Former vegetarians? Did you feel better after eating meat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there is food chain. However, the animals on your dinner plate are not adults; chickens live a life of hell, living in cramped quarters, without sunlight, having their beaks sliced off, pigs are stuffed into crates, living in their own filth, all have been given growth hormones and are routinely slaughtered at 6 months of age. If you think animals who eat other animals cause suffering, you are wrong. Farm animals suffer more than any other, their existence is pathetic, inhumane, full of pain. I dare you to watch Earthlings, Cowspiracy, Food, Inc.

It is okay. It really is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there is food chain. However, the animals on your dinner plate are not adults; chickens live a life of hell, living in cramped quarters, without sunlight, having their beaks sliced off, pigs are stuffed into crates, living in their own filth, all have been given growth hormones and are routinely slaughtered at 6 months of age. If you think animals who eat other animals cause suffering, you are wrong. Farm animals suffer more than any other, their existence is pathetic, inhumane, full of pain. I dare you to watch Earthlings, Cowspiracy, Food, Inc.

Yes, this is awful. And few omnivores eat 100% humanely raised and slaughtered animals. But it's possible.

And was this the point of the thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you transition to ethically-farmed meat only (pasture only, humane death, treatment generally going beyond the no hormone, no antibiotic, grass-fed standards that are mostly for our own benefit)? Whole Foods carries a few brands like Nyman Farms meats, although their supply isn't reliable, I think because they want to sell their in-house brand. Giant sells Nellie's Nest eggs from truly free-range chickens.

There is no such thing as a humane treatment or death; that's just another lie from the food industry. Watch Food, Inc. on Pivot cable channel, or it might be on Netflix.

Op, you need more protein. Peanut butter, beans, some vegetables all have protein. I'm a vegan and feel great, even though I have RA. I've been a vegetarian for 24 years and vegan for 2, also gave up meat for emotional reasons. I actually felt better once I gave up dairy, and no longer suffer from constipation or feel bloated.

It's sadly the exception and not the rule these days, but yes, there is. You do need to do your legwork to find a family farm, but hey are most definitely out there with their pastured cattle, free ranging chickens, and hogs that get turned loose in the pasture. Further, some of the smaller slaughterhouses will let you watch. I'd give you the name of the farm I'm talking about, but it's in Minnesota. OP, where are you? There are some people who do seem to need animal sourced protein. You might be an occasional meat eater, but I have heard that after so many years the digestive enzymes needed to digest meat to are in short supply. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I've been a vegetarian for 22 years, with the exception of two years somewhere towards the beginning. I had no physical issues with resuming meat consumption but I didn't feel better. I also didn't feel better when I went back to being a vegetarian. I know some former vegans/vegetarians who had to eat meat for health reasons and they felt much better.

I'm raising my kids as vegetarians and interestingly, my daughter accidentally had a bite of chicken yesterday and felt sick all day and even this morning. Their iron levels are good and they don't take iron supplements so I'm pleased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you transition to ethically-farmed meat only (pasture only, humane death, treatment generally going beyond the no hormone, no antibiotic, grass-fed standards that are mostly for our own benefit)? Whole Foods carries a few brands like Nyman Farms meats, although their supply isn't reliable, I think because they want to sell their in-house brand. Giant sells Nellie's Nest eggs from truly free-range chickens.

Humane death?

No matter what you eat you are killing life to sustain yours.

Yes, that is what us animals at the top of the food chain do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there is food chain. However, the animals on your dinner plate are not adults; chickens live a life of hell, living in cramped quarters, without sunlight, having their beaks sliced off, pigs are stuffed into crates, living in their own filth, all have been given growth hormones and are routinely slaughtered at 6 months of age. If you think animals who eat other animals cause suffering, you are wrong. Farm animals suffer more than any other, their existence is pathetic, inhumane, full of pain. I dare you to watch Earthlings, Cowspiracy, Food, Inc.

There are options other than industrially raised farm animals, but never mind facts.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who is vegetarian and also pregnant. She was feeling so weak - low energy, just not right at all. (Yes, she was taking all kinds of vitamin supplements, eating vegetarian sources of protein, etc.). She finally had some chicken with her dinner and said she had never felt so good before. She now eats chicken regularly and feels like a new woman. I'm just happy she listened to her body, especially since she's pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I quit being vegetarian partially for health reasons. I have strength trained for years, and felt miserable the entire time I was a vegetarian. I spent the entire two years experimenting with ways to get enough protein sources and found that they either didn't address the issue or sort of did but made me bloated and caused me to gain weight quickly. This was when there weren't great whey protein isolate products on the market. It is possible that these days if you are veggie and not vegan it would be easier to make it work (and I do know vegetarian body builders, it just didn't at all work for me).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been a vegetarian for about ten years, mostly for ethical reasons. I've lately begun having dreams about meat and for years I've felt tired and weak and my hair and nails are awful. I attributed it to having young kids and working full-time, but now that the kids are 8 and 10, that's no longer an excuse that makes sense. I'm seriously considering reintroducing meat and seeing how I feel. I have had my iron levels checked and they are low, but not anemic low.

Has anyone gone back to meat? How did you feel? How did you reintroduce it? How did you deal with the guilt and/or change in identity?

Go to a hematologist and really have them check your iron saturation and how the values relate to one another. I thought my iron was "low", it turned out I had pernicious anemia and needed bags of iron. Your blood is made up of iron, protein, B12, and folic acid. Also, they will check all these components - plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in relation to one another down to the size of the cells. It's not just a matter of the primary care dr looking at values on paper and saying you are okay because the number looks good.

[Anonymous]

I was vegan for years, then I got pregnant. All I wanted the second trimester (once I could eat something again) was a hot sub from Quizno's. I have NO idea why, but that's what I wanted, and I caved. Nothing happened.

I noticed more of a difference adding dairy back in than meat. We still don't eat a lot of meat, beef once every two weeks, chicken once a week and fish twice a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there is food chain. However, the animals on your dinner plate are not adults; chickens live a life of hell, living in cramped quarters, without sunlight, having their beaks sliced off, pigs are stuffed into crates, living in their own filth, all have been given growth hormones and are routinely slaughtered at 6 months of age. If you think animals who eat other animals cause suffering, you are wrong. Farm animals suffer more than any other, their existence is pathetic, inhumane, full of pain. I dare you to watch Earthlings, Cowspiracy, Food, Inc.

Which is why many of us do not eat CAFO meat, but still eat meat from local sustainable small farms.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks everyone for the input! I should say that I'm well-read on the topic and have seen all the documentaries on the subject. I personally feel strongly against how we treat the animals we raise for food, and if I did return to meat, it would not be to any old meat, but definitely humanely raised meat (though I still have a personal issue with killing animals for food, and that's what I'm struggling with in returning even if they are humanely raised). I recognize that others may feel differently and hopefully we won't get into that on this thread

I should add that I had my iron (and other levels) checked as part of a physical and an appointment with my doctor on exactly this topic, and all my levels turned out normal (iron and Vitamin D on the low side of normal, but normal). I do eat eggs and dairy, and feel like I get lots of protein.

Obviously it could be something else going on, but with the recurrent meat dreams (which are kind of hilarious actually), I'm just wondering if my body is trying to tell me something.

Would love to hear from more former vegetarians about the transition, or current vegetarians who didn't feel well and solved it with other non-meat diet changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been a vegetarian for about ten years, mostly for ethical reasons. I've lately begun having dreams about meat and for years I've felt tired and weak and my hair and nails are awful. I attributed it to having young kids and working full-time, but now that the kids are 8 and 10, that's no longer an excuse that makes sense. I'm seriously considering reintroducing meat and seeing how I feel. I have had my iron levels checked and they are low, but not anemic low.

Has anyone gone back to meat? How did you feel? How did you reintroduce it? How did you deal with the guilt and/or change in identity?

Go to a hematologist and really have them check your iron saturation and how the values relate to one another. I thought my iron was "low", it turned out I had pernicious anemia and needed bags of iron. Your blood is made up of iron, protein, B12, and folic acid. Also, they will check all these components - plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in relation to one another down to the size of the cells. It's not just a matter of the primary care dr looking at values on paper and saying you are okay because the number looks good.

Thanks for this - good ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks everyone for the input! I should say that I'm well-read on the topic and have seen all the documentaries on the subject. I personally feel strongly against how we treat the animals we raise for food, and if I did return to meat, it would not be to any old meat, but definitely humanely raised meat (though I still have a personal issue with killing animals for food, and that's what I'm struggling with in returning even if they are humanely raised). I recognize that others may feel differently and hopefully we won't get into that on this thread

I should add that I had my iron (and other levels) checked as part of a physical and an appointment with my doctor on exactly this topic, and all my levels turned out normal (iron and Vitamin D on the low side of normal, but normal). I do eat eggs and dairy, and feel like I get lots of protein.

Obviously it could be something else going on, but with the recurrent meat dreams (which are kind of hilarious actually), I'm just wondering if my body is trying to tell me something.

Would love to hear from more former vegetarians about the transition, or current vegetarians who didn't feel well and solved it with other non-meat diet changes.

I was a vegetarian for twelve years. For me, it was the gross factor of factory farms, added antibiotics, and hormones. However, I ate chicken once overseas and I felt like I'd had an energy shot. Our bodies metabolize animal protein and iron differently than we process vegetable and legume protein and iron. For some people, the vegetables, beans, and dairy are sufficient. For me, it wasn't. So I researched the kinds of chicken I would eat and discovered the chicken at Whole Foods, Bell and Evans, and Empire. I now eat a small amount of chicken - like a few ounces or the size of an egg - once a week or so. I much prefer a vegetarian diet, but my body needs animal protein. Your body, or the bodies of many PPs, may be different. In my opinion, it's ok to try a bit and see how it works for you. If it doesn't work, or if you're uncomfortable, you can always resume your vegetarian diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you transition to ethically-farmed meat only (pasture only, humane death, treatment generally going beyond the no hormone, no antibiotic, grass-fed standards that are mostly for our own benefit)? Whole Foods carries a few brands like Nyman Farms meats, although their supply isn't reliable, I think because they want to sell their in-house brand. Giant sells Nellie's Nest eggs from truly free-range chickens.

There is no such thing as a humane treatment or death; that's just another lie from the food industry. Watch Food, Inc. on Pivot cable channel, or it might be on Netflix.

Op, you need more protein. Peanut butter, beans, some vegetables all have protein. I'm a vegan and feel great, even though I have RA. I've been a vegetarian for 24 years and vegan for 2, also gave up meat for emotional reasons. I actually felt better once I gave up dairy, and no longer suffer from constipation or feel bloated.

I'm an omnivore and I don't have RA.

Checkmate omnivores