Tips For Going Vegetarian When You Love Meat

So you're intrigued by the benefits of going vegetarian, like helping animals, reducing your environmental footprint by 50% and improving your health. There's just this one little thing you can't quite get over, and that's that you really like meat. Boy, have I been there. In this video, we're gonna talk about strategies for going vegetarian when you love meat, so you don't feel deprived or resentful of your new diet. Let's get started. Hi, I'm Bailey, and I've been a vegetarian for 14 years, but the first time that I tried, I failed. I made all of the common mistakes that new vegetarians make, and like 60 to 80% of new vegetarians, I almost gave up. The second time, I focused on building a solid habit, not just the food, and that made all the difference. And that's why I created the Vegetarian Guide, which is a one-hour mini course filled with nutrition guides, meal planning tools, habit-building trackers, everything you need to start and stay vegetarian without any of the stress. It's everything I wish I had when I got started, and it costs less than a cookbook. Be sure to check out the link in the description below. So obviously, eating a vegetarian diet means that you have to give up the meat, which sounds really, really scary when you've been eating meat your entire life and you really, really like it. Why would you give up something that you really like to eat? Well, therein lies the rub, because you're going to have to decide if the benefits and the rewards of a vegetarian diet are worth it to give up this meat that you really enjoy. You might not know the answer to that yet, but in this video, we're going to talk about some things to consider that will help you make up your mind and then stick to it. Here's a quick rundown of what we're going to cover. Number one, knowing your why. Number two, easing in. Number three, making your own rules. Number four, finding new favorites. And number five, resisting temptation. Before we move on, if you're really serious about going vegetarian and making it last long-term, please be sure to grab my free guide, Secrets to Vegetarian Success. It breaks down all of the key fundamentals you need to know to build a sustainable vegetarian habit without the common struggles. Be sure to grab your copy from the link in the description box below so you can set yourself up for success. Okay, so point number one is knowing your why. That means that you have to be very, very clear on why you want to go vegetarian, your reasons for doing that. As we mentioned before, it might be environmental. You might want to help animals. It might be the best thing for your health, but you have to be very, very clear on what that is because those reasons have to be more important to you than the temporary satisfaction of eating meat. Because let's be real, meat is really tasty. I'm not denying that, but is it worth it? The 30 seconds that you're chewing on it and enjoying that flavor, is that worth giving up all of these other things that are important to you? That's a question that you need to ask yourself and consider if you want to go vegetarian and stick with it and if you want to be able to give up meat. Point number two is easing in. No one says that you have to go vegetarian overnight, and actually, I would never, ever recommend that. I think the best way to sustain a vegetarian diet long-term is to take all of the time that it takes to ease into that vegetarian diet. That might mean that you start with a meatless Monday. It might mean that you cut out one type of meat for a couple of weeks and then you move on to the next type. It can take as long as it takes, but every step, every little goal that you set, every little bit of meat that you don't eat is moving you in that right direction. So please don't think that you have to stop eating cheeseburgers from one day to the next. Just ease your way out of it, and the more that you do and the more you start integrating those vegetarian meals into your diet, the easier it's going to be to start dropping more and more meat and finding more foods that you're going to enjoy. Point number three is that you can make your own rules. Nobody says that you have to give up everything completely. There is no vegetarian police that is going to drive up and haul you away if you decide that you want to eat bacon. Because let's be real, how many times have I heard, oh, I would love to go vegetarian, but I just cannot give up bacon. Please do not let bacon stop you from going vegetarian 99% of the time. If you really want to eat bacon because you really enjoy it, eat the darn bacon. Don't let one food stop you from enjoying a lifestyle. Seriously, if it's one thing that's holding you up, just allow yourself to have it, and over time you might realize that you really don't even need it that much anymore. But if it's something that's stopping you from starting a vegetarian diet, just give yourself that freedom to try it. It's okay, you make the rules and you're not going to get in trouble for them. Point number four is that you will find new favorites. I think there's this assumption that if you're going to go vegetarian, you have to give up all of these foods that you love, like cheeseburgers and steaks and pepperoni pizza, and that you're going to replace them with a sad salad. And that's going to be your food from now on. You're just going to eat like raw vegetables and plain pasta and all this other stuff. That's not the case. When you go vegetarian, you're going to find a lot of new foods that you really, really enjoy. Things that can be cheesy or creamy or filled with all of these other great flavors that you might not have otherwise explored when you were eating meat foods. So please don't expect that you're going to be just sitting there hating your life every time that you're eating a meal. I promise you will find new things that you like that are going to replace some of your meat favorites. And point number five is resisting temptation. You are going to miss meat. It's normal. I'm 14 years in and I still miss it sometimes. But the thing is that it gets easier and easier and easier with time. You're going to have cravings. You're going to be tempted to eat things. You're going to go to a party where things are going to be served, where you're going to think, oh, that looks so, so good. But there are strategies that you can use to overcome these things. And I promise that once you learn these strategies to overcome these cravings and temptations, you are going to be so proud of yourself after the fact and you're going to be so in alignment with your values. You're going to feel so great that you stuck to your vegetarian diet that it's not even going to matter that you didn't get to eat that thing that smelled good at the time. And with that, now that you know some of these strategies for going vegetarian, even when you really like meat, I invite you to watch my next video on how to resist cravings, how to overcome those temptations so that you can make your vegetarian diet last. Thank you so much for watching. And until next time, cheers to your vegetarian adventure.