Our blog

Living Without Eating Meat

What if you had to live without eating meat. Could you? Have you ever tried? Many people would say no immediately to the question, but give it some thought. You’ll be surprised that you probably could. There are so many health benefits when it comes to a vegetarian diet.

• Vegetarian diets are cholesterol free and therefore and help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Vegetarian diets have also been studied and found to reduce some cancers( lung and breast),
• Decrease obesity
• Help with diabetes (especially diabetes type 2) 
• Improve renal (kidney) function

The main reason for the health benefits is that meat contains saturated fat which increase the risk of developing those health issues. Now, becoming a vegetarian is not something you can do without doing proper research on the different types of vegetarians. First you must decided if you’re going to eat ANYanimal containing foods. 

Types of Vegetarians:

1. Lacto vegetarians- eat foods that contain dairy products . 
2. Total vegetarians- eat only plant food. They do not eat any animal foods, including fish, eggs, dairy products, and honey.
3. Vegans- not only omit all animal products from their diets, but they also eliminate them from the rest of their life. Vegans use nothing from animals, such as leather, wool, and silk. 
4. Lacto- ovo- vegetarians- eat both eggs and dairy products. 
5. Pesco vegetarians- include fish into their diets.
6. Pollo vegetarians- eat poultry, such as chicken, turkey, and duck

You have to select a vegetarian diet plan that fit your lifestyle and consume foods that you really like eating. Start slow if you’re considering becoming a vegetarian. Instead of eating the usual meat you eat with a certain meal try it with a meat substitute (tofu or tempeh) or no meat at all. Cut down on the amount of eat you eat per week. Try a meal with all veggies, but I would really encourage you to not start without first weaning your self from meat. Cutting cold turkey, will be very hard if you’re not use to discipline when it comes to eating.

If you’re considering trying a vegetarian diet there are some important things to remember when balancing your meals. Protein normally comes from meat and is needed for growth, immune functions and muscle mass. Since you’re not eating meat you still need the protein in your diet. Tofu, tempeh, quinoa, seitan,black beans,chick peas, kidney beans, lentils,soybeans all have at least 15 grams of protein. Here’s a simple equation to ensure that you are getting enough protein daily.

Your body weight in kilograms (to get kilograms divided your wt in pounds by 2.2) X 0.8= grams of protein per day.  For example 120/2.2= 54.5 X 0.8= 43 grams per day

One ounce of meat contains at least 7 grams of protein per ounce. If you’re eating at least 3 oz of meat with each meal, you’re meeting your daily requirement of protein in just 2 meals; based on a 120 pounds. (7×3=21×2=42). So as you can see meat supplies alot of protein. Reading the nutritional facts is very important when becoming a vegetarian to make sure you get enough protein in your diet.

After eliminating meat from my diet for the last month I have really considered making it a permanent life change….maybe. But if this is something that you are seriously thinking about I wish you all the success and health benefits that being a vegetarian can bring.

Happy Eating…