Is it really that hard to be a vegetarian?

I told my friend who has been vegetarian for a year and a half and recently decided to go vegan and i told her about how i was planning on becoming a vegetarian asap but we just don't have the proper supplements in the house at the moment. I mean we hardly have any food in the house (heathy food) at all. She kinda got defensive about how you don't have to have supplements and that vegetarians don't JUST eat salads and stuff like that. But i just wanna be careful since I am doing this on my own. It seems like no one is supporting me. So i wanna know is being vegetarian hard?

If you can cook being a vegetarian is not difficult. I was a confirmed meat eater, enjoyed it all, when I gave up red meat first, then chicken, and fish all within two years.

I have been vegetarian for close to 18 years, and have not taken any supplements, beyond echinacea and flax seed oil when I feel a cold coming on.

I am athletic and have accomplished many things while a vegetarian. I believe my performance has improved.

There are many websites that can help you. And, you will find lots of support here in Yahoo answers.

Just do a search on vegetarian recipes and enjoy. Do not try to do the veggie thing on a prepared meal or junk food diet. Learn to cook.

Maybe your friend just got defensive because she hears about the stereotypical "supplements and only salads" statements? You don't need supplements to be a vegetarian!! It's not hard to be a vegetarian, but it does take willpower. Make sure you're doing this for the right reasons, as well. If you really have no set reason for doing it, no motivation, you're doomed to fail. You're not doing this on your own, there is tons of support on here, and other sources. You can go to the library and get some books to read up on it, and see that it's not something no one else is doing.
It's not hard to be a vegetarian at all, don't worry. Just make sure you eat healthy, and consitently! If you don't have any healthy foods in the house, take a trip by yourself to the store, and go purchase alot of foods. (I would personally suggest that you get Boca Burgers, and other meat substitutes, for a smooth transition!) If you don't have the money to go, than ask your parent, or any other person in the house to go with you, and buy you some food. It's definitely easy to fall into the gap of vegetarians that survive on junkfood, so make sure you take extra precautions to make sure you're eating healthily! Good luck, and I assure you it's easier than you may think.

Well, at first, depending on what kind of environment you live in, it can be hard, but once you get used to it..it gets a lot easier.

I have been a vegetarian for a long time. I eat normal food, just not meat, eggs, and gelatin.

It's not hard at all.
It's completely natural to me : ]

so easy...
read up at websites like www.goveg.com which will let you know which nutritional things you need. I've been vegetarian for about a month now, and I basically went cold turkey. I haven't really made that many changes to the diet I already had. Meat substitutes like Boca Burgers taste basically the same as meat with less calories and more nutrition

Good luck.... i know after becoming a vegetarian that I have felt the benefits. Just do it for a week and you'll realize it's not that bad

oh yeah... and you really don't need any major supplements. Just a regular multivitamin I find is enough for me

its hard in the beginning, people doubted me and poked fun but ive been vegetarian for 2 and a half years and i have come to like many different types of food, now i eat almost every kind of vegetable and i love "healthy" foods, just keep at it, and when people see how committed you are it will get easier just start out small

No, not at all.

depending on the kind of house you grew up in it could be really hard or really easy. If you grew up on all the meats and dairy then yeah it's gonna be really hard. Sometimes finding proper protien supplements can be hard, but if you have good reasons for being a vegetarian then you'll find the will the power.

I think a first time vegan is more likely to struggle than a first time vegetarian at balancing their nutrition, as so many people these days rely on ready meals etc, and those things are full of nasties.

In a way, everyone- from fruitarians to meat eaters- should consider a supplement as part of their diet, especially if they live in the city and have busy lifestyles. Fruit and vegetables are not as nutritious as they once were due to soil quality and polution etc, and lets face it, meat and dairy are full of disgusting things that I wont go into here.

Don't write off supplements. Work out a rough idea of the things you see yourself eating once you go vegetarian, and work out if you may have trouble getting used to eating fruit or fresh herbs (in which case you could take a vitamin c supplement), or perhaps you might not be eating enough dark greens or tofu (consider a calcium supplement). And so on. Then, this way, you can work out how to replace the supplements with actual food in time as you get used to the change.

Visit the vegetarian's societies website and download some of their leaflets, or you can read some stuff here: http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/factsheets/...

nah, it's easy.
Just eat what your body tells you to eat. Don't think about it as depriving yourself of anything. And try to get a good range of different foods.
If you think you feel like 'eating meat', stop and think about it. Is it really meat you're craving, or is it protein? iron? Your body needs certain nutrients, it's your mind that interprets those desires to mean 'steak' or 'chocolate'.
I get really excited about new foods and trying new things.
Vegans don't live on just salads, no one really believes that do they? Though, you shouldn't need supplements or articial vitamins if you eat enough of the right foods. Plenty of leafy greens, nuts and seeds (sesame seeds are great!), some fruit and whole grains. Eat beans and legumes every so often, and tofu if you feel like it.
Above all, enjoy food! And experiment with new flavours and recipes. Avoid highly processed foods, as it will undo all of your healthy eating.

It is not hard at all! I am a vegetarian and I just eat everything I used to eat, except the meat. Instead of the meat, you can eat nuts, peanut butter, ect., which is just as good as 1 serving of meat.

It's hard. You'll fall off the wagon a few times like I did, until you realise the goal is to not so much to cut out meat as it is to CUT BACK on meat.
There is no rule that you have to go cold turkey and cut it out entirely. That would be insane. A vegetarian is not necessarily someone who doesn't eat meat, as much as it is someone that instead LOVES VEGETABLES.
If you can get up in the morning and want to eat a melon or a grapefruit, instead of eggs and toast, and the usual cereal and milk, look me seriously in the eye that this is what you want, and then you can become a vegetarian fairly soon. Otherwise, go slow, and like I said, try to cut back first.

Congrats! :-) Heck no it's not hard! :-) Instead of meat, you can replace it with salads, pasta mixed with anything, sandwiches, meatless burgers, meatless chicken nuggets, different types of pizza, everything! I am a 15 yr. old vegetarian, and my friends ask me the same thing all the time. I always have to cook dinner for myself, and I normally make rice mixed with veggies from the store...they are $.77 a bag at Target...and I make cheese sandwiches, my own pizzas, etc. For lunches at school I bring water, a PB sandwich, rice cakes, edimomi (vegetable), or a fruit bowl. There's so much stuff out there, and it all depends on what you like! For protein, I take a vitamin everyday, eat lots of nuts and PB, and eat the vegetable edimomi, and beans. Good luck! :-)(-: Hope this helps! Also, if you're doing it for the love of animals, I wouldn't eat gelatin...it's animal fat in yogurt, starbursts, skittles, etc.

No it is not hard their are plenty of veggie foods at most supermarkets today. Being a vegetarian will make you feel better inside and out.

i have tried to be a vegetarian be for , when i was like, 11, but my freind showed me the meet your meat video on goveg.com , and, i couldnt eat meat , i have been a vegetarian , for like 3 weeks

Is it hard to be self-righteous all the time?