A lot of people in the world are changing to or considering changing to a vegetarian diet, some for personal reasons and some for moral and environmental reasons. Some people are just confused and want to know more about it before taking a decision, so what is vegetarianism and are there different kinds?

What is Vegetarianism?

Vegetarianism is a kind of diet but not the weight loss kind. People who become vegetarian stop eating animals and that includes all animals, birds and sea creatures too. Sometimes it’s a religious obligation like people of the Hindu faith practise it and sometimes its moral decision where people don’t want to harm any living beings for their consumption. There are also different kinds of vegetarians, some stricter in their diet than others. Some flexitarian vegetarians do also consume eggs and some don’t. There are some vegetarians who also choose to eat fish, believe it or not.

Things to Think about Before Becoming a Vegetarian

Protein Is Important

When people start vegetarian living, they often times start worrying about protein. They worry that if they completely quit on meat, where will they be getting their protein from? Well, the reality is that protein is in almost everything. As long as you have a meal plan, vegetarian recipes are pretty easy to make, you can find some delicious ones here!

No Meat doesn’t mean it’s Healthy

The misconception is that everything that doesn’t have meat in it is healthy but that’s not necessarily true. Cakes, biscuits and sweets are meat free and yet they aren’t healthy either. Yes, eating vegetarian meals may help your body in different ways like improving heart health and digestion but only if the meals are planned in a healthy way.

Eating Out is a Challenge

One of the things that is hard to get used to, is trying to find vegetarian restaurants that offer not just vegetarian food but delicious vegetarian food. Sure, there are tons of easy vegetarian recipes online but who wants to cook at home every day. Once in a while, everyone craves take out or wanting to dine out. Sometimes it’s a dinner out with friends and there are no vegetarian options. That doesn’t mean, it’s time to quit. Luckily these days, because of more and more people going vegan and vegetarian, there are a lot of options for different restaurants. It doesn’t make life any easier but it helps.

Family Conversation

If your family are entirely meat eaters and you will be the first one to be vegetarian, family dinners will start to get really interesting. While some families are understanding, some families especially the older generation who have grown up meat eaters have a different view about vegetarianism. It also becomes difficult when families see these decisions as a phase or a trend.

Meal Planning is Important

The most important thing that you have to keep in mind when thinking about a lifestyle change that is this big is a vegetarian eating plan. It’s very easy to fall off the wagon when there is no meal plan involved. Why? Because we are all humans and we all want life to be easy. Vegetarianism is certainly not easy but it’s definitely not as hard as it looks. If you’re armed with the best vegetarian recipes like the ones you can find here, then you can definitely reach the other side of the mountain!

In the end, the best thing to remember is that you are your only competitor so if sometimes you feel like you can’t do it, it’s okay to slow down and demand less from yourself.