The hardest part of doing something new or difficult is just starting. Whether you are picking up a new hobby, starting a new job or changing career paths, starting is the hardest part. Becoming a vegetarian is no easy task and it requires a lot of sacrifice and discipline. It is a lifestyle change and although it is rewarding, it can be seen as a very daunting task to a beginner. Honestly, becoming a vegetarian is a personal choice, as is how strict of a vegetarian you decide to be. As a “beginner, determining what foods you’re comfortable with eating can help you determine an appropriate meal plan.”
The journey to becoming vegetarian is your own personal journey and it can be molded and adapted to fit your lifestyle. There are even different types of vegetarians. An ovo-lacto vegetarian, for example, can consume animal products such as eggs and dairy. On the contrary, a lacto-vegetarian consumes dairy, but they do not eat eggs. Becoming a vegetarian can be as interesting and as much fun as you want to make it.
There are a variety of different recipes to choose from and now, more than ever, restaurants and food establishments are starting to add vegetarian and/or meat-free options to the menus. Now is the time and it is easier than ever. In fact, “More than 7 million people follow some form of a vegetarian diet… [and] Once you get acclimated to it, sticking to a vegetarian diet becomes easy. At first, though, determining what a healthy vegetarian diet looks like can seem complicated and overwhelming”.
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The key to becoming a vegetarian is to continue to eat healthy foods. Often times when switching over to vegetarianism it is easy to remove meat, but many people find themselves replacing it for unhealthy or processed food. For instance, one common mistake is that “sometimes it is easy to let cheese end up becoming a fallback for new vegetarians. Grilled cheeses, cheese pizza, macaroni and cheese, and more become staples for vegetarians who aren’t exactly sure what to eat. This usually ends with the novice veg-head feeling sluggish and maybe even having digestive issues from the increase of dairy consumption. While there’s nothing wrong with a little cheese here and there, it shouldn’t be the main staple of every meal.”
Therefore, it is important to be sure that the foods that you eat are actually providing nutritional value in order to promote energy and avoid slugishness. Many times, vegetarians pick foods that are not actually healthy for the sake of the lack of meat. It is “easy to fall into the trap of thinking your diet is healthy just because you’re avoiding meat. But vegetarians are at risk of selecting less-than-healthy foods to replace meat, including full-fat cheese eaten in excess, processed snack foods and sugary desserts. Make fruits and vegetables the basis of your diet, and supplement it with lean plant-based protein, low-fat or fat-free dairy and complex carbohydrates”. Be sure to maintain a balanced, variety of options in order to keep yourself fueled and energized.
Making lifestyle changes and becoming a vegetarian is not always easy but it does not have to be hard. Click here to check out some easy vegetarian recipes for beginners.