I cracked (and now I kinda hate myself)

Espy

Hello everyone, first time posting here. My friend recommended this board as she said you're all very lovely and nice

My name's Elizabeth, I'm 22, and I'm vegetarian. Kinda. Said friend encouraged me to change my diet after years of me having issues with the meat industry and mostly had a vegetarian style diet by eating Quorn and the like.

So I've been, or was, vegetarian for 2 years and I felt proud of myself. In the past few months I was having bad meat cravings. The smell of cooked meat would drive me mad but I resisted. It went as far as me having dreams about burgers (no joke) but I still said no. A few weeks ago I went to a friend's house party and got terribly drunk(as you do). After the party was over I walked into Dublin city centre with two friends who were going to stay in my place to get something to eat. Unfortunately the only places open at 6am was McDonalds, and as much as I hate McDonalds and the like, I was too hungry to care at this point.

So while eating a hash brown, one friend kept teasing me about my diet, and knew I was cracking up lately over meat cravings. He literally shoved his burger in my face and I ate it. It was a beautiful thing, despite being some sort of Mc Mank Burger. I instantly felt terrible for being so weak, and a few times after that I did eat meat and considered maybe I'll strictly stick with Organic meat.

I am disgusted with myself because I went against my moral ethics, and I hate being a hypocrite. I recently saw that documentary "The Cove" and felt even worse. For the past few hours I've been considering going Vegan as a means to punish myself but our diets are not based on the foundation of guilt and remorse(but god damn, soya milk is awesome).

I want to go back to being vegetarian again, I believe this is who I'm supposed to be. I can't ignore the injustice going on in this world when it comes to animal welfare or even human welfare with the amount of crap and hormones industries pump into meat. I noticed that I've put on an awful load of weight ever since I became vegetarian, and have been awfully lazy with cooking (pasta and bread is easy but so fatty). So I have to eat more fruit and veg, but I fear cracking again.

My friend has been vegetarian for 10+ years and I greatly admire her dedication, but at this point I can imagine it's second nature to her now and cravings don't bother her anymore. Is there any tips you wonderful people can give me when you're having any cravings? I seriously need to work on my will power.

Apip99

Well, I would say. Don't beat yourself up over it. As long as your not going back to meat then don't worry. Every one is weak from time to time. I was at Christmas. Hit the Turkey!!!! Yes it tasted great and yes I was a little miffed at myself. But the last thing I was going to do was get my nickers in a twist about it.

Just carry on as you are and do what makes you happy, and what you feel is right.

And make sure you avoid the bacon sandwich at all costs, that's the point that I've seen vegetarians crack on a regular basis...:D

best of luck.

Thoushaltnot

Wow!

I'd class the smell of meat cooking only a few points above the smell of dog poo baking on the street, during a heatwave.

On the rare occasion I get a craving, it's only ever for fish and I take it as a sign that my diet needs attention & I usually have a fair idea what I may be low on. First instinct with you is to watch your iron and protein intake.

Don't beat yourself up. Look on the positive side. 2 years worth of animals not killed to feed you, 2 years of not ingesting the mank that comes with meat food - hormones, antibiotics, high cholestrol fats, whatever. 2 years of doing your bit for the planet.

Get right back up on the wagon and see how you go. And yeah, your friend was right. The good ship Veg*n Boards (and all who sail upon her) will guide you. Especially after a beers.


***edit*** Are you getting most of your protein from dairy? Just noticed the comment about weight gain.

Thoushaltnot

Oi, Apip - VegiDeli and Quorn both do vege rashers - great in a BLT!

Espy

Haha, thanks guys, I'm just serious to a fault.

Thoushalnot I think you're right; during my two years of vegetarianism I never took any form of vitamins and supplements. Being low on iron etc. must be the reason I go through meat craving phases. Unfortunately I'm not in the best position for money and I find vitamins are awfully expensive. Any recommendations for good affordable vitamins?

Thoushaltnot

Beans.

If you *really must* get vits, don't do multivits. Just a good quality iron (chelated) - eat with fruit. Better still just eat more beans with fresh green leafy veg/citrus fruit. We have a thread going about iron not far away. Unfortunately, you might as well not get vitamins as get a cheap version of them. Just because there's x times your daily requirement of iron in a tablet doesn't mean that any of it is actually bioavailable. Galfer and Spatone are mentioned elsewhere but Solgar are a quality brand.

Here we go;
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055815670

Aisling&M

You're human, forgive yourself. It's okay to do something wrong and try again. You did it, you didn't feel great but you can go back to being vegetarian. Luckilly I've forgotten what meat tastes like but as I'm only very recently vegan I do crave a bit of cheese and butter. I too slipped and had garlic and cheese bread which tasted divine but went against my conscience. Like I said above, I'm human and you are too. I forgave myself and I suggest you forgive yourself too. Onward and upward!

anothernight

Definitely don't beat yourself up over it. If you've held up so long while having friends who try to tempt you, you should be proud of yourself, don't you think?

I agree that you might not be getting enough nutrients if you eat a lot of pasta and bread. Remember the exciting world of pulses! They generally contain quite a lot of protein and iron. And if you're feeling very lazy, nearly everything comes in tins nowadays. Think beans and peas, etc. Or you could make some nice, warm lentil soup in the winter...

I second those Quorn vegetarian rashers =]

Espy

You guys are awesome! I should really post here more often.

Yeah I'll try eating more pulses, and invest in decent vitamins. It's hard finding those Quorn rashers, but strangely enough it seems Tesco have the best range of Vegetarian food, and they even make their own brand.

Thanks for the link, it's very useful

Censorsh!t

I love the smell of meat, and I used eat it quite a bit back in the day.
But i havent touched it (knowingly) since 4 years ago. I do often get tempted, but that's what quorn is for right:p

However, I did feel an awful pang of guilt after eating a milkyway yoghurt and, after reading the ingredients saw it had gelatine in it.:(

Tar.Aldarion

Listen up dahlin', firstly welcome to the forum and secondly as the rest of the great peeps here have said, don't worry about it, we all do things we regret and make mistakes, just keep the chin up and such.
All you can do is live as best you can right? Get your friend to cook for you! hehe


Also love teh smell of meat cookin, nom nom..../delves into quorn :pac:

Censorsh!t wrote: »

However, I did feel an awful pang of guilt after eating a milkyway yoghurt and, after reading the ingredients saw it had gelatine in it.:(

Meh, nothing to worry about, I'm sure we have all or most of us done likewise. I've probably eaten gravy or soup or morelikely jelly beans that weren't veggie...just mark it off the list of things you eat.
Oh I ate tic tacs a lot and they werent veggie, and bulmers...when I found out I stopped, tis no big dealio yo

Getwellsoon

Home cooking really does help with not missing meat. As long as I have a variety of foods, a good lot of spices and variety of flavours, I find I don't really crave meat at all.

Anyway, in my opinion, being a vegan really does not change much in the world. I feel totally powerless, all the time. I feel like I'm not changing a thing. I think what would benefit animals more would be more compassion in world farming. I'd be more likely to campaign for that rather than try force someone to become a vegetarian or a vegan. If you want to eat meat, eat it by all means. Just make sure you know where it comes from. Always buy organic, and from local butchers to support your local farmers instead of huge industries. I think it's a more realistic expectation to advise people to avoid huge corporations that treat animals badly throughout their whole lives, rather than to ask people to stop eating meat altogether. I would be content in my own mind knowing that I was doing my part to try and help curb animal suffering by supporting farmers who gave their livestock a happy life in a field before they died.

Mentalmiss

I have read that if you get more greens in your diet (especially in smoothies and juices) you will get more minerals and not have cravings.