# Vegetarianism doesn't work for me



## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

Even though I read a lot of articles about it and how to replace meat in order not to lack any nutrients.. I ate what I consider enough legumes, whole grains... so that I would have enough iron. I even ate fish and seafood ocasionally. I really payed attention to everything. I even took notes about how much of each nutient I should eat daily. But nothing seems to work.. really.

I don't feel well anymore, I got anemia, I feel so week.. and I started to lose my hair.. which really sucks because my hair is already very thin. 
Maybe it's because my blood type is O.. Those people are supposed to eat a lot of meat, I don't know.. 

So I'm going to switch to "normal" eating before I become bald. It's a pity... Vegetarianism was really my way of life. I didn't want animals to be killed for my food. But what else can I do? I better stop now before having much more serious problems than the hair loss..


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

I don't believe in vegetarianism, not to mention veganism. A bit of everything is just fine. The problems start when you are not having a ballanced diet. But everyone is free to do whatever they want.


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## DeniseAfterAll (Jul 28, 2012)

Seafood is actually very good for hair - especially mussels . Mussels don't actually have any brains , so they're indistinguishable from plants in matters of consciousness .

Zinc , selenium .. vitamin B12 - more than pork and beef .

If you were going bald even while eating a Rich vegetarian diet Plus seafood , then it's definitely not your diet to blame .

Mussels never made any difference for me in terms of mood . I actually feel a lot better now that I've gone fully vegan ... which I'm kind of forced to do because I only have $25 bucks to eat every week . I stir fry frozen vegetables , chinese cabbage .. and noodles . It's simply delicious . I use Marmite whenever I can't afford eggs . It's a World War I diet , really . Don't recommend it - but yeah , it hasn't slowed me down .


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

The daily amount listed on boxes is the minimum amount, the recommended amount is often way higher.

Just take a multimineral/multivitamin


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

I'm blood type O as well, and have been hi-carb/low-fat vegan for about 5 months. 

I actually feel better than ever.

My staples have been high-calorie fruit smoothies and potatoes/sweet potatoes/rice. Blood pressure has dropped to completely normal in that time. I probably eat twice as much as when I was on the standard Western diet. I'm pushing it further as there are health problems I'm trying to remedy. Sorry it isn't working for you.


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## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

CeilingStarer said:


> I'm blood type O as well, and have been hi-carb/low-fat vegan for about 5 months.
> 
> I actually feel better than ever.
> 
> My staples have been high-calorie fruit smoothies and potatoes/sweet potatoes/rice. Blood pressure has dropped to completely normal in that time. I probably eat twice as much as when I was on the standard Western diet. I'm pushing it further as there are health problems I'm trying to remedy. Sorry it isn't working for you.


I'm glad it works for you... I think I could never be on a strict vegan diet. Even if I make really sure I eat just enough of everything and have a balanced vegetarian diet, I feel weak and I feel I miss something. I can't understand why and it's no use creating my own reason why it is so. Now I eat some seafood every other day and I actually feel much better. According to some scientists fish and seafood can't feel pain, so maybe that's gonna be some kind of compromise in my diet.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Our bodies were meant to consume meat so don't omit it. My 12 year old wanted to be a vegetarian but luckily it didn't stick. She went back to enjoying a well balanced diet.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

Nilufar said:


> I'm glad it works for you... I think I could never be on a strict vegan diet. Even if I make really sure I eat just enough of everything and have a balanced vegetarian diet, I feel weak and I feel I miss something. I can't understand why and it's no use creating my own reason why it is so. Now I eat some seafood every other day and I actually feel much better. According to some scientists fish and seafood can't feel pain, so maybe that's gonna be some kind of compromise in my diet.


For me it was about carbing up. Once I started incorporating large amounts of carbohydrate and cooked starch I felt energised and satiated. I think the typical high-fat vegan diet is rubbish.
Dr John McDougall has some good presentations about this on Youtube. You can also see 'Freelee the Banana Girl' on Youtube for inspiration.

Humans are like rats or cockroaches in that we can practically live off of anything. Meat/dairy sustains us, but the consequence seems to be more Western disease. Dr Michael Greger from www.nutritionfacts.org has many good videos on this.

Not promoting anything though, as still experimenting myself.


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## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

nubly said:


> Our bodies were meant to consume meat so don't omit it. My 12 year old wanted to be a vegetarian but luckily it didn't stick. She went back to enjoying a well balanced diet.


Still there are people that have been vegan for decades and they are healthy energic etc... They don't miss any nutrients. I'd like to try someday eating the very same things they do during a couple of weeks to see if the problem is me or my diet..


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## Hikikomori2014 (Sep 8, 2014)

*I am a Vegan.
I don't eat meat, fish or dairy.
I have an insane amount of energy and don't even
need coffee as opposed to 90% of the population.*


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

nubly said:


> Our bodies were meant to consume meat so don't omit it. My 12 year old wanted to be a vegetarian but luckily it didn't stick. She went back to enjoying a well balanced diet.


We can eat everything, well most everything, really.

We're not particularly well adapted for meat, but we're not particularly well adapted for plants either. The advantage of being an omnivore is that it's really versatile and you can generally eat whatever you find.


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## ravagingthemassacred (Aug 2, 2011)

our bodies weren't "meant" to consume anything, except for "everything". we weren't specifically designed to eat one way over the other. we are opportunists scrounging down whatever calories are available, and based on what foods were most available, adapting to these foods over time. some ethnicities will tolerate or not tolerate certain diets based on the length of time the ethnicity evolved "with" a food.
there is no one size fits all, not even within ethnic groups, as everyone is an individual with genetic predispositions and allergies etc. 

experiment and find what makes your body feel best. try not to rule out non-food related ailments before necessarily proclaiming as food toxic to you.

The above is what I've concluded after many cycles of dogmatic food convictions including being 8 months vegan, 3 years vegetarian, 1.5 years paleo, 1.5 years Extremely unhealthy (surviving on donuts, ice cream and pizza), experimenting with raw only (including meats), most of my life eating close to the typical American "balanced" diet, and currently one month eating pescetarian....


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## ravagingthemassacred (Aug 2, 2011)

I think the only "universal truth" with food is that eating clean and whole is appreciated by all bodies. Home grown and raised, wild gathered and hunted, processed as little as possible


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## trivialmind (Feb 10, 2011)

I used to be a strict vegetarian and it's difficult when my family eats out and there's no vegetarian option.
How difficult it was for me then and when I think about meat then and I watched the PETA video I think it's the reason why I can't eat meat, everytime someone mentioned vegetarian I am turned off and I want to be vegetarian, I'm not sure if this is a problem but sometimes I can eat meat fine.

And when I was a vegetarian I feel happier, less depressive, feel healthy because I cook my own food but I know since I was little that I'm anemic I'm now talking vitamins.
But I read in their boards that you can eat some foods which have enough vitamins in it.
and I don't have hair loss problem either.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

trivialmind said:


> I used to be a strict vegetarian and it's difficult when my family eats out and there's no vegetarian option.
> How difficult it was for me then and when I think about meat then and I watched the PETA video I think it's the reason why I can't eat meat, everytime someone mentioned vegetarian I am turned off and I want to be vegetarian, I'm not sure if this is a problem but sometimes I can eat meat fine.
> 
> And when I was a vegetarian I feel happier, less depressive, feel healthy because I cook my own food but I know since I was little that I'm anemic I'm now talking vitamins.
> ...


Cooking your own food from scratch using whole ingredients rather than processed, premade junk or fast food is going to do the trick regardless if you are eating a vegetarian or omnivore diet. Including meat in your diet isn't the same thing as having processed hormone pumped deep fried greased battered chicken contrary to what many vegeterian/vegans believe, especially the forks over knives folk.


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## TooScaredToTry (Sep 21, 2014)

I'd venture to guess that it's unrelated. If managed properly, a vegetarian diet can suit almost any goal, even muscle-building, which most people think you can't.


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## AlexSky (Jun 1, 2011)

You could've tried substituting real meat with veggie meat. You didn't really go into your diet very much.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

Noca said:


> Cooking your own food from scratch using whole ingredients rather than processed, premade junk or fast food is going to do the trick regardless if you are eating a vegetarian or omnivore diet. Including meat in your diet isn't the same thing as having processed hormone pumped deep fried greased battered chicken contrary to what many vegeterian/vegans believe, especially the forks over knives folk.


Although vegan, I agree that a lot of the studies are bias in that way. It always seems to be organic vegan Vs Standard meat-based junkfood diet.

It appears to go both ways though with "vegan" interpreted as literally just no animal products... so a diet of fries and Coke is vegan, and even the 'healthier' interpretation being lots of fat and fake meats.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

AlexSky said:


> You could've tried substituting real meat with veggie meat. You didn't really go into your diet very much.


It takes considerable cooking skills to make veggie meat from scratch that actually tastes good, a LOT more skill, time and effort than just cooking with meat. Eating store bought processed veggie meat isn't really any healthier than eating store bought processed meat, both junk.


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## AlexSky (Jun 1, 2011)

Noca said:


> It takes considerable cooking skills to make veggie meat from scratch that actually tastes good, a LOT more skill, time and effort than just cooking with meat. Eating store bought processed veggie meat isn't really any healthier than eating store bought processed meat, both junk.


Veggie meat is still superior in my opinion because it's slaughter-free.
Anyway, I still find it hard to believe that not eating meat leads to hair loss.
I hope OP weren't starving themselves when they went vegetarian.


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

AlexSky said:


> Anyway, I still find it hard to believe that not eating meat leads to hair loss.


It doesn't, malnutrition does.


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## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

AlexSky said:


> Veggie meat is still superior in my opinion because it's slaughter-free.
> Anyway, I still find it hard to believe that not eating meat leads to hair loss.
> I hope OP weren't starving themselves when they went vegetarian.


It's not the first time I went vegetarian and I feel like this everytime. I really don't know what I do wrong, I believe I did enough research.. My bad, there must be something that escaped me.


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## Aardvark (Sep 23, 2014)

AlexSky said:


> Veggie meat is still superior in my opinion because it's slaughter-free.
> Anyway, I still find it hard to believe that not eating meat leads to hair loss.
> I hope OP weren't starving themselves when they went vegetarian.


The biggest flaw I find with "moral" vegetarians is the fact that they don't realize that plants are living creatures as well that must be killed for them to eat.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Aardvark said:


> The biggest flaw I find with "moral" vegetarians is the fact that they don't realize that plants are living creatures as well that must be killed for them to eat.


Plants don't have a central nervous system and don't experience pain.


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## Aardvark (Sep 23, 2014)

zookeeper said:


> Plants don't have a central nervous system and don't experience pain.


But they can still think, feel, and smell.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Aardvark said:


> But they can still think, feel, and smell.


Plants can think, can they? How does one think without a brain?

And, keep in mind, reacting to stimuli is not same as thinking, feeling, smelling, or experiencing pain.


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## zomgz (Aug 17, 2009)

Aardvark said:


> The biggest flaw I find with "moral" vegetarians is the fact that they don't realize that plants are living creatures as well that must be killed for them to eat.


That's not really the moral by which "moral vegetarians" adhere to. It's not simply because they are living and alive, it's that animals are conscious and possess self awareness, while plants do not. Plants have the ability to react to stimuli, but that does not indicate they suffer pain. They have no brain or nervous system.


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## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

zookeeper said:


> Plants don't have a central nervous system and *don't experience pain*.


Fish don't experience pain the way people do, according to many scientists.. Therefore, is it moral to eat fish? ANd what about seafood, a lot of its species don't even clearly realise they exist..

The discussion goes on and on...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130808123719.htm


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

Aardvark said:


> The biggest flaw I find with "moral" vegetarians is the fact that they don't realize that plants are living creatures as well that must be killed for them to eat.


lol so the biggest flaw with meat eaters is that they don't realise that humans are also meat?

anyhow, been semi-vegan for years. don't really follow nutritional guides. tried to sometimes but eating less grains, legumes, etc didn't seem to be detrimental. i eat lots of spinach, hummus, muesli, beans, kumara. fortified soy milk and supplements are also important. i take a multivitamin and flaxseed capsules when i can be bothered. not that regularly though.


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## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

zomgz said:


> That's not really the moral by which "moral vegetarians" adhere to. It's not simply because they are living and alive, it's that animals are conscious and possess self awareness, while plants do not. Plants have the ability to react to stimuli, but that does not indicate they suffer pain. They have no brain or nervous system.


Your right I've never been vegetarian but I've worked on alot of farms in the past and owned some farm animals and yes they have a form of intelligence they are not unfeeling things I can't fault anyone for trying to be vegetarian but the truth is thats the way the world works top of the food chain can eat what it wants...that being said any animal I've owned I would have a hard time killing and eating they do have individual traits and personalities...


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

Nilufar said:


> Fish don't experience pain the way people do, according to many scientists.. Therefore, is it moral to eat fish? ANd what about seafood, a lot of its species don't even clearly realise they exist..
> 
> The discussion goes on and on...
> 
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130808123719.htm


well, first of all you can lean on other factors, such as overfishing, bicatch, pollution from fish farms, destruction of natural habitat, economy, etc.

then there's the mere fact of having empathy for beings, even if you can't rationally justify it directly. you could try to justify it via evolutionary channels, ie. empathy for animals is an evolved characteristic which prevents us from over stressing our prey/farm animal populations. so when you feel empathy with animals suffering you should abstain from eating them if you have an alternative food source.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I wonder if a moral vegan has ever watched the Discovery channel and watched what carnivores do to each other in the wild, how they eat each other alive. Do they feel sorry for them too? These animals clearly didn't get the memo.

Oh another question is what should Eskimos do? They live so far north that there simply isn't enough vegetation for them to survive on. Should they just starve to death in order to appeal to vegan morality?


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Noca said:


> I wonder if a moral vegan has ever watched the Discovery channel and watched what carnivores do to each other in the wild, how they eat each other alive. Do they feel sorry for them too? These animals clearly didn't get the memo.


Do those carnivores have access to higher reasoning and grocery stores full of nutritious foods? Of course not.



> Oh another question is what should Eskimos do? They live so far north that there simply isn't enough vegetation for them to survive on. Should they just starve to death in order to appeal to vegan morality?


And with that, I think I've got a full card. Thanks for the spurious arguments everyone!

EDIT: Also, why do so many people care about the eating habits of someone else. I don't really give a **** what y'all eat.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Nilufar said:


> Fish don't experience pain the way people do, according to many scientists.. Therefore, is it moral to eat fish? ANd what about seafood, a lot of its species don't even clearly realise they exist..
> 
> The discussion goes on and on...
> 
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130808123719.htm


Most animals don't necessarily "know" they exist, but this doesn't preclude their capacity for suffering. A baby doesn't "know" that it exists, but has the ability to experience pain and suffering, and I think that most would agree that it's better to not inflict pain and suffering on a baby.

As for fish, I choose to err on the side of not consuming fish products, because I think that the presence of a nervous system means that they probably experience pain in some capacity. Also, fish tastes like ****, so I'm not really missing out on anything. :b

There is debate among vegetarians about the ethics of eating oysters, mussels, and other shellfish, because we really have no idea how they experience the world.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

zookeeper said:


> Do those carnivores have access to higher reasoning and grocery stores full of nutritious foods? Of course not.
> 
> And with that, I think I've got a full card. Thanks for the spurious arguments everyone!
> 
> EDIT: Also, why do so many people care about the eating habits of someone else. I don't really give a **** what y'all eat.


Yeah, I agree. I really dislike the "paleo" logic too: they apparently ate this in tribes years ago, so that means we should be eating it now for optimal health. Well, now we have abundance, so lets look at what is actually optimal for our bodies as opposed to what was necessary for survival... but whatever.

I do agree that plants might indeed suffer more than we will ever know. We're basing their pain on the model of our pain (i.e. nervous system). I understand the scientific method says that this is the only conclusion we can make... but obviously speculation says otherwise, and out of speculation comes science.


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

zookeeper said:


> Do those carnivores have access to higher reasoning and grocery stores full of nutritious foods? Of course not.


Humans can be completely carnivorous as well as completely vegan. And be just as healthy (if not healthier in many ways).

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Not really picking any side, everyone should do what's best for them. Which will require experimentation.



CeilingStarer said:


> Yeah, I agree. I really dislike the "paleo" logic too: they apparently ate this in tribes years ago, so that means we should be eating it now for optimal health. Well, now we have abundance, so lets look at what is actually optimal for our bodies as opposed to what was necessary for survival... but whatever.


Well it's that we've had 200k years to adapt to that sort of diet.

We've only had around 10k years to adapt to dairy.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

You gotta add that point I made about Eskimos to your card. It isn't just about tradition, there simply are't enough vegetables for them to survive on. Seeing as the cost of foods in their grocery store can be like $18 for a single red pepper or $50+ for a half a water melon, tradition aside, what does a vegan expect them to do?

Like if murder is wrong in one part of the world surely thr same would be true in any other part of the world? So if eating animals is morally wrong in one part of the world then the same must be true everywhere else in thr world too right? 

I just don't have respect for those who claim the moral high ground when their morality is not consistent across the board under examination, whether its moraility coming from vegans or religion or elsewhere. I mean we all aren't always aware of any hypocrisy in our lives but the least a person can do is reevaluate their beliefs when the hypocrisy is brought to their attention.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

Noca said:


> You gotta add that point I made about Eskimos to your card. It isn't just about tradition, there simply are't enough vegetables for them to survive on. Seeing as the cost of foods in their grocery store can be like $18 for a single red pepper or $50+ for a half a water melon, tradition aside, what does a vegan expect them to do?
> 
> Like if murder is wrong in one part of the world surely thr same would be true in any other part of the world? So if eating animals is morally wrong in one part of the world then the same must be true everywhere else in thr world too right?
> 
> I just don't have respect for those who claim the moral high ground when their morality is not consistent across the board under examination, whether its moraility coming from vegans or religion or elsewhere. I mean we all aren't always aware of any hypocrisy in our lives but the least a person can do is reevaluate their beliefs when the hypocrisy is brought to their attention.


i agree with your argument against deontological ethics (rule based ethics). it doesn't apply to consequentialist ethics though (consequence based ethics) - and a lot of veg*ns are consequentialists, thanks to Peter Singer.

so anyway, i reject your claim that if murder is wrong for one person then it is wrong for everyone. i'm a consequentialist. deontological ethics is childish.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Noca said:


> You gotta add that point I made about Eskimos to your card. It isn't just about tradition, there simply are't enough vegetables for them to survive on. Seeing as the cost of foods in their grocery store can be like $18 for a single red pepper or $50+ for a half a water melon, tradition aside, what does a vegan expect them to do?


First off, it falls under "starving children somewhere". Second, who says eskimo still? Third, how much do you think it costs to have meat shipped up there to buy in the grocery store?



> Like if murder is wrong in one part of the world surely thr same would be true in any other part of the world? So if eating animals is morally wrong in one part of the world then the same must be true everywhere else in thr world too right?


Is it wrong to kill someone who's trying to kill you? Surely morality should be consistent across all circumstances, no?



> I just don't have respect for those who claim the moral high ground when their morality is not consistent across the board under examination, whether its moraility coming from vegans or religion or elsewhere. I mean we all aren't always aware of any hypocrisy in our lives but the least a person can do is reevaluate their beliefs when the hypocrisy is brought to their attention.


Nobody is asking for your respect. My not eating meat is directly reducing the amount of suffering in the world. To me, that's a moral victory and I'm going to continue living my life in a way that I feel makes the world a better place.


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## TheHopeless (Sep 11, 2013)

I just HAD to come to this thread out of curiousity. F my life. No, seriously, this is why I hate people. This is why I'm a loner. All people do is bicker and argue.

Oh, yeah, and I'm a vegan. OH NO, THE DREADED V-WORD! Yeah, you heard me. Why don't you come over here and troll me for it? Come on, DO IT! Tell me how much you HATE that I'm not like you. Tell me that my entire lifestyle is wrong, or go ahead and come up with some argument that will make you sit back smugly with your arms crossed, patting yourself on the back because, "HA! I bet he feels stupid now. THIS ought to show him!" Are you proud? Proud that you're so vehemently against other people's life choices that you'll go to the ends of the earth to prove others "wrong"?

Man, and I was quite enjoying coming back to this site after a long absence. I... I feel like I'm too old for the internet. I'm only twenty, but I seriously think I'm just too old for any of this. Growing up with the internet, I've seen and heard _everything_. But this isn't wisdom, it's sickness. Nothing can surprise me anymore. Nothing is new to me anymore. Although this post may seem like it, I'm not actually frustrated or angry at anyone. I'm just... tired... of everything.

I'm only posting this because maybe, just maybe, if I keep objecting to this "my opinion is the only correct one, and if you believe this or this you're an idiot" culture, there's the slightest chance that I can get one human being,_ just one_, to actually understand that it _is_ foolish and petty. I'm starting to think that will never happen, though.


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

TheHopeless said:


> I just HAD to come to this thread out of curiousity. F my life. No, seriously, this is why I hate people. This is why I'm a loner. All people do is bicker and argue.
> 
> Oh, yeah, and I'm a vegan. OH NO, THE DREADED V-WORD! Yeah, you heard me. Why don't you come over here and troll me for it? Come on, DO IT! Tell me how much you HATE that I'm not like you. Tell me that my entire lifestyle is wrong, or go ahead and come up with some argument that will make you sit back smugly with your arms crossed, patting yourself on the back because, "HA! I bet he feels stupid now. THIS ought to show him!" Are you proud? Proud that you're so vehemently against other people's life choices that you'll go to the ends of the earth to prove others "wrong"?
> 
> ...


That's quite an overreaction. I don't see anyone here going on about how you shouldn't be a vegan. There's no reason to be defensive.


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## TheHopeless (Sep 11, 2013)

I'm sorry for my previous post, because that was stupid and rather unprompted. Recently I've been easily annoyed by people and other emotional things and I guess I just let out all that frustration in my other post, but thats a topic for a different thread. Just ignore me; I'm being stupid.


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## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

TheHopeless said:


> I just HAD to come to this thread out of curiousity. F my life. No, seriously, this is why I hate people. This is why I'm a loner. All people do is bicker and argue.
> 
> Oh, yeah, and I'm a vegan. OH NO, THE DREADED V-WORD! Yeah, you heard me. Why don't you come over here and troll me for it? Come on, DO IT! Tell me how much you HATE that I'm not like you. Tell me that my entire lifestyle is wrong, or go ahead and come up with some argument that will make you sit back smugly with your arms crossed, patting yourself on the back because, "HA! I bet he feels stupid now. THIS ought to show him!" Are you proud? Proud that you're so vehemently against other people's life choices that you'll go to the ends of the earth to prove others "wrong"?
> 
> ...


Well, I just wanted to write about my fail in vegetarianism.. maybe ask for some adviceS? It was definitely not my aim to start that discussion ^^ Like you, I would defend vegetarianism/veganism (even if I'm a fail), but whatever.

But you know, don't think about it too much, let people argue among themselves as long as they leave you alone, move to another thread  You'll be OK.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Real meat is delicious. I demonstrated that on yet again on a new pair of pet rats that hadn't previously had meat. I piece of pepperoni fell on the floor and instead of throwing it away I gave it to my new rats, Dan & Wesson. I tore it in half and gave each boy half. They both eagerly took it and ran to their respective corners to enjoy munching on it. Yes, even rats know meat is yummy. I have yet to meet a rat that didn't know this. You don't have to train rats to love meat. They just naturally love it.


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## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

Just dropping by to say I've been a moral vegetarian (no fish either) for more than 10 years and haven't had any problems. I guess I've mainly substituted dairy and soy for the meat I used to eat. I also eat eggs. It must be very difficult to maintain a vegan diet, but being a vegetarian is easy, in my experience.

Edit: It's funny how I found out as a teenager that my hemoglobin levels were normal despite a lack of meat in my diet. I was missing school (due to social anxiety disorder), so my mom took me to the hospital to be sure I didn't have some horrible disease that my sapping my energy and motivation. Hemoglobin was normal, but it took another 5 or so years for me to get diagnosed with social anxiety disorder.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Dylan2 said:


> Edit: It's funny how I found out as a teenager that my hemoglobin levels were normal despite a lack of meat in my diet. I was missing school (due to social anxiety disorder), so my mom took me to the hospital to be sure I didn't have some horrible disease that my sapping my energy and motivation. Hemoglobin was normal, but it took another 5 or so years for me to get diagnosed with social anxiety disorder.


Sooo, what you're saying is that vegetarianism causes social anxiety? Damn that vile dietary choice!


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## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

zookeeper said:


> Sooo, what you're saying is that vegetarianism causes social anxiety? Damn that vile dietary choice!


Actually... both social anxiety disorder and morality are related to active amygdalae. So if we're talking about moral vegetarianism, it's a third variable issue, haha.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

I don't see anything wrong with trying to eat healthy but personally, I never bought into the idea that avoiding meat just because it's meat is automatically healthy. I think your energy is better spent trying to buy quality food that's healthy, regardless of what's in it.

It's hard enough to eat a healthy diet when you don't eliminate half of your choices.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

UltraShy said:


> Real meat is delicious. I demonstrated that on yet again on a new pair of pet rats that hadn't previously had meat. I piece of pepperoni fell on the floor and instead of throwing it away *I gave it to my new rats, Dan & Wesson.*


:haha


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## CowGoMoo (Apr 14, 2013)

How long did you do it? 
And what did you eat through out the day and at what intervals? 
You probably did it wrong, we don't need meat so you feeling anemic was probably you eating the wrong foods.


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## CowGoMoo (Apr 14, 2013)

WillYouStopDave said:


> I don't see anything wrong with trying to eat healthy but personally, I never bought into the idea that avoiding meat just because it's meat is automatically healthy. I think your energy is better spent trying to buy quality food that's healthy, regardless of what's in it.
> 
> It's hard enough to eat a healthy diet when you don't eliminate half of your choices.


Meat isn't all unhealthy but the meat you buy in supermarkets sure is!


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

CowGoMoo said:


> Meat isn't all unhealthy but the meat you buy in supermarkets sure is!


 Whatever.


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## CowGoMoo (Apr 14, 2013)

WillYouStopDave said:


> Whatever.


Lol why bother responding with "whatever"? You're weird


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## Nilufar (Jan 17, 2014)

CowGoMoo said:


> How long did you do it?
> And what did you eat through out the day and at what intervals?
> You probably did it wrong, we don't need meat so you feeling anemic was probably you eating the wrong foods.


I used to have self-made musli in the morning that included oatmeal and many seads and nuts. I would even eat it with milk substitutes because I had heard that milk prevents iron absorbtion ^^

Throughout the day I tried to take at least one meal with legumes, wholegrain bread and tofu. I would eat sezame bars, too, and a lot of fruits and vegetables, mainly carrots and salad.. 
I went on like this for a couple of months but now that I included more seafood in my diet, I feel much better.


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## CowGoMoo (Apr 14, 2013)

Nilufar said:


> I used to have self-made musli in the morning that included oatmeal and many seads and nuts. I would even eat it with milk substitutes because I had heard that milk prevents iron absorbtion ^^
> 
> Throughout the day I tried to take at least one meal with legumes, wholegrain bread and tofu. I would eat sezame bars, too, and a lot of fruits and vegetables, mainly carrots and salad..
> I went on like this for a couple of months but now that I included more seafood in my diet, I feel much better.


Hmmm that's really weird you were eating a good diet. Yeah maybe it's just not for you, glad you found something that works


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## AnxietyOrange (Aug 16, 2014)

My nutritionist told me that meat is fine, but to limit meat to 6 to 8 ounces per day. Now that doesn't mean limiting your protein intake to that amount.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

That's strange, I don't know why you would be having health problems as long as you have variety in your vegetarian diet. You should have been getting all the nutrients you need no problem.


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## Barette (Jan 17, 2012)

It just mighright not be for you! Different bodies need different things. I've always been anemic so I would eat red meat 1+ times a day with a form vit c so it could absorb, even took supplements, but was still anemic! Now I'm a vegetarian (vegan in my home life, but I find it too restricting if iI'm out, so if i want something that's got dairy or eggs as an integral part of the dish, I'll have it). Now I haven't been anemic for a long while, only ever get deficient in B-12 but a supplement takes care of that. Dont even need an iron supplement! But that's my body! Maybe yours needs meat every now and then or a regular dish with seafood or animal products. Go with what makes you feel good, physically.


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## Bubblestar (Sep 17, 2014)

Hikikomori2014 said:


> *I am a Vegan.*
> *I don't eat meat, fish or dairy.*
> *I have an insane amount of energy and don't even*
> *need coffee as opposed to 90% of the population.*


Really? Respect dude. I don't drink coffee, am a vegetarian but not vegan. I once tried being a vegan but eating out is hard enough when you don't eat meat or fish alone. I also love pizza (sorry, it bugs me when people say they love meat incessantly). To be perfectly honest, I don't think my diet has had any major effects on my SA - I just don't like the thought of animals dying for my dinner (despite the fact I'm probably drinking milk from cows that will eventually become beef). Also, my family are veggies and I don't miss meet at all. :yes


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