Here's an 8-week step-by-step guide for a painless — and fun — transition from omnivorous eating to vegetarianism. At the bottom you'll find answers to every common concern.
Week 1: First substitutions
Replace breaded cutlets and fish sticks with soy cutlets. Whatever brand you find. Those from organic supermarkets are better than standard ones. Remember this life rule.
Week 2: Explore
Find a well-reviewed vegetarian restaurant and order a full vegetarian dinner. Start perceiving a whole new range of flavors. Understand that your palate has been battered for years by the slop added to meat to give it taste. Start freeing yourself and appreciating real flavors.
Week 3: Ditch the cold cuts
Replace ham, turkey slices, and similar junk with plant-based deli slices from organic supermarkets. Slightly different taste but interesting. Replace awful hot dogs with soy sausages. Similar taste. Totally different impact.
Week 4: Seitan
Replace steak, chicken breast, fish with grilled seitan. Use a grill pan or skillet. For the budget-conscious, get plain seitan and heat it on the grill with salt and spices.
Week 5: Complete the switch
Replace everything remaining with soy burgers, Quorn, wheat gluten products. Explore different brands until you find your favorites.
Week 6: Tofu and tempeh
Try tofu — never plain, always flavored or marinated (curry, basil, tomato, Mediterranean). Try tempeh. The key is to experiment and never give up. Remember your senses need to "reformat" — it takes little time and then you'll enjoy every bite more than before.
Week 7: The effects
By now you've left the old ways behind. Your body already feels better. Your breath is more pleasant due to reduced ketogenesis. Your gut is almost certainly functioning better. Your skin may be clearer, your energy higher. Less post-meal drowsiness, heartburn almost gone. If a piece of meat slips through occasionally, don't feel guilty. But always aim for the Moon.
Week 8: Spread the word
Start telling friends how you feel. Study. Understand it's not magic — it's simply matching the natural diet of Homo Sapiens. We're primates like chimps and gorillas, and primates are omnivores that eat almost entirely plant-based food. Don't be a nazi-vegan. Instead, explain that going vegetarian is the single most impactful thing an individual can do to fight global warming.
Answers to common doubts
Protein: There's no issue. Seitan, soy, and Quorn are packed with protein. Plant proteins are identical to animal proteins and contain all essential amino acids. Humans actually need very little protein compared to other species.
Vitamin B12: If you eat cheese, milk, yogurt, and eggs, you don't need to supplement. If you want peace of mind, one 1000mcg tablet once or twice a week is enough. If you're over 50, you should supplement regardless of diet.
Soy: It's healthy and protective against certain types of cancer. Anyone saying otherwise should revisit the scientific literature.
Seitan and gluten: Seitan is gluten. If you're celiac, substitute with legume burgers. Non-celiac gluten intolerance is largely imaginary — gluten is an extraordinary, light protein source.
Children: According to pediatricians, a vegetarian diet is perfectly fine for children and exposes them to fewer health risks as adults.
Life expectancy: A vegetarian diet increases life expectancy by 10-20% thanks to higher fiber, unsaturated fats, and vitamins. It also significantly improves gut microbiome diversity, with benefits for mental health and the immune system.
Congratulations. In two months you've been reborn. You used to be part of the environmental problem. Now you're part of the solution.
