stuff at all and also no need for dieting.

 

For an investment of Rs. 7,500, I think it is worth it. What do you say?

 

Hare Krishna

[Priitaa 0]

 

Also . . . I am concerned about eating too much soy. I have a hormonal problem that causes me to put on more weight and makes it hard to take off. My hormonal problem involves having too much estrogen in my body. I'm worried about the added estrogen that comes from the soy proteins.

 

 

I am speculating here, but it sounds like you have Hypothyroidism? If so, you are right, avoid soy! It blocks the uptake of the thyroid hormone, which in turn will cause you to gain more weight. So, you cant eat tofu, or not much. Maybe a 1/4 cup once or twice a week. Better to just go for the beans. Hypothyroidism requires a lot of protein because that is what the thyroid hormone is made out of, but meat protein is so hard to digest that it is most likely be more difficult to turn into T 4 and especially T3. Without the proper conversion of T4 to T3, there is going to be weight gain. So go veggie! :-)

 

GERD is common in hypothyroid patience. It is often H. Pylori and if it won't go away, thats usually it and requires an antibitoic in most cases. (Take lots of acidopholis with any antibiotic to replace the good stuff it kills.)

 

I would need to know if you have this disease or not before I post anything more. Otherwise I am just speculating at tihs point. Regardless, I hope something I said helps.

 

YS,

Prtha dd

[Priitaa 0]

 

I meant to ask if anyone has had experience with weaning themselves off of sugar and white flour. This seems like an impossibility for me, but also a necessity. I have tried cutting these things out cold turkey a few times, but I only survive a couple of weeks before I go crazy.

 

 

Oh my, more "symptoms" of hypothyroidism. But until I hear from you, I can only make an educated guess. Anyhow, if you eat sugar often and have weight problem you could be causing a form of insulin resistance. That in turn will make extremely difficult to loose weight. It can also indicate that if the hormone "insulin" is off, or even just resistant, so is the thyroid hormone uptake, even if you take meds! Well, that ought to motivate you to give up sugar.

 

And by the way, white flour turns to sugar in the body real fast! ha So there ya go, more motivation. :-)

 

However, beyond intellectual motivation is... you can't just toss the whole thing out or you will just return to the store to buy more, even stock up. You need to replace a bad habit with a good one. So try to figure out what you would enjoy eating instead of sugar. Nothing will be as good as sugar, but there are veggie foods that are still good tasting you can eat in its place. By the way, I suggest protein because often we get hungry due to a lack of protein, or a difficulty with it getting thru (you can be eating plenty but if colon, etc., is clogged, you are still protein deficient. And meat often clogs in this way).

 

You also need to see if there are any emotinal reasons you are eating sugar. If not, then repace it with a healthier food is all.

 

Just ideas and humble suggestions which could be wrong and are only based on your posts so far. Wishing you well. Hare Krishna.

 

YS,

Priitaa