Cold Turkey - Omnivore to Vegetarian

[Danyelle]

Hi,

Has anyone here changed to a vegetarian diet cold turkey?
I was vegetarian for about a year, but I transitioned into it.
I'm thinking about going back to that type of diet but going cold turkey.
I worry that the sudden change may make me crave meat or something...?
I'd like to hear any experience with cold turkey dietary changes.
Thanks

[cdn2wheeler]

I did it "cold turkey" (or should that be "cold carrot"?) a number of years ago and it wasn't any problem at all. Eventually went back to being an omnivore though for a couple of reasons:

1. I was spending an awful lot of time chopping vegetables... gawd, 45 minutes of chopping almost every day. Who's got that kind of time?; and,
2. I happen to enjoy my carnivorous nature. I don't need a huge slab of steak (well, not every day... maybe once every couple of weeks) to satisfy me. Often some diced chicken in a stir-fry is enough.

[Erin Pavlina]

I went from carnivore to vegetarian cold turkey. Then 9 months later I went from vegetarian to vegan overnight as well.

I still had some cravings but I used NLP techniques for those like imagining **** roaches on my potato skins which was an instant turn off. And I concentrated on enjoying the foods I was still eating.

Also, using substitutes, especially while in transition is often good. Just today I had this vegan turkey thing with wild rice in the middle of it. Gardein is the product. I also have some vegan BBQ beef slathered in bbq sauce in my fridge that I enjoy eating on a burger bun. I really don't miss the gristle and ligaments I used to eat when I ate meat.

After all I can get the same flavor and not kill an animal to do it. So I'm there!

[NotesMaeve]

What brand's the BBQ? Love barbeque, but I'm lazy and preparing tofu or seitan takes too long! I want something I can cram in my hot little mouth right now!

[rrandolph]

I changed to 100% raw vegan diet for 30 days to see how it felt. The first 2 weeks were the hardest. It brought to light so many anchors, beliefs, and habits to the surface.

-I had to train myself to make smaller portions (since I got filled up much faster)
-I had to let go of what others thought of me (they thought I was crazy lol)
-I had to let go of sudden cravings for meat and sweets

I also realized how much I was eating on auto-pilot, and used awareness much more while raw. After cleansing my body of all the bad foods by eating fresh organic fruits, veggies, and nuts, I realized that I could eat very little "superfoods" and get all the nutrients I needed without overburdening my body.

I realized that after most "normal" meals, I would feel tired and need a few hours to recover my strength. Most meals were taking more energy than they were giving. With raw vegan, my food was giving me life energy.

I also had to deal with issues with family. My grandma and mom both give their love through cooking. Growing up, I have associated eating their food with receiving their love. So when I stop eating what they cooked for me, I was rejecting their love (from their perspective). They were good about it though.

After going raw for 30 days, there is no way I could fully give it up, since my body is not full unless I give it some powerful veggies and fruits. So now about 2/3 of my meals are raw vegan.

[Danyelle]

WOW rrandolph - What a drastic change!!!

[Erin Pavlina]

Lightlife: Smart BBQ

This is the bbq stuff I use

[Dbarker]

I quit cold turkey - omnivore to vegan. First few weeks were tougher, but it's been 8 months now and I still crave things once in a great while - pizza and ice cream were two of my favorites. Now I just grab some nuts or an apple and I'm better.

[oakspringer]

I think its easier to transition into it but everyone is different.

I've been a vegetarian for over a year and a half, and I'm a non-strict vegan more or less now.

At first I had meat cravings, but now I can't imagine eating meat.

Its the same with other animal products. Milk upsets my stomach and I don't really enjoy the taste, so I avoid it unless there isn't anything else.

The same with eggs, I can't eat raw eggs anymore, but I will have them occasionally in cookies or baked goods.

But hey you can jump into it cold turkey. I honestly can't imagine going back to a meatarian diet. Too many benefits to being veg and veg food is so widely available now.

[Jennihul]

I found a copy of Fit For Life, II: Living Health on my kitchen table one day. I started it cold turkey because it helped with heartburn. One month later, I had lost 18 lbs and continued on to lose another 60 over eight months. Felt great. Did vegan for eight years.

Jennifer

[bdp]

My wife and I went from omni to vegan cold turkey and it was pretty easy. We never had any significant cravings, although we wanted cheese sometimes (we learned how to make a cheesy sauce). I don't think it should be a hard transition for most people.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

I still had some cravings but I used NLP techniques for those like imagining **** roaches on my potato skins which was an instant turn off.

Aren't potato skins vegan?

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by Keith

Aren't potato skins vegan?

Potato skins -- probably had cheese on them as a topping.

[NotesMaeve]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

Lightlife: Smart BBQ

This is the bbq stuff I use

Thank you!

[Erin Pavlina]

Potato skins (cheese, bacon and sour cream and probably some butter on the potato too). Potato skins at TGIF were the last vegetarian item I had before going vegan (I ordered it with no bacon).

Today I could make a vegan version of potato skins. Hmm... that sounds yum!

[Danyelle]

Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it. I've decided I'm going to be a pansy and transition again instead of going full force cold-turkey.

[smartattractor]

I've heard loads of great things about going for a raw veggie diet - check out this UK website (I'm not affilliated with it in any way btw - just saw it after Shazzie was featured in a magazine..)
Shazzie.com > The raw food diet > Raw Transformation
I have also noticed a huge difference in my energy levels on days when I have salad for lunch versus burger and chips.
Oh to have willpower!!!
:-)