1. Know WHY you are stopping - Affirm to yourself the many
benefits of becoming vegetarian and any other reason you have
for converting so that this is foremost in your mind. The great
teacher Dr Malachi York once said 'Do without doing and
everything gets done', so do it in your mind first and then the
physical acts will be simple as it has already been done. When
we are faced with something that is hard to do, we can always
come up with the most excuses as to why we can't do it, in this
way we will fail before we have even begun.
2. Plan when to stop - Failing to plan is planning to fail. It
is helpful to set a date to stop, try a weekend when you can
spend some time cooking, or maybe the start of the week so you
can use the weekend to prepare.
3. Stock up to stop - Once you have your stopping date decided,
work out the vegetarian foods you like and stock up on them.
This can be quite an exciting time, you can get some wonderful
exotic recipes that you have never tried before. Use some
ingredients that you wouldn't normally use, the more variety you
have the better. I have found that a lot of meat eaters are not
that adventurous with their diet, if this is you, now is the
time to live a little.
4. Prepare to stop - Have a few days prior to stopping where you
wean yourself off meat. This can be done effectively with meat
substitutes, which may form a large potion of your new diet if
you miss the taste or texture of meat. Try limiting you meat
intake to once a day a few day before stopping, replacing the
meat with the substitutes, so that your body gets used to it
gradually. Don't however, use this as an excuse to keep eating
meat, 7 - 10 day is the most you should need once you mentally
prepare yourself to stop.
5. Stop - Hooraay!!! Congratulations!!! Reap the benefits and
rewards of the vegetarian lifestyle.
If you are concerned about missing out of nutrients by giving up
meat, don't be:
* You can get your protein from a combination of whole grain
brown rice & lentils, tofu, other meat substitutes and quinoa
has an excellent source of protein, if you still eat dairy, you
can get protein from eggs also. * Vitamin B12 can be taken from
Kelp Powdered seaweed, spinach or wheatgrem * Essential fatty
acids can be found in ground flax or hemp seed, sesame and
pumpkin seeds or supplemented with fish oils if you don't mind.
About the author:
Julian Hall of Davidel - The
Natural Health Care Company -
providers of
herbal
medicine, herbalife and other
natural health products
