A couple of months ago I decided to become a vegetarian, but I've found that the transition is harder to make than I thought. I seem to be unable to give up eating fish/seafood. Everything else has been no problem from day one. I easily gave up red meat, poultry, pork ...all types of meat. I just find myself every couple of days ordering a fish sandwich. I also feel guilty about still consuming milk and cheese and eggs but the alternatives either A.) Taste like crap or B.) are so friggin expensive!! It also doesn't help that my boyriend and I live together and he is still a full-fledged meat eater. I promised not to push my dietary preferences on him so mealtime has become a challenge for us. Since I switched, we eat different meals now. Anyone else had difficulty? How did you get past it? Do you just adjust with time?
My husband has also had difficulty transitioning, and he still eats fish a couple times a month. My advice is to make a real effort to eat a plant based diet for 30 days. Substitutes start tasting better if you haven't had any meat or dairy for at least a month. When you think about fish, eat hummus instead. If you can't do that, then start weaning yourself slowly. Start by eating one completely plant based meal per day or every three days or whatever, then work toward increasing that bit by bit. Writing it down in a calendar would be very helpful. As far as the boyfriend is concerned, that's a tough subject. Personally, I won't cook any animals, and I discourage non-vegan food. I will cook locally grown, cruelty-free eggs for him, but that's it. He can bring home cheese or cows milk or butter if he wants (he rarely does), but he's responsible for cooking it, and there are certain pans that he cannot use (cast iron or stoneware). Everyone has to work that out themselves, though.
Truly, yes it is. He agrees with the ethics behind the change, for the most part, but I went veg first and basically bullied him into following suit. I know that I am very, very lucky.
