I've been a vegetarian my entire life (when I was very little my parents would't give me meat, and then I decided for myself I didn't want it).
There are a few reasons for why I now want to start eating meat:
* It seems to be healthier (some vegetarians disagree, but from what I've read it really does seem to be better to eat meat). Most importantly it increases testosterone levels, something that I feel I need.
* I want to be able to eat meat when I'm invited over for dinner. They shouldn't have to make any special dishes for me.
* I have a psychological aversion towards meat. I don't want to have any phobias of this kind, so it's something I need to overcome.
It's this last point I need help with. I find meat utterly repulsive - I guess the best way to describe it is that it feels like animal meat is human meat, like if I were to eat my own flesh.
How do I get over this? How should I set my mind?
I just bought a slice of high quality roast beef that I'm going to attempt to eat, but I haven't found the courage for it yet. Any advice?
>>16794378
Don't mean to sort of hijack, but likewise how does one eat vegetables when one finds them repulsive?
for your first time, don't cook it yourself. Go to a steakhouse and order a fancy steak. It will smell and taste so delicious, and it won't look as gross as if you were to cook a raw piece of meat for yourself.
Meat is gross in a technical sense- it's an animal carcass so it's not off for you to associate it with the idea of flesh.
I personally wishe I could stop eating meat because morally I think it's questionable, but it's so good I can't help myself.
Taste it for yourself and you'll see.
>>16794378
You could always go with seafood, feels less repulsive than a dead pig
As the other anon said you probably want to start from a restaurant so you get a properly prepared piece of meat.
If you find getting a steak to be hard to stomach try some of the meals where meat is more of a side thing. A lot of soups and sauces have little bits of meat in them, maybe try some Asian foods they often times have chicken in them but the main focus is on the rice and veggies. If you need even more beginner stuff maybe try seafoods, fish and crabs and that sort of thing, which you can again get as part of a soup or other meal types if you don't want the fish fillet
Don't eat for at least 12 hours preferably a whole day. Then go get bacon or something at restaurant.
Bacon is best meat tho.
I would stay away from chicken for a while. The texture will ruin meat for you, or so my ex-veggie bud said.
Ex-veggie recommended jerky as he had it after a fasting period and can't stop eating it.
Isn't meat hard to digest if you don't eat it regularly? I'd recommend starting with something smaller than an entire steak.
Thanks for the tips. I have this piece of meat now, though, that I don't want to waste. I feel that maybe the best way to overcome my aversion is not to hide from the fact that it's meat, but to embrace it.
As for seafood, I actually find that even more repulsive because it smells so bad.
I'm going to just try to man up now, and lay the slice out to air.
I dont think eating meat is healthier for you, especially processed forms of it. Meat protein is shown to damage the lining of your blood vessels, making them rougher, and in the long term, causing clogging. Processed forms of meat are shown to be just as carcinogenic as cigarettes. I'm not a vegan myself, but I try to stay away from anything thats processed in general.
Things like fish or goats milk are actually healthy, as they contain essential amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids.
If you eat meat sporadically (when youre invited over for dinner), the bad meats wont do you harm, and the good meats will only have a positive effect on your health.
Aside from the whole environment/animal cruelty thing, I think not eating meat or eating it only once or twice a week can only have positive effects in every view.
It should be a conscious choice though, not some positive aversion. I would try to condition yourself into not having the repulsive condition towards meat. First understand that your conditioning isnt valid, then try to make new connections.
I wouldnt force yourself to eat meat if you find it repulsive, as you would find it disgusting when you eat it and get ven more repulsed next time you see meat.
All in all I dont think being a vegan is a problem, aside from the social awkwardness if youre invited for dinner. However that means you wont have to cook it (raw is probably more repulsive for you), and you wont eat meat on a daily basis so it wont damage your health.
>>16794453
Just search a recipe and go for it.
>>16794459
Yes, I'm not aiming to eat a lot of processed meats, nor often. I mainly want to just be able to eat it when I feel like it - perhaps once or twice per week as you say.
I've just now prepared the slice with some salt and pepper and am going to let it air for 30 minutes. The guy I bought it from told me I should fry it for about 60 seconds on each side, so that's what I'm going to do.
Oh, and handling it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. There wasn't any blood so that made it easier, I guess, but previously I've had an aversion towards even touching meat - which seems to be a lot easier now for some reason. Maybe it's because I decided to really go through with it. I did wash my hands several times, though.
Well, I actually did finish it. I didn't particularly like it, though, so I guess I'll have to try it again and get used to it. It took me quite a while. I'm quite proud of my achievement, though.
