Different people about how they abandoned vegetarianism
AThere more people refuse products animal origin. Some oppose ill-treatment of livestock, others consider such a choice more environmentally friendly, the third such food helps to feel better. But it also happens that, having lived on a vegetarian diet for several years, a person makes a way in the opposite direction - and the reasons can also be very different.
The difficulty with vegetarianism and veganism is not so much that you need to abandon meat or animal products, as in the need to maintain a balanced and varied diet. Frivolous approach to the issue leads to the fact that people eat very homogeneous and not the most nutritious dishes. Although, of course, anyone can face such a problem, not just a vegetarian.
It is important to think about essential nutrients in order to avoid possible health problems: vegetarians should watch enough iron (women are thought to have more men in this situation) and vitamin B12, and vegans also need to pay attention to calcium. Pregnant women have to be especially attentive: in addition to B12 and iron, they need to maintain vitamin D levels.
We talked with different people about why they started eating meat again and how they felt - then and now.
Interview: Alina Kolenchenko
Alexandra
33 years
9 years was a vegetarian
From early childhood I knew that I would one day become a vegetarian. Perhaps because parents were fond of separate meals, Paul Bragg’s books and product compatibility tables were kept at home (scientists today think that our body is able to digest and absorb any combination of products, the only exception is individual intolerance. - Note ed.). I was in the subject line, but no one inclined me to refuse meat.
Then there were the hungry nineties, when there was a minimum of meat in the diet, because it was expensive. My youth was completely “meaty” and well-fed, and at twenty-three, I at one moment stopped eating meat, simply because I understood: the time had come. It is difficult to name a specific reason: children's food habits, information drawn from spiritual and esoteric literature, the subjective feeling of meat as "heavy" food from the point of view of "energy" and physiology, and a sudden understanding that I no longer need meat.
I was an ovoko-and lacto-vegetarian, that is, I ate dairy products and eggs. She rarely ate fish (canned fish a couple of times a year in hikes). She felt good at that, for a couple of months after giving up meat she dropped a few kilograms. I have always had a sports figure, but here I am, as they say, “dried up” - my muscles and muscles showed up (there is evidence that a vegetarian diet actually contributes to a greater weight loss than other diets. - Note ed.). In the period of vegetarianism, I could ride a thirty-kilometer bike in the evening, swam in the pool for a half-kilometer in forty-five minutes, and could pull myself up ten times. Dieting was easy, everything was very natural: I did not want meat, I cooked vegetarian dishes and the menu was varied.
A couple of years ago I moved to another city - it was a very difficult period, a complete reboot. I realized that if I didn’t start changing, then everything could end in tears. Over the year, I changed the scope of activities, interests, beliefs, daily routine, appearance, name and eating habits. The diet was modified by itself, very easily and naturally. Now, two years later, I still eat animal meat without fanaticism - I didn’t reconsider my views. Last year, I discovered many new dishes, first tried shurpa, khinkali and shawarma - and all this turned out to be very tasty.
I do not regret. I still think that when the refusal of meat occurs as a result of internal transformation is a natural process. A bit surprising militant vegetarians, as well as orthodox meat eaters.
Alina
22 OF THE YEAR
3 years was a vegetarian
Somehow grandmother and grandfather brought a pig, whom I adored to feed and stroke. But once I saw the severed head of my friend in the snow in the garden. Since then, I have stopped eating pork forever, but I came to conscious vegetarianism much later. Once I decided to endure Lent before Easter, and then was surprised to find that I really did not want to return to meat and sweet rolls again. I felt as light and free as ever, I was awakened with energy and an incredible surge of strength - I decided that this was all due to the refusal of meat.
Since then, I began to avoid meat dishes, although I did not call myself a vegetarian — for example, I could eat a slice of pizza for the company in order not to offend a friend who happily ordered it to both of us. I became a “ideological” vegetarian a couple of years later, when I happened to be on the farm of a large meat producer: bull-calves were grazing on a meadow, and a restaurant was located a hundred meters away, where cutlets were fried from these bulls. I was shocked. I began to dig, read and saw enough that since then I began to eat only vegetables - every slice of cheese or a piece of turkey began to cause a strong feeling of guilt. I was hurt by the appearance of a steak or a burger advertisement, while at a lunch in a cafeteria I watched with disgust as people eat cutlets soaked in pain and fear of animals that did not want to die (the stress that animals experience before dying can actually affect meat - however, Different animals may have different effects - therefore, meat production and slaughter of animals tend to be more ethical. Note ed.).
It was not easy to be a vegetarian - for example, on a long trip to Italy I could not dine at any restaurant. Due to congenital chronic problems with the gastrointestinal tract, my list of permitted foods was even shorter than the average vegetarian: I cannot eat nuts, berries, mushrooms, sour vegetables and fruits, so basically I lived on boiled potatoes, carrots and beets. It seemed to me that being a vegetarian, I was doing the right thing - in relation to myself and to the world. But after two years of such a diet, my skin and hair condition worsened dramatically, and strange abdominal pains began to bother me. I physically could not get out of bed in the morning, going to the nearest store seemed to be the conquest of Everest. When I finally reached the hospital, it turned out that I was on the verge of cachexia (exhaustion of the body. - Note ed.), while earning serious problems with the pancreas.
To restore the doctors advised to start eating meat, eggs and cottage cheese. It was not easy to do this: first, my body simply forgotten how to take such food, and secondly, every swallowed piece of non-vegetarian food was accompanied by feelings of guilt and thought that I had betrayed the principles. During the meal I felt panic, I could only overcome it with the help of psychotherapists. I accepted that for normal well-being a couple of times a week I need to eat some chicken, turkey, cottage cheese and favorite cheese.
I think health is still more valuable than principles, and it is possible to positively influence the world in other ways. It is not known that it is more ethical: to buy home-made cottage cheese and eggs or exotic fruits and soy cheese, whose carbon footprint stretches across the globe. I know that there is already artificial meat, and I look forward to when it becomes widely available. It is probably not so difficult to be a vegetarian in a warm country by the sea, but in Russian realities you have to either stick to a very limited menu or lower a lot of money to buy good fish and fresh vegetables out of season.
Lada
21 years old
3 months practiced raw foods
I had problems with the kidneys and the reproductive system, which troubled me greatly and prevented me from living, and the medicines prescribed by doctors did not help. From this I was very hard psychologically. I got a post on VKontakte about the “magical” effects of fasting and I decided to try it out - in the end I spent without food, boiled at forty-two (there is no convincing evidence that fasting can help in the treatment of any diseases, no. - Note ed.). According to the plan, after the hunger strike, it was necessary to do raw food eating for a month and only then gradually return to the thermally processed food. I decided that since I had “cleansed” my body so well, I would no longer return to meat (body cleansing or detoxification is not required without special indications.) Note ed.). Besides, I had previously thought that I would eat the dead animals. In the end, I decided to become a vegan.
The problem was that sticking to veganism, and even less raw food, I could not get enough. Ela basins, I felt that the stomach was full to capacity, and the fierce hunger still remained. After a few months, I realized that I was about to bear it - even at night I dreamed of food. I tried different foods, but in the end I came to the conclusion that nothing from a vegan diet gives me a saturation. Therefore, I began to eat meat and thermally processed food again - and the feeling of eternal hunger left me.
I positively evaluate this experiment: pain in the kidneys and the reproductive system passed away and has not returned since (research shows that vegetarian and vegan food is actually associated with a lower risk of certain diseases, but it’s only a correlation, not a clear cause). investigative connection. - Note ed.). I hope that someday very smoothly, competently, calmly, without disruption, and the RPP will finally switch to veganism and will feel great.
Kristina
18 years
2 years was a vegetarian
At fourteen, I watched the film “Earthlings”, where they showed sad eyes of animals, slaughter and a sea of blood (a documentary film that compared people’s treatment of animals with the genocide of Jews in Nazi Germany; according to the authors, by going to veganism, you can stop the suffering of animals. - Note ed.). It became ugly that all this then turns on my plate. It seemed to me that if I stopped eating meat, it would change something: I refused, someone else would produce less meat! In the end, I stopped eating beef, pork, chicken and seafood, but left the cottage cheese and cheese.
I live in the Far East, where there are few vegetarian products. Only recently, vegan shops and cafes and falafel shawarma began to appear here - albeit significantly more expensive than in the capital. But five years ago, this was not the case. I ate what was necessary and because of this I became much stouter: in spite of all the efforts, it was difficult to eat a balanced diet. Although such a lifestyle was not for me flour. I did not incline anyone to my side and calmly reacted if someone had eaten meat with me. But it was precisely because of such a diet that I soon completely stopped communicating with people - I simply did not have enough strength. I lost interest in anything at all, I was constantly depressed. In addition, the parents with whom I lived then were categorically against such a lifestyle, which complicated the situation.
Once I just fell for a chicken. It sounds ridiculous: I didn’t even want her, but suddenly I took it for myself and overeat. It was very embarrassing, but the thought flashed that it was time to end up with vegetarianism. I could not return right away: I was nauseous, my body could hardly digest everything that I lost the habit of. When I ate meat, I constantly felt guilty, pride did not allow it to be done for all. But I myself most strongly condemned myself: I thought I betrayed myself and my convictions. Now I can soberly evaluate this experience and am glad that I chose myself, and not the idea that I save animals. I again had the strength to communicate with people and study, although chronic fatigue did not pass.
Vegetarianism is very difficult to practice when you live there, where winter is hard, cold and lasts six months - but for some reason they don’t talk about it in any film. I want to be healthy and energetic - unfortunately, with a vegetarian lifestyle I did not do this well.
Maksim
28 years
4 years was vegan
In adolescence, I was fond of philosophy and esoteric, which influenced my decision to completely abandon animal products. I began quite radically: I ate only cereals and vegetables, ate fruit, drank herbal teas (a balanced vegetarian diet implies proteins, fats and carbohydrates obtained from a variety of foods. - Note ed.). Plus, I always strictly measured the portion size - it should have been placed in a container that served me as a reference. Needless to say, I did not feel well, but instead of the expected enlightenment I had a feeling of utter apathy.
I varied my diet a little, began to allow myself vegan sweets, bread and falafel. Cooking the "right" dishes took a lot of time, and the monotony was depressing. Because of this way of life, I began to get out less often: friends did not understand and were offended when I refused to share food with them, and in cafes and restaurants there were practically no dishes that I could afford. At work and at the institute, they began to perceive me as a "strange guy."
I stopped being a vegan in an absolutely prosaic way: somehow, friends jokingly suggested that I eat a burger with them, and I took it and agreed, causing a general shock. I do not understand how it happened, but I was not tormented by remorse. I realized that the philosophical principles that drove me simply became obsolete and it’s time to end with veganism. I started eating meat again, gained weight. Having tried to go in for sports, I realized that my health was perceptibly tarnished - later this was confirmed by the doctors who discovered my problems with the kidneys and pancreas. But in general, I do not regret, veganism was a conscious choice, as was the decision to return to animal products. I think someday I will again give up meat, but at the same time I will closely monitor my health.
Lena
22
6 years vegetarianism
I came to vegetarianism in high school. One day, my mother and I went to the supermarket for groceries, where there were aquariums with live fish. I saw the saleswoman catch one and wrap it in a bag. I went to my mother and said that I would no longer eat fish. The following month, I read everything about vegetarianism that I could, but there was little information.
At first, as I planned, I stopped eating fish and then meat. Dairy products did not exclude, but then month after year steadily veganila for the sake of interest. At that moment it was important for me to find myself, and vegetarianism helped to achieve this goal. I felt good, I donated blood every six months, and never had any abnormalities.
I stopped being a vegetarian as unexpectedly as I started. When I was nineteen, I went to the hospital because of ear problems. Meals there were standard: steamed cutlets, meat broths. The first day I ate what I brought with me, and on the second I asked myself: “Why am I not eating meat now? What moves me?” And I realized that vegetarianism was just a habit with me from school. Because of this awareness, I passed on to normal nutrition absolutely calmly, without guilt and regrets. There were a lot of ironic comments from familiar meat eaters ("But what about nature? And what about animals?") - although during the period of vegetarianism I did not read anybody's notations.
I think it was a positive experience. I was able to expand the diet, taught my parents and myself to eat vegetables regularly and learned a lot of cool recipes. It would probably be easier if there were more specialized stores then. I think about returning to vegetarianism, but I plan to approach it more consciously and first understand why I need it and what I want to achieve with it.
Pauline
22
6 years was a vegetarian
At the beginning of the tenth grade I was fond of various esoteric and eastern teachings. Periodically I came across references to the harm of meat to our body, mind and spirit, as well as the ethical side of its consumption (today it is considered safe to consume an average of not more than 70 grams of red meat per day. The processed red meat, such as sausage, is associated with an increased risk -vascular diseases, colorectal cancer, type II diabetes mellitus, stroke and early death. - Note ed.).
I did not associate myself with these beliefs until a series of fatal accidents occurred: my favorite animal had an injury, I saw its meat, and then it died. My appetite was completely gone, and when a week later I watched the film “Earthlings”, I finally became convinced that I wanted to give up meat. Then there were many years of various teachings, years of veganism and a radical view of meat, months of raw food and renunciation of all worldly things.
Six years later, I really wanted to "ground" and finally get to know the world through science and dry facts. I decided to try the meat again - but for this it was necessary to reject past beliefs. Once, acquaintances who did not know about my lifestyle offered to eat chicken. I had a very difficult period, it was so bad for me that I simply could not find the strength to refuse. I accepted that a new stage had come in my life, and I began to return to the forgotten taste sensations. Sometimes I felt guilty, especially against my vegan friends, but then it became easier to relate to this. I am convinced that vegetarianism is great, but now I don’t feel strong enough to return to it, largely due to the fact that I’m in a relationship with a man who doesn’t allow him to think about it. If I have a child, I will let him make the choice whether there are animals or not.
Evelina
29 years
10 years was a vegetarian
Мой путь к вегетарианству начался около пятнадцати лет назад, когда я впервые всерьёз начала задумываться об этичном обращении с животными. Then, at fifteen, I refused meat semi-finished products, sausages and sausages. Three years later, gradually began to exclude from the diet of meat - first beef and pork, and then poultry, by the age of twenty leaving fish, seafood, milk and eggs in the diet. I was against only the killing of animals, and not livestock farms as a whole, so I did not intend to refuse milk or eggs. Never in my life had it occurred to me to replace meat with soy products, I simply did not eat it, and did not experience any problems - neither with the desire to try it, nor with health.
However, my entire path of vegetarianism was built more on instinct than on science - I did, how I felt and how my body demanded. When I learned about pregnancy, I returned to meat products so that the child did not experience nutritional deficiencies, grow healthy and strong, and could eventually make his own choice (it is believed that during pregnancy you can stick to vegetarian and vegan food, variety of diet and adequate levels of vitamin B12 and iron. - Note ed.). Now my second child is growing up, and I increasingly think about returning to vegetarianism - for me it was an easy and extremely positive (if not to take into account the often arrogant attitude of others) experience.
PHOTO:Urbanoutfitters