Wanting a vegetarian lifestyle; how should I start it off?

Years gone by and I feel like my health is very important to me. I've always wanted a vegetarian diet and have been longing to start with one. The thing that is holding me back is not knowing how I should start off. Do I slowly cut off on meat and soon stop, or do I completely cut off on meat right then?

Thats actually how i became a vegetarian. I didn't buy much meat at the grocery store (i'm in college and live away from home). So after not going home for an extended period of time, when i finally did eat meat it made me sick to my stomach. However, i'm more of a flexitarian because i make exceptions for fish (occasionally). Tofu and Seitan (wheat gluten) are good meat substitutes, and can be cooked just like meat. Do what you feel is best...can you cut it out cold turkey? if so, then go for it. If not, wean away from it. PETA also has a vegetarian starter kit that you can find at http://goveg.com/order.asp Good luck!

My husband and I went vegan in July. We actually made an event out of it (this allowed us to eat the foods we had in the house but were going to give up rather than throw them away). It also allowed us to make sure we had a last slice of pizza or ice cream cone... And I had the opportunity to peruse a few cookbooks, so I'd have some idea what I was going to cook.

We set a date two weeks out. When 7/7/7 came around, we stopped eating meat. We've had a few glitches along the way, but I would highly recommend this method. If you allow yourself to ease into it, you'll always have the temptation. We knew we "couldn't" eat those things anymore.

Ultimately, it depends on your personality. Do you crave things you "can't" have to the point where you'll binge at some point, or are you someone who can simply shut off whatever

You can just stop eating it right away- the most important thing is that you supplement the meat with alternatives like "fake meat", tofu and beans and lentils- you might also want to buy a good daily vitamin to take every morning- I think you'll find that it's not as hard as you think to be a vegetarian- There's a "fake meat" out there now for just about everything! Next time you go food shopping check out the freezer in the natural foods section, read labels and I would stock up on veggie bullion- (if you like gravy on everything like I do, to do so just melt some butter, add some flour, cook a little and add the veggie broth- then I add gravy master yumm) Good luck and stick with it! Not only are you doing your body a favor, but you are also helping the environment in a huge way!

don't stop eating meat products all at once, slowly ween yourself off of them! If you do it all at once, then it is likely that you will give up on the vegetarian life style! get enough protein and avoid products with geltin, canola oil, and animal fats and juices! get plenty of grain, fruits, and vegetables!

I stoped eating red meat and only ate chicken and turkey and seafood for many months. Once you feel like you want more you can cut back to only seafood and eventually no meat at all. Of course, if you dont crave it then just throw out all the meat in your fridge and dont eat any more =)