How to Become a Vegetarian?
You've probably seen lots of tips on the Internet teaching you how to become a vegetarian, however, many of them don't take you through the exact course. Here I'll show you the exact steps to eliminate all kinds of animal meat from your diet completely for good. You won't even crave for them later on because you've successfully transformed from a meat-eater to a full vegetarian.
Since you're seeking help to becoming a vegetarian, I'm assuming that you already know the health benefits of becoming vegetarian.
Surprisingly, even those with the strongest will-power failed to transition themselves to vegetarianism. So, we're not going to use a lot of will-power to begin with. By the way, you already possess the minimal will-power from the fact that you're reading this page right now, so we'll just make use of that little determination and help you successfully become a vegetarian long-term.
Becoming a vegetarian doesn't happen overnight, and it should never be attempted overnight. Like smoking, 100% smokers cannot quit smoking overnight for long. So, the key lies in gradual progression. But during the process of this progression, what should you do?
Becoming Vegetarian Step #1 - Which Meat do You Love Most?
Now make a list of the meat that you love to eat in descending order - from the one you love most to the one you love least. Let's say you've generated a list like this:
- Chicken
- Beef
- Fish
- Oyster
- Mutton
- Pork
Ok, now we see that pork is the one you least like it. Why? Probably because they're the most contaminated animal in the world for they eat anything in sight, even swill. Or you simply don't really like their snouts or whatsoever. Alright, so tell yourself, you're going to start with eliminating pork from your diet from today onwards.
It's easy doing like this because your determination to becoming a vegetarian can overcome the craving without breaking a sweat. As you move up the list, you'll realize you need stronger power to subdue the cravings. But that's where this technique comes into work.
When you're taking steps to eliminating the meat one by one above the ladder, you're unknowingly building up your will-power. True, though the meat at the topmost list will become more challenging, by then you should have sufficient drive to ride above the cravings and remove them completely from your life forever.
Becoming Vegetarian Step #2 - Set a Realistic Time Frame
When you're taking progressive steps towards becoming a vegetarian, how much time do you need?
Taking the example in step #1, since pork is the meat you love least and you can easily remove it out of your life, you probably only need one week to achieve that. If you can do it in 3 days, why not?
As you climb up the ladder, your second most love meat - beef, you may need to take one month to do away with. How do you do that? For example, normally you take beef every day, so now, take it 6 days and leave one day out, giving the ox or cow a break, but which in fact, you're giving your body a good break since it can deal with the toxins in beef for one day lesser.
Then in that 6 days of your beef intake, instead of having a full plate of it, reduce its portion to 3/4. Replace the remaining quarter with fruits, whole grains and vegetables which are rich in fiber and can make you feel full easily.
Second week, take it 5 days and this time reduce the portion size to half a plate and replace the other half with fresh veggie foods. Once you reach to third week, you can do a slightly drastic reduction to say, take 3 days of beef, with even smaller portion. By the 4th week, you should be able to reduce it to one day of beef. Then end of it, totally take it out of your meal plans.
These are just guidelines. You should exercise your own judgment on how fast or slow you can perform. Some people may only take 3 months to eliminate all meat while others may take up to 2 years to fully becoming vegetarian.
Becoming Vegetarian Step #3 - Breakfast
The previous 2 steps are good for your lunch and dinner. You can in fact start immediately with going vegetarian with breakfast.
Breakfast is the easiest meal to begin with because it's too heavy to stuff your stomach with meat early in the morning. As you already know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and we need lots of quality energy in the morning to help us jumpstart the day, so a healthy breakfast without meat is usually the one people can go with.
If you normally drive in at McDonald's for your breakfast, you should stop doing that and start making your own simple breakfast at home. Breakfast needs not be complicated. Prepare a glass of soymilk or rice milk, then with 3 slices of peanut-buttered bread sandwiching milled flax. A wholesome breakfast that is. You can make a smoothie in the morning - just throw in the fruits and veggies you like and then blend them together. Again, a fiber-rich nutrient-packed breakfast to kickstart your day.
As you may find it the most difficult to eat vegetarian in your lunch because you're out at work, once you've accomplished your vegetarian breakfast, next target is your dinner. Lunch, we'll leave it till the last.
Note: Don't ever think of skipping breakfast as a way to add to your success of going vegetarian. You should never skip breakfast or you can gain weight once you start having your lunch.
Becoming Vegetarian Step #4 - Snack
You need some snacks at certain times to fill you up, and it's also very easy to go vegetarian with snacks. Go buy some mixed grains, nuts and seeds, or dried fruits, and standby them so anytime you feel the itch to snack, reach for them. You can go with apples, pears or other fruits as your snacks too. Vary your snack varieties so you won't get bored with having the same old stuff every time.
Becoming Vegetarian Step #5 - Exercise
Exercise not only helps you sculpt your body shape, but one thing I find it most useful is its stimulation of positive energy. When you feel positive, you won't feel like doing anything unhealthy, especially eating junk food and toxin-laden meat.
Do it at least 3 times a week.
Becoming Vegetarian Step #6 - Make New Vegetarian Friends
Share your experience with and gain some tips from them too. That way, you'll feel more energized to stay on vegetarian for life.
Becoming Vegetarian Step #7 - Make the World a Better Place to Live in
Extend your vegetarian diet to even further horizon by helping to keep the environment eco-friendly. And lend a helping hand to those who wanted to be like you - becoming a vegetarian.
Warning: Once you've become a vegetarian, that doesn't mean you can start leading a healthy life. Make sure you eat more whole foods and cut back or totally eliminate your processed vegetarian food intake, where you can. Or your waistline will expand and start endangering your health.
Strongly Recommended: Easy Veggie Meal Plans for Permanent Vegetarian Lifestyle
