Advice, Tips, Comments needed for a beginner vegetarian.?

Hey all!


So I have (for many personal reasons) decided that I want to become a vegetarian... and also cut out dairy and eggs as well. I am not ready for the whole *changing my soap and cleaning products and all that* -which i know is pretty much vegan anyway.


So these are my questions... what can I do to learn more, what websites/ books would be helpful, what types of vitamins (if any) are necessary, what should I actually talk to my dr. about, what types of veggies/nuts/etc. should i incorporate to get all of the nutrients i need? I would like to (if possible) do this with the fewest or no vitamins if possible...and I am completely up for trying new foods and recipies.


I have eaten meat all my life (I am 20) and have decided to just, in general, get healthier...and I have learned so much about chemicals and other products pumped into animals... and want to rid my body of all of that.


I am seeking help from anyone, but preferably someone who either very knowledgable on the topic of health/fitness. Or someone who has been a vegetarian/vegan for quite awhile now and has their *routine* down pat. Basically, I want someone who knows more about this than me to help...


Thanks and I hope to hear from you soon!


ChristaAdvice, Tips, Comments needed for a beginner vegetarian.?
If your wanting to learn more about a vegetarian diet, just go to the Mayo Clinic site and they list there how a vegetarian should eat and how it is healthy.





To make sure that you are indeed eating a healthy diet, I suggest people talk to a doctor simply because most people really do not have a healthy diet. Talking and getting a referral to a good dietician/nutritionist from your doctor would not only give you in-depth insights into what you need to do and how to approach things - they also will help you with setting up menus and even a sample grocery list to give you a foot up on how to approach buying what you are going to need. A referral is usually needed for your insurance, but well worth going to see them. They can and will work with your doctor which can be very important if you have any medical issues.





As to vitamins, B12 is something that was suggested to me by my doctor. Not because I have a lack of it, but because if it does go low and isn't caught, the damage done is not reversible. They have found that even those that eat meat are having this problem and not just limited to vegetarians. Read an interesting article about it last year in ';Vegetarian Times'; and it is a suggestion that responsible vegetarians and vegans are following. Even the ';Vegan Society'; is suggesting to supplement. You CAN get all that you need from foods - but then you go back again to the reality that many of us are living in a fast paced world and really are not eating every day the things that we should. Considering the negative, I made the choice to supplement as my doctor suggested. Good side to it is that it isn't that expensive to get a good sublingual B12 tablet. I got mine at ';Whole Foods'; and it was under $5.00.





Any and all vegetables, nuts, fruits, and grains are good for you. I go with the thought that 'fresh is best'. There is a movement I found out about called the 'slow food' movement (vs. fast food) which comes from San Francisco California. I found it really interesting that I had come to the same views that the woman that started it came to years ago, and that I came to through personal study. I would suggest eating what you already eat now, but try to branch out in variety (which most people really don't have in their diet) and trying produce and fruits that you haven't eaten in a long time or may never have tried.





As to what to cook. Start fixing the things that you already know how to cook and make subtle changes to them to fit within what you already eat. If you follow my suggestion of seeing a nutritionist/dietician, they will have given you some insights and recipes as well.





Vs. telling you to buy a particular cookbook, I always suggest going to the local library first and checking out the cookbook to see if it is one that you really want to put out your hard earned money for. Also, don't forget that you can get the cookbooks second hand from online and save money as well.





I could suggest sites that I found helpful, but that doesn't mean that YOU will find them helpful. So I would suggest doing some scouting on your own on a good search engine (I use Dogpile or Google).





I will say that there are many soy products that you can buy that will possibly help with transition to not eating meat. I personally don't believe that one should make the choice it as a regular part of your diet, but if your just starting out, something that I have seen others write about as being a big help to them in making the change and very well might be a help in the choice that you have made. Edit: Someone above suggested that ';Morningstar'; products were not vegan. No longer true as this link will show you: http://www.upc-online.org/battery_hens/1…





What your writing about is a strict vegetarian diet which means that you are really going to have to be careful with the reading of labels. Many of the things that you have been eating all your life and would not even dream of having animal products have animal products within them (Jello, breads, mayo, chocolate (most don't even consider if the chocolate that they are eating has milk in it), candies, etc).





Just remember, it isn't as hard as you might think. Actually very easy.





Edit: The best thing to do is what you are doing. Doing personal study. Personal knowledge comes from doing personal study.





Don't make the mistake that just because you found it on a website that such makes something 'true'. I have found more than a few websites that had many errors on them.





Don't worry if you don't have it all down. It takes time. If you find that you need help, there is no harm in asking someone, even a someone that has gone to college to get an education in the area of healthy diets.





It was suggested to me (because of health problems) to eat more towards a Mediterranean approach to food. So I got, ';The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen'; cookbook. Thing is, I have gotten to the point that I can pretty much take any cookbook now and make alterations to it to fit my diet. I also like the ';Good Housekeeping Vegetarian Meals'; cookbook. But I wouldn't limit choices to just those two. I find good things to eat in magazines, online, and just from playing around in the kitchen, and not to forget the library.Advice, Tips, Comments needed for a beginner vegetarian.?
im a vegetarian . and have been for about 4 months and im 14 yrs old . just make sure you eat protein . you can get that from beans , nuts , veggies , fruit , and most healthy stuff . it took a while to get used. espically the fact that my family eats meat and eats it infront of me . and they pick on me . just get protein !
Hey Christa


I am new to this Yahoo stuff and don't know how to email you about the 'chair leg' example you gave me? I want to talk to you some more about it but don't know how. Can you tell me how this all works. Thanks from scattycat
try www.goveg.com. They have a ton of valuable info on there.





I would suggest taking a B12 supplement.
take a lot of pills and vitamins and you should be ok
I'm a vegan, and have been for 11 years. You don't need to worry about protein -- have you ever heard of anybody dying of lack of protein? Iron should be your main concern. Mostly green vegetables have iron, and cereal and pasta are good sources of iron. Vitamin B6 and B12 are also sometimes a worry with veganism. BTW, vegans don't eat honey as well.(:





You should get blood tests done to see if your iron and protein levels are okay enough to remove meat and such from your diet. They will probably suggest for you to begin with being a vegetarian, and later on vegan.





Pre-pregnancy, I took NO vitamins, and I had no problems with my health actually. And some bodies only take in certain types of iron; so make sure to get it from different sources. Take it with orange juice, as it helps to take it in.





Some people do not take well to these sorts of diets, and have a bad bodily reaction. Make sure to take it slow or your body will go into a state of shock. Try to eat as much fruit and vegetables as poosible. Replace breads with healthier alternatives -- whole wheat, whole grain breads, brown rice, etc.





BTW, morningstar products (aside from their hot dogs) do contain eggs. Boca burgers, and meat crumbles are a better alternative. Make sure to read labels because many things that you wouldn't suspect have meat, dairy, honey, eggs, animal by-products, etc.





http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe-finder/…





http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/





I hope this helps.(:
eat alot of protein


tofu, morning star products, other fake meat food, umm and if u are deciding to occasionally eat fish for protein reasons you should...





and make sure you get enough of all the vitamins in meat





and wow u should really not start off with out eating milk and eggs cuz if anything you should drink milk


why?


because if u buy organic milk, the cows aren't fed hormones or kept in tight places, they live healthy lives.


And if you don't milk a cow, it hurts them, unless they have a baby to feed


I recommend drinking milk it is also good for you for calcium.


and remember if u stop suddenly, ur body might not be completely ready so try and take it slow (thats what I have heard)





protein is the main thing we need to replace....


and peanuts, almonds, cashews, all have good sources of protein but peanuts are really good sources of protein.