I Still Want Meat

[ticktockclok]

In September 2006, I decided to become a vegetarian. To this day, I haven't eaten meat. Yet even now, when I encounter some of that Panda Express orange chicken or some really good grilled chicken, I still have an urge to eat it. The urge isn't particularly hard to control, but it's there. Has anyone else had an experience with being vegetarian like I have?

[NotesMaeve]

You know, once in awhile I'll think, "Oh, it'd be nice to have some fish/steak/whatever," but I find when I ready myself to indulge the craving, I can't follow through. Just remember, you ate and liked meat for years! There are plenty of delicious meat substitutes! Have you tried any?

[Dan.Linehan]

Seitan FTW..

YouTube - Vegan Seitan Corned Beef

[Mags]

I've been veg now for about 6 years and I found that my desire for meat went away in stages...

About 2 weeks after going veg, I had some cravings for meat. I looked beyond "meat" to see what my body was actually wanting i.e. protein, ate the veg version of that and I was fine.

For about the first year of going veg, the sight and smell of cooked meat was still appetizing even though I didn't want to actually eat the meat (possibly like what you're encountering now).

Then, I stopped enjoying the smell of meat cooking... it just smelled like burning flesh (which it is, obviously, but when you eat meat you don't always think about it like that!). At this stage though, I could look at a picture of cooked meat in a magazine and it still looked appetizing even though I wouldn't obviously eat it.

Then, I lost that as well... now, meat (raw and cooked) just looks like a lump of dead flesh (again, well, duh, that's what it is, but now it leaves me a feeling a bit repulsed )

[bdp]

Yes, I have had that experience.

Since going vegan about a year ago I have had only one urge to eat meat. One day, out of the blue, I really wanted to eat some chicken. Normally the thought of eating meat is unpleasant. I tried to put it out of my mind, but it wouldn't leave.

My neighbor was moving that day and was cleaning out his freezer. He brought over a box of food and told me he had to get rid of it. In the box was a pre-packaged, marinated chicken breast. I took it as a sign, if you will. I cooked it up, enjoyed it immensely, and felt good about it.

I haven't had a similar craving since.

[ultimate]

Im not sure if you have heard of the metabolic typing diet.
basically tho it says some people do better on more meat, others better on carbohydrates and so on - whats best for you would depend on your metabolic type

[Rose of Cairo]

I've had severe meat cravings... till the day I realized that what I was craving was the salt and / or fat, not the meat. Usually meat is prepared with tons of salt. When such a craving happened, I ate three tomatoes with a lot of salt and a handfull nuts, and the craving went away.

Do you have enough fat in your diet?

Try this: cook (not frie, cook) a piece of chicken without any salt or spices and eat it. Then you'll know if it's the meat, or the salt, or just the habbit

[uon]

3 weeks ago I read John Robbins "The Food Revolution" and since then have been making more conscious decisions about where my food comes from. I have eaten more no-animal product meals since then, and today is my third day of having none at all. Everyday I have meat cravings, though. Racks of ribs, bbq chicken quarters, hot wings .. they all seem to be calling to me louder and louder. Its actually kind of a fun experiment to see how those old behaviors don't like to go peacefully. I find I am able to notice it, take a deep breath, and let it go.

Here's to a healthy heart, body, mind, and spirit!

[ticktockclok]

Originally Posted by Rose of Cairo

I've had severe meat cravings... till the day I realized that what I was craving was the salt and / or fat, not the meat. Usually meat is prepared with tons of salt. When such a craving happened, I ate three tomatoes with a lot of salt and a handfull nuts, and the craving went away.

Do you have enough fat in your diet?

Try this: cook (not frie, cook) a piece of chicken without any salt or spices and eat it. Then you'll know if it's the meat, or the salt, or just the habbit

You know, that's probably it. It was the sauce of the orange chicken that I had a craving for, not the chicken itself. Thanks.

[NotesMaeve]

Oh man. I bet you could make some to die for orange "chicken" with cut up Boca chicken patties.

[aabbcc]

LightLife and President's Choice both make really good vegan "chicken" and "beef" strips. Morningstar Farms makes them too, I think. These can be very handy for putting in soups, stews, casseroles, etc., when the craving for meat strikes.

[4Mind4Life]

I too went through your same dilemma. I set aside a couple months where I agreed to go without meat. I DID DO IT, but I made the decision to include meat back into my diet because I believe that it is healthy for the body.

Basically, it all boils down to whether or not you think that going without meat is healthy for you, the amount of concern you have for animals being sacrificed, and WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT TO BE A VEGETARIAN!

Like the other posters said, there are other great substitutes for meat! But don't be afraid to eat meat if you want to and think that it's healthy........

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DECISION!

[Amadeus]

Of course your body wants to eat meat because it is the most efficient way to consume the protein amino acids that your body can't produce on it's own. Makes no sense not to eat some form of meat. Eat chicken, just don't eat the barbacue wheat gluten crap they put on it. Don't eat red meat, but do eat other lean meats like turkey, chicken, and especially fish. Take the freaking gluten out of your diet that so many vegans consume. I have seen fat vegans and if protein is eaten correctly you'll live longer than the average vegan.
When you eat just think of the movie Cast Away. What did Tom Hank's character eat and didn't eat? Of course you will add a variety of more fruits and vegetables to your diet. I'm also a firm believer in taking the dairy products out of your diet like milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, etc...........but not lean meat.

[hollowman]

Originally Posted by Amadeus

Of course your body wants to eat meat because it is the most efficient way to consume the protein amino acids that your body can't produce on it's own. Makes no sense not to eat some form of meat. Eat chicken, just don't eat the barbacue wheat gluten crap they put on it. Don't eat red meat, but do eat other lean meats like turkey, chicken, and especially fish. Take the freaking gluten out of your diet that so many vegans consume. I have seen fat vegans and if protein is eaten correctly you'll live longer than the average vegan.
When you eat just think of the movie Cast Away. What did Tom Hank's character eat and didn't eat? Of course you will add a variety of more fruits and vegetables to your diet. I'm also a firm believer in taking the dairy products out of your diet like milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, etc...........but not lean meat.

i totally agree with Amadeus. Pick the good part of meat. Avoid fatty part etc.

In my place, vegan food is quite expensive and good to note that some vegan food product are processed with chemicals to enhance taste and appearance which may not be healthy eating at all.

why do u choose to be vegan anyway, ticktock? For healthy living of Buddhism teaching?

[escapee]

Vegetable and nuts give us Vitamins & minerals like Magnesium, manganese and etc

Meat gives us bioavailable -chelated iron and zinc . The kind of iron that get used by your cells instead of just floating around in the blood like the popular colloidal minerals .

HELP! Restless Legs! - Possible Iron deficient Vegan asked help for RLS

Chelated minerals 101
http://www.optimalhealthsystems.com/pdf/OHSRSMINS.pdf

Healthy natural sat fats give us fat soluble VIt like A, E, D and K ( avoid the fats at your own risk ! ). The trouble with animal sat fats is that it;s also the primary place loaded with pesticide, hormone , heavy metal, carcinogens and crap due to careless non-organic farming and environmental pollution. This is why it's so important to push for organic way of farming. It's same for the mineral deficient non-organic vegetable crops.

"Lacking vitamins, the system can make some use of the minerals, but lacking minerals, the vitamins are often useless. While our bodies manufacture some of the vitamins we need, they must rely completely upon outside sources for an adequate supply of minerals."6,

I still see many Ppl continue to mix up saturated fats with non-nutrients trans fats and lipid hydroperoxide generated by commericial vegetable oil. You got to thank the popular but clueless press for propagating the wrong information. It would many vegetarian guru happy but at the expense of public health.

Saturated fat and cancer are said to be closely linked. Yet people in traditional societies eat lots of saturated fats but they never developed cancer. The real problem is trans fats.

Eidon Minerals - Total Nutrition - Does Saturated Fat Clogs Arteries?

The fatty acids found in artery clogs are mostly unsaturated (74%) of which 41% are polyunsaturated. (Lancet 1994 344:1195)

Saturated fats have traditionally been used for thousands of years – lard in China, butter in Europe, ghee in Northern India, coconut and palm oil in the tropics. The people of Okinawa, famed for their good health and longevity, cook mainly with pork lard!

Eat a wide variety of natural organic food, avoid deep frying of food, get sun exposure and exercise in moderation and we shall live long like the goold ol OKinawan.