How to be a vegetarian is a question that enters many people’s minds, but they often dismiss it thinking it will be too hard or worried that they won’t have the will power. Changing one’s dietary habits in order to avoid meat and meat products can be easily done with the right approach.
The most important factor in becoming a vegetarian is motivation. An individual should have pretty serious convictions to make the change. Half hearted attempts will surely have the person back to their old diet in no time. There are many reasons that people make a commitment to vegetarianism.
Many people who are concerned about the impact that agriculture has on the environment often seek answers on how to be a vegetarian. Raising livestock uses a much greater amount of energy than raising only crops for human consumption. Feed grains must be grown in large quantities to feed the animals and shipping the animals for production costs a large amount of money.
Other individuals are concerned about the inhumane way that livestock is treated and wish to stop playing a part in animal suffering. Whatever the reason for becoming a vegetarian, the individual must have strong convictions and commit themselves to the new lifestyle.
The easiest way to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle is to enter into it gradually. Many people are successful at giving up meat all at once, but it is usually the more difficult route. If it is decided to give up meat all in one go, the best way to achieve success is by doing some research beforehand. Books on the vegetarian lifestyle and recipe books can be found in the library or online. A few vegetarian recipes should be tried and the home should be stocked with plenty of vegetarian selections. Once the individual is well prepared, giving up meat all at once should occur more smoothly.
Entering into a vegetarian lifestyle is easier when it is accomplished in steps. Humans are naturally creatures of habit and studies have shown that it takes approximately 30 days to establish a new habit. A first good step is eliminating only red meat from the diet. The step can last anywhere from one to four weeks relative to the individuals will power and level of commitment. During the time that red meat has been abandoned, new vegetarian recipes using the best vegan plant based meat can be incorporated into the meal one or two at a time per week. The next step to be accomplished is giving up white meat such as chicken and pork. The method employed for red meat should be used. The last stage of giving up meat is usually abandoning seafood, which is easy for most people.
Many vegetarians maintain a diet that includes dairy and eggs. Whether or not to abandon dairy and eggs is up to the individual and is related to their driving motivation toward vegetarianism. If a person has chosen the lifestyle to help ease the suffering of livestock, they are more likely to eliminate eggs and dairy from the diet since those items are a product of commercial agriculture.
Society has many myths about vegetarianism, one being that it doesn’t provide enough protein. For centuries all over the world, humans with little or no access to meat products have managed to include the right kind of protein in their diets. Except for soy, meat provides the only source of complete protein. Complete proteins are easily obtained from the plant world by making partial protein combinations. For example, beans and rice, a popular combination throughout the world, combines two partial proteins to form a complete protein. Other good combinations include nuts and beans, and peanut butter and bread.
