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Aum namah Śivāya
11 April 2012, 01:06 PM
नमस्ते,

I recognize the importance of becoming vegetarian, but am uncertain how to make the transition. I'm fine with giving up beef, even if that's even a bit difficult, but I know that is definitely necessary.

My problem is that I have always, always hated vegetables, except for a very few. The biggest repulsion for me is the texture of them. I'm visually impaired, so I pay a lot of attention to the texture of food.

I love fruits, though, almost any kind of them.

So I'm not sure how to transition into becoming a vegetarian with this in mind. Has anyone else had this same struggle?

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Eastern Mind
11 April 2012, 01:30 PM
Vannakkam: Sticking with mostly raw might help with the texture bit. It's also healthier.

It's also important to remember you're not feeding your mouth, you're feeding your whole body, and ultimately the soul body that inhabits it.

Aum Namasivaya

rainbowlotus
11 April 2012, 01:30 PM
For you it seems like it wouldn't be a good idea to go cold turkey on meat. Because you don't like a lot of vegetables you need to purchase vitamins so that you get the nutrients you need. There are so many things you can do with vegetables. I still struggle with my pickyness with food. Could you be more specific on why you have a hard time eating vegetables?

Aum namah Śivāya
11 April 2012, 04:14 PM
For you it seems like it wouldn't be a good idea to go cold turkey on meat. Because you don't like a lot of vegetables you need to purchase vitamins so that you get the nutrients you need. There are so many things you can do with vegetables. I still struggle with my pickyness with food. Could you be more specific on why you have a hard time eating vegetables?

नमस्ते rainbowlotus,

Yeah you are probably right it is not good to go cold-turkey. Perhaps I can give up one thing at a time, starting with beef.

The biggest thing for me is beef (love cheeseburgers), chicken, and seafood.

Again, I'm not sure why exactly I don't like vegetables, besides the texture thing. Though I do like carrots, as long as they are raw, raw spinach, lettuce, etc.

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Vaikuntha Bound.
12 April 2012, 01:55 AM
For me, giving up meat actually began with my daughter. When she first started eating solid food, she'd eat anything we'd put in front of her. Meat loaf, steak, mixed veggies, apple slices... anything. She'd try things indiscriminately and always finish what was on her plate.

As she got a little older, she just stopped eating meat. Sure, she'd eat eggs, but after a few weeks, I started realizing that all she was eating were our vegetable side dishes. That didn't seem fair, so I started integrating more and more vegetarian meals into our diet. I began buying cookbooks (the moosewood restaurant's simple suppers and mark bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" were great starters). I found foods that I liked. That my daughter liked. That my wife liked. Then I realized that I had lost a few pounds, was feeling better, was becoming a better, more creative cook. My daughter was growing and seemed happier at meal time, I felt comfortable that she was getting adequate and healthy proteins and fats, that she was getting a lot of minerals and vitamins from the smoothies we were drinking at breakfast. My wife is having a smoother second pregnancy than what we had with our daughter. All in all, everything felt good. It became both a self-reinforcing cycle and an operation of grace, and it all started through my little girl.

But the important thing about becoming vegetarian was learning how to cook vegetarian meals, finding recipes that everyone could enjoy, and then seeing the benefit from that. It's easier when you look at what you're gaining, rather than what you're giving up.

All the best.

Maya3
12 April 2012, 08:58 PM
Vegetables are excellent for you but they are not a replacement for protein. They are really added vitamins etc to your diet.

What you need to think about is how to get healthy protein, as in grains, nuts, beans and lentils, you can cook amazing things with these, and if you combine them you get all the amino acids you need.
You can also add fake meat to your dishes, they are very processed and it's not the healthiest thing to eat, but now and then they can be a tasty addition to any dish.
They even have fake bacon made of soy. NOT healthy, look at the long list of unpronounceable ingredients! But once in a while it's not going to hurt you.
I'm not sure if it tastes like bacon though, but...

But things like tofu and seitan are good alternative that is more pure. Sauteed Seitan with hot spices is amazing!

Maya

Eastern Mind
13 April 2012, 08:44 AM
Vannakkam: The protein issue for vegetarians is over-rated, IMHO. The average American gets like 300% of the daily requirement. Especially if you remain lacto-vegetarian, the regular daily consumption of dairy will most likely ensure your daily protein requirement.

Lentils (includes chick peas and much more) grains, and rice all contain protein. Brown rice is recommended as being far better nutritionally.

For dietary needs, without vegetables and fruit, a much higher concern from a nutritional standpoint would be vitamins, and minerals to a lesser degree.

I honestly think the concern over protein for vegetarians is an underhanded propaganda tactic by the meat industry lobby group.

Aum Namasivaya

Maya3
13 April 2012, 09:47 AM
Vannakkam: The protein issue for vegetarians is over-rated, IMHO. The average American gets like 300% of the daily requirement. Especially if you remain lacto-vegetarian, the regular daily consumption of dairy will most likely ensure your daily protein requirement.

Lentils (includes chick peas and much more) grains, and rice all contain protein. Brown rice is recommended as being far better nutritionally.

For dietary needs, without vegetables and fruit, a much higher concern from a nutritional standpoint would be vitamins, and minerals to a lesser degree.

I honestly think the concern over protein for vegetarians is an underhanded propaganda tactic by the meat industry lobby group.

Aum Namasivaya

Definitely, there really are no vegetarians who eat healthy who are not getting enough protein. If you eat only vegetables and carbs, then yes, but not if you have a balanced diet.

I go to the gym and lift weights, my muscles build up just as fast as my meat eating husband, though of course it is a little different since men has a different physiche (sp?) then women.
But yes this, you will get sick without meat is simply not true.

Maya

Jainarayan
13 April 2012, 10:35 AM
Namaste Maya.


I go to the gym and lift weights, my muscles build up just as fast as my meat eating husband, though of course it is a little different since men has a different physiche (sp?) then women.



Close: physique. :p

That out of the way ;) when I was a powerlifter I held to the .8 - 1 g of protein per lb of lean body weight. For me that would be about 140-150 g of protein.

Now that I am not lifting like that... I do TRX, BodyPump, Boot Camp, kettlebells, all for conditioning, strength and weight loss (powerlifting really is no excuse to get fat)... I can get away with less protein.

Besides, being on Weight Watchers (22 lbs gone since Jan. 2; 23 lbs more to go) we don't count or track macros, just Daily, Weekly and Activity Points. WW has vegetarian sections too.

Now, for those who are concerned about protein, there is whey protein, Muscle Milk, Pure Protein bars, none of which are bad at all. After leaving the fitness club I gobble down a Pure Protein bar.

Just using a few of those a day (2-3), a cup of cottage cheese, 1 or 2 glasses of milk, a cup of cooked beans, a cup of rice, a cup of non-fat yogurt can tally up to almost 110 g of protein.

Aum namah Śivāya
16 April 2012, 08:44 AM
नमस्ते,

It seems that for the last week or two, every time I try to eat meat, it severely disagrees with me. Before finishing it, I feel weighed down and physically cannot eat anymore. I'm not sure why this has happened, as I wasn't planning on totally cutting off meat yet, but it happens anyway.

So I have not eaten meat since, I think, last Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not use whether I'll completely stop yet or not, but i don't like how I feel when I eat it, so I may just not eat it at all.

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Eastern Mind
16 April 2012, 09:29 AM
Vannakkam Aum Namah Sivaya ... That sounds logical to me. In my first days of vegetarianism, I just took a vow to be vegetarian for a month, because I wanted to see if I felt any different. When the month was up, I experimented back to meat, and felt quite ill, so that helped to stay vegetarian. Now, even some fake meats will make me feel that way. Once, on a camping trip, I ended up in the bushes actually vomiting the stuff. I've heard that happens to long time vegetarians ... the body just reacts, but I'm certainly not going to go eat a steak just to find out if its true.

Aum Namasivaya

Amala
16 April 2012, 03:47 PM
Namaste,

For me it just happened. I didn't choose it. That seems to be happening a lot in this walk of sanatana dharma... it's all so easy and natural.

Hey, OP (sorry... forgot who started the thread), do you like any style of food? Like, do you like Indian food? Or Cuban? Mexican? What you might try is learning to cook a style of cuisine that has a lot of vegetarian dishes. You could begin with just beans and slowly add some veggies.

You might also consider the notion that perhaps going without very many veggies for a while is what your body needs. I wouldn't worry about not liking veggies. Think about what you do like and as you eat according to those guidelines -- I mean unless it's Twinkies ha ha - then I think your body will find equilibrium and you will begin to enjoy a balanced diet.

Do you like fruits? Pile up on the fruits, if so. Let the veggies fall away indefinitely. Don't put your focus on what you can't do... just what you can do. Attitude is so much of the story in any change, seems to me.

:-)

Aum namah Śivāya
16 April 2012, 04:08 PM
Namaste,

For me it just happened. I didn't choose it. That seems to be happening a lot in this walk of sanatana dharma... it's all so easy and natural.

Hey, OP (sorry... forgot who started the thread), do you like any style of food? Like, do you like Indian food? Or Cuban? Mexican? What you might try is learning to cook a style of cuisine that has a lot of vegetarian dishes. You could begin with just beans and slowly add some veggies.

You might also consider the notion that perhaps going without very many veggies for a while is what your body needs. I wouldn't worry about not liking veggies. Think about what you do like and as you eat according to those guidelines -- I mean unless it's Twinkies ha ha - then I think your body will find equilibrium and you will begin to enjoy a balanced diet.

Do you like fruits? Pile up on the fruits, if so. Let the veggies fall away indefinitely. Don't put your focus on what you can't do... just what you can do. Attitude is so much of the story in any change, seems to me.

:-)

नमस्ते Amala,

Thanks. That is exactly my experience. It is just naturally happening. It is a miracle to me because I generally love meat, but lately it's been repulsive for me or just made me not feel well. Plus the idea of eating the flesh of an animal is repulsive as well, though it used to not bother me. Perhaps Śiva is helping me with this process, as I couldn't do it otherwise. :)

Thanks for your recommendation of going off of what I do like. I love fruits, so I will stock up on those. Even salad is ok sometimes with some good dressing. I also love pasta (my wife is Italian so it's par for the course :p).

By the way, is cheese OK? I've seen some members talking about giving up cheese, but I'm not sure why. I love cheese.

I'm also happy about this change, because I always hated touching uncooked meat in order to prepare it. For that reason alone, we rarely ate meat anyway, unless it was something precooked like lunch meat or certain types of sausage, hotdogs, pepperoni, etc. I'm the one that cooks around here, so I never wanted to cook meat. :)

Also, both of us are starting to feel a lot better even after only a few days of it. For myself, I feel lighter overall somehow, and my wife is reporting the same.

I'm visiting my mother this weekend, so that'll be a challenge since she likes a lot of fast food, ordering out, food from restaurants, etc, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something. She's usually very accommodating.

Anyway, thanks again. You've given me some hope that this might actually be possible. I know some people who would laugh at me if I told them I am vegetarian, since everyone knows I'm not a vegetable person. But it'll come naturally, I think.

Funnily enough, it's a change I've been wanting to make for years, but finally I think I'll be able to do it. Having to cook my own food now that I'm married also helps a lot, too.

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Amala
16 April 2012, 04:33 PM
Namaste Aum namah shivāya,

I *thought* it was you! :-)

Wonderful. That sounds so much like how it went for me... can't say I was repulsed by meat, just not attracted to it - well, except for the corpses ICK ... and found the beans so easy and gentle. Of course it helps that I love to cook Indian food!! :-)

Wow... it sounds like everything is naturally falling together for you!

As far as the cheese things goes, well, you see, I think anything that you feel okay with is okay. I can't eat much dairy from cows except for yoghurt. I personally think it's weird that human consume calves' food. But I still occasionally eat cheese - usually goat's - and yoghurt. I've always known I'm weird, though. :p Seems to me, just breaking away from meat is transition enough, but only you can say. ..ŏr maybe you can't... maybe it'll just happen, guided by Shiva! :-)

Yeah, I agree... I think the veggies, as your body needs them, will simply come in time. I mean, if someone can fast, eating nothing at all, then I think missing some veggies for a while won't be a problem. LOL Think of it as an extended ekādashī. It could always be much worse.... and you've already made it much better, it seems.

Happy trails!



नमस्ते Amala,

Thanks. That is exactly my experience. It is just naturally happening. It is a miracle to me because I generally love meat, but lately it's been repulsive for me or just made me not feel well. Plus the idea of eating the flesh of an animal is repulsive as well, though it used to not bother me. Perhaps Śiva is helping me with this process, as I couldn't do it otherwise. :)

Thanks for your recommendation of going off of what I do like. I love fruits, so I will stock up on those. Even salad is ok sometimes with some good dressing. I also love pasta (my wife is Italian so it's par for the course :p).

By the way, is cheese OK? I've seen some members talking about giving up cheese, but I'm not sure why. I love cheese.

I'm also happy about this change, because I always hated touching uncooked meat in order to prepare it. For that reason alone, we rarely ate meat anyway, unless it was something precooked like lunch meat or certain types of sausage, hotdogs, pepperoni, etc. I'm the one that cooks around here, so I never wanted to cook meat. :)

Also, both of us are starting to feel a lot better even after only a few days of it. For myself, I feel lighter overall somehow, and my wife is reporting the same.

I'm visiting my mother this weekend, so that'll be a challenge since she likes a lot of fast food, ordering out, food from restaurants, etc, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something. She's usually very accommodating.

Anyway, thanks again. You've given me some hope that this might actually be possible. I know some people who would laugh at me if I told them I am vegetarian, since everyone knows I'm not a vegetable person. But it'll come naturally, I think.

Funnily enough, it's a change I've been wanting to make for years, but finally I think I'll be able to do it. Having to cook my own food now that I'm married also helps a lot, too.

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Eastern Mind
16 April 2012, 05:06 PM
Vannakkam: I think this is a microcosm for the macrocosm often referred to as "the Path". If it comes naturally, then you're ready for it. If it has to be forced, then maybe it's time to think twice. As with your vegetarianism, so too with meditation, temple worship, naturally being kinder, charity, and all the other qualities and practices associated with a mature soul well on the climb to moksha. This is just such an excellent example of the nature of progress! You don't even have to try that hard. Just small adjustments here and there. It's inspirational to read.

Aum Namasivaya

Aum namah Śivāya
16 April 2012, 05:51 PM
Vannakkam: I think this is a microcosm for the macrocosm often referred to as "the Path". If it comes naturally, then you're ready for it. If it has to be forced, then maybe it's time to think twice. As with your vegetarianism, so too with meditation, temple worship, naturally being kinder, charity, and all the other qualities and practices associated with a mature soul well on the climb to moksha. This is just such an excellent example of the nature of progress! You don't even have to try that hard. Just small adjustments here and there. It's inspirational to read.

Aum Namasivaya

नमस्ते,

Thanks so much. That's what I love about Hinduism. We don't need perfection from the start. Jus has long as we keep going in the right direction. :)

ॐ नमः शिवाय

ShivaFan
27 April 2012, 05:35 PM
I was vegetarian most of my life, even starting as a young boy. It was only after marriage that my wife who is Hindu but of the Shakta influence was I sort of coaxed into eating fish and chicken. Of course we eat no beef, no pork or anything such and my daughter for example is more strict than me in limiting consumption of chicken or fish. It was the relatives who also eat chicken, but mostly fish, that had influenced me though one husband of one of the sister in laws is 100 percent strict vegan but he is a Jain and not Hindu.

But now I am thinking I should again be only vegan, since it is bothering me. And my health is not what it should be as when I was vegan, and now I think I have committed sin on myself.

Am I or will I be a victim of karma? Actually, I have a very happy life, economically secure, and am blessed in so mzny ways and so gratful to Sanatana Dharma (what I call Hinduism, I know it may not be a popular term among devotional people but I think of myself as Hindu and do not have an issue with the term even though it is simply a corruption of the word for the Indus River - to me it means I love all schools of the traditions)...

So should I become only vegan?

IcyCosmic
29 April 2012, 04:27 AM
नमस्ते,

It seems that for the last week or two, every time I try to eat meat, it severely disagrees with me. Before finishing it, I feel weighed down and physically cannot eat anymore. I'm not sure why this has happened, as I wasn't planning on totally cutting off meat yet, but it happens anyway.

So I have not eaten meat since, I think, last Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not use whether I'll completely stop yet or not, but i don't like how I feel when I eat it, so I may just not eat it at all.

ॐ नमः शिवाय
Hey, similar experience here. I had no meat though from I think since I was born to 14 years old. I told my dad at 14, I want to eat. Of course he was totally liberal about it, the same day he took me out and we ate meat. I enjoyed it, I thought it was tasty. Even when I quit I thought it was tasty. However, about a year later it just started disagreeing with me, I felt sick inside. Not in my stomach, but deeper inside. I felt wrong. Weird. I'd rather not make my stomach a graveyard for animals. Then I quit for good. I wasn't even religious then. By the grace of god...

Tāṇḍava
01 May 2012, 04:19 AM
Now, even some fake meats will make me feel that way.

I have mixed reactions to fake meats. My wife and kids love them, so I do eat them regularly, but I often feel that I am eating something ... artificial and tasting wrong. My preference is for natural fresh meals with lentils, chick peas, etc.