Possibly so: I’m not a biochemist or a dietitian, so I tend to take the advice of professional groups like the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association. Those folks recommend a moderately low-fat diet, with an emphasis on unsaturated (especially polyunsaturated) fats. I’m not entirely clear on the chemistry of why they recommend this.
In any case, I think there’s general agreement amongst mainstream dietitians that olive oil (for example) is more healthful than bacon grease. Although there are some plant-based fats that are bad for you (especially saturated fats like coconut oil, and hydrogenated fats like Crisco), in general, plant-based fats are more healthful than animal-based fats.
Alright, sorry. Take a deep breath and chant your mantra, I was more kidding than anything. Evidently I misplaced my smiley. If I wanted to be insulting I wouldn’t have thumbed my nose and said “neener, neener, neener,” now would I?
IrishMeg, I was wondering about this lately too because most of the vegetarians that I know are overweight. It appears they eat a lot of junk foods. I’m not talking about 5 or ten lbs, but 40 or 50 lbs overweight. I’m still trying to figure out why this is because when I was a vegetarian, I got too skinny.
I’ve been a vegetarian for about four years now, and quit eating meat because it was making me sick (long story there, and lotsa visits to the doc, but it was making my physically sick). I’d been toying with the idea before that, anyway, because I never eaten much meat, and there were some ethical issues.
If you want to go veggie, go for it. But be careful. I know lots of vegetarians who are overweight get sick often. Reason: they don’t substitute and take vitamins. You need certain things, and if you take the meat out of your diet and don’t replace it, you’ll get sick.
I’m healthier as a vegetarian. I also (because of my various allergies and such) compulsively read labels and ask about ingredients. I’m all for vegetarianism, but if you don’t want to give up meat…don’t. I would, however, suggest cutting down slowly - replace meat, say, 3 times a week (depends on how much you normally eat), and see how that goes. Play around with it, find what’s best for you.
I tried it, but I didn’t really like vegetables, so I lived for my entire vegetarian period on junk food. I got pretty ill and went back to meat-eating. So I guess my advice is if you want to do it, go for it, but be sure you know what your body needs to be healthy and don’t ask it to live on Chee-tos and popcorn.
My SO is also a vegetarian, IrishMeg. When I’m cooking for him or eating with him, I don’t eat meat. Fortunately, he’s a damn good cook, and I’ve gotten pretty good at vegetarian cooking myself. Between us, we make plenty of hearty, flavorful veggie meals. I still eat meat about once a week, though. Being mostly-but-not-quite-vegetarian still gives me leeway to enjoy the occasional hamburger and Thanksgiving turkey. It’s a compromise that works for me, and it might help you ease into vegetarianism.
I think you’ll be fine if you remember that everyone who is, or has been for any period, a vegetarian will tell you a slightly different story about their experiences, and that the switch works for some people and not for others. If you do it, make sure that it’s because you want to, and don’t give yourself a hard time if you decide that you want to revert to eating meat.
Personally, i don’t think i’m any more or less healthy, in general, than i was when i ate meat. I do tend to eat a bit of junk food, but i did that before i became vegetarian as well - i just have a really sweet tooth. My meals are generally very healthy, and i’ve certainly become a better cook since the switch. I never miss meat now; in fact, i never really did, even in the early days. The only thing that can occasionally get me sniffing hungrily is the smell of bacon cooking.
Golly, where are all the rabidly doctrinaire vegetarian proselytizers we hear so much about? Will no one give a long-winded rant about the evils of meat-eating?
I quit eating meat because I think it tastes icky. I always did have to choke it down, and I ate it because I was brought up to think one had to eat it to be healthy. I’ll echo the advice given by everyone in the thread: if you want to eat meat, keep on eating it. For most of us, vegetarianism is not a religion, it’s a food preference.
There are a few dangers, but they can be avoided by educating yourself and being a little careful. I’ve known a lot of teens who decide to go vegetarian and end up eating nothing but french fries and chips, courting malnutrition. If you don’t like vegetables, it’s going to be tough to eat a healthy, balanced meat-free diet. Vegetarians need to take some kind of B-vitamin supplements, especially if they don’t eat eggs. You also have to keep an eye on your protein intake to be sure you’re not getting too little.
It’s very easy to eat an unhealthy vegetarian diet. There are plenty of meatless junk foods available, and if you fill up on those, you’ll find out that it’s also very easy to become overweight on an unhealthy vegetarian diet. The vegetarian who eats a super-sized order of fries every day is certainly not healthier than the meat-eater who has a Big Mac every day. The key is, as always, a sensible attitude and moderation in all things.
I’m Vegan but I started out vegetarian. It’s been about 17 years now. I’m healthy, I feel great and I look pretty damn good for my age (mid 40’s).
I don’t know about everyone else, but my whole body changed. I rarely get sick any more. What started out as a moral issue had quite pleasant side effects, lol.
It is important to make sure your diet is well balanced and that you get all the proper nutrients.
