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Former Vegans And Vegetarians Break Down What Made Them Go Back To Eating Meat

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I can't live without meat or fish in my diet.

I tried. It wasn't pretty.

But I respect those who have that strength.

But sometimes, that strength fades.

The smell of bacon can make anyone weak in the knees.

There are many reasons why people rejoin the carnivore party.


Redditor Seyli04 wanted to know what brought people back to the meat, so they asked:

"People who used to be vegetarians/vegans, what made you stop?"

I have never understood the vegan/vegetarian life.

Not for me.

Changes

Season 4 Vegan GIF by The OfficeGiphy

"A change in health circumstances led to a (doctor-recommended) restrictive diet which meant cutting out a number of fruits and vegetables. Couple that with gluten intolerance and veganism and I could barely eat anything. I had to prioritize my health."

fatherly_handshake

Whatever. Let's Eat!

"I was a vegetarian for 1.5 years. I came home to care for my grandfather, last stages cancer. Upon my arrival he made a lot of meat food that I used to love. (Gołąbki, he made the best i ever ate). He forgot I don't eat meat. I told him that and I watched his face became so sad... f**k it, I'm going to eat it. He was so happy to cook for me while he still could."

RandomPolishGurl

Earth Love

"Realized I was using being vegan as an excuse to enable my eating disorder. Less options for me to eat, almost never had to eat out with friends/family or on the holidays. I do love animals/Earth and told myself that’s why I was vegan but… I don’t fully know."

"I couldn’t fully recover until I had a less restrictive diet."

hell-is-in-your-mind

I Chose Meat!

"Found out my body just trends towards anaemia. I was vegetarian for 5 years as a teenager and just dealt with it but then I got really ill and my doctor basically told me I would need monthly iron infusions or I could eat meat again. I chose meat. Tried to go back to vegetarianism recently but felt such an enormous drop in energy levels I just couldn’t maintain it."

maps_mandalas

Allergy Issues

Season 2 Episode 21 GIF by MartinGiphy

"Way too many of the vegetarian/vegan substitutes rely on tree nuts/peanuts/soy, which I'm severely allergic to. As it is, I follow a mostly pescatarian diet, unless someone else wants to do the cooking for me!"

meltedsnowflake

We can't mess with allergies these days.

Lives are in the balance.

Mom's Gotta Eat

Food Porn Eating GIF by Tricia GraceGiphy

"Becoming a mother. If I don’t eat leftover chicken nuggets I don’t eat."

WaveNimbus

"Pregnancy, when I was hungry, which wasn't frequently, I couldn't eat anything but meat, salads and some fruits. I've pretty keep this diet once in a while I'll crave carbs, but honestly I feel much better than when I was a vegetarian so..."

FateOfTheElephant

No Thanks

"I also stopped being vegetarian because of how it enabled my eating disorder, which I went to recovery for 12 years ago. I’ve considered myself fully recovered for the past 9 or so years."

I’ve basically banned myself from banning anymore food groups ever again because of this. I’ll allow myself to 'eat less of X food' like ice cream or meat or whatever but removing a food group from my diet is too risky for me. Turning down food 'because I can’t (choose not to) eat it' is way too addictive. No thanks."

trustmeimalinguist

When Seeing the Earth

"Traveled and lived in places where there truly was not adequate nutrition available as a vegan - true malnutrition is awful. Plus, cultural expectations in those areas around entertaining guests, hospitality, celebrations, and rituals don’t always leave the option open to refuse a specific food without offending or hurting the host or community, which meant that I needed to consider balancing my preferences with the needs and practices of the communities I was living in."

"Today, I’m primarily plant-based in practice but don’t call myself vegetarian or vegan. I learned a lot about how I think about food, food culture, and the privilege of choice from those experiences."

droptophamhock

Ouch

"I was a vegetarian for 10 years and honestly I just felt like it was too much of a pain. I still limit my meat, I won't prepare it for myself and if given a vegetarian option I will choose that. But if someone prepares meat for me or there aren't other options easily available I'll eat it."

erkala21

Bland Chefs

Merve Dizdar Food GIF by TRTGiphy

"I was a vegetarian because I thought I hated meat. Turns out my mom couldn't cook, she never used seasoning. So once I got out on my own, and started cooking for myself, I learned I actually do like meat."

Catlover5566

I gotta have meat. I love it. I'm sorry.

Do you have similar experiences? We'd love to hear about in the comments below.

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