I am thinking about becoming a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, any inputs?

I learned how to make very inventive, unusual replacements for a burger! you just have to learn to food combine to get your complete protein. Then go for it. You’ll feel lighter inside somehow.

1. Read ‘Eating Animals’ by Jonathan Foer
2. Visit a nutritionist specializing in vegetarianism
3. Get a subscription to a veggie magazine for great recipes
4. Make sure you get the following supplements each day: Omega 3’s/Fish Oil, Core Complex supplement (vitamins), B-complex supplement (B6, B12, etc.), Calcium supplement and Vitamin D3 (800–1000 IUs) supplement from the following brands: TwinLab, Nature’s Plus, Solgar, NOW.
5. Find stores in the area that carry soy and tofu meat replacements.
p.s. eat more veggies than you think you need – eat them raw and eat them cooked and eat them of all the colors of the rainbow! oh and get a blender! oh and remember you don’t need as much protein as you think you need (on average it’ll be 60g per day but that totally depends on your weight..I’m 5’7’ and 180 lbs and that’s what is necessary for me).
both my husband and I started as ovo-lacto vegetarians and switched into veganism pretty quickly…it wasn’t such a big step, after all..we’ve found great cheese, milk, egg and ice cream replacements..my husband now makes the best vegan chocolate chip cookies

I’m an ovo-lacto veggeterrorist and have been for twenty years. The key thing to look for is a zinc deficiency. I take vitamin supplements to address this. Others will tell you that a vegetarian diet alone will not provide sufficient iron and protein. That’s simply not true. Plenty of non-meat foods provide protein; legumes and nuts are just a couple of examples. Same goes for iron. Raisins, spinich, bok choy, broccoli are all excellent sources of iron. Provided you eat a sensible diet and not just junk then zinc should be your only real concen.
I’m thinking of going vegan but that step is pretty big for me.

People will ask you, “How will you get your protein??!?!” And you can roll your eyes and explain to them that protein is actually quite easy to get if you’re still eating dairy and eggs….in fact, even vegans shouldn’t have a hard time getting protein. What you should watch for is making sure you get enough iron. Dark leafy greens are the way to go, and if you’re not eating eggs on a semi-regular basis you might want to take a vit B12 supplement as that’s one of the harder things to get outside of animal sources.
And there are tons of veggie substitues for things like burgers and hot dogs nowadays. Don’t eat too many of them though because too much soy can be bad for you. Morningstar makes some bangin’ chick patties that are delicious and are great if you’re like me and had a hard time giving up chicken.

@AstroChuck I’ve never learned much about a danger of zinc deficiency….what are the symptoms? And what’s it in? (Besides supplements)

I consider eating vegan again every time I see a show about how the chickens are treated that give us eggs. So I find free range chickens for awhile and then I backslide. But there is no way for me to give up my butter and cheese. I’ve never found a soy cheese that quite did it and I don’t want to eat what they make margarine from. I am looking for coconut products having read wonderful things about them. I should say I was vegan for a time years ago when my kids couldn’t tolerate dairy.

@faye Earth Balance makes a pretty good butter replacement…not quite the same, but you kinda don’t notice the difference after a while. And definitely healthier than margarine.I totally agree with you on the cheese thing.
@Simone_De_Beauvoir You mentioned a good cheese replacement?? What brand?

As far as iron goes, ask your doc for a blood test first to see if your iron is in a good range – do that again a month into vegetarianism. If you are low, this should solve all your problems.
http://www.amazon.com/Flora-Floradix-Iron-Herbs-liquid/dp/B000R15O5S

@Zajvhal galazy nutritional foods
http://www.galaxyfoods.com/Products/VeganCheese/

@Simone_De_Beauvoir- How is fish oil vegetarian?

@Zajvhal- Here is a pretty good article on vegetarianism and zinc.

@AstroChuck supplement! a really good core complex will give you whatever tiny percentage you’re missing

@Simone_De_Beauvoir- So would eating fish. It’s still not vegetarian.

@AstroChuck what’s not vegetarian? the supplements?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir- Omega-3 fish Oil supplements come from fish. They are no more vegetarian than Jello.

@AstroChuck no I meat the multivitamin supplement, that includes zinb and is veggie..as vegans, instead of Omega 3’s (which we still take sometimes, we make our peace with it, fine) we consume flaxseed oil and walnuts

Well, it’s not as hard as you might think. A lot of people will ask you what you eat and it’s okay to roll your eyes when they say this. Eggs, mac n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, pancakes, pasta, smoothies, you can still eat all these things.

As for what else to eat, have you ever had Tempeh? It is some of the most delicious stuff on the planet. I eat the three grain “flavor.” It’s essentially tightly packed grain with a similar consistency to chicken. In fact, I’ve heard of people using it as a substitute in recipes that require chicken.

I haven’t had tempeh for years- I sure didn’t like it 15 years ago, and I thought it was fermented soybean stuff. I have never been able to cook quinoa into edible form either, though I like amaranth. Most people who roll their eyes at vegetarians don’t know about that either.

Stay away from supplements in gelatin capsules, which are made from animal parts.

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrT32UYH4zU
...and I second their repeated advice: Talk to a nutritionist.

Tempeh is great!!! And it is fermented soy, but a lot more appetizing than that sounds…it’s better than tofu cuz it’s got better texture and a nutty flavor, and the fermented soy makes it way better for you than plain soy. We’d cut it up and put it in fried rice and my friend swore it was just like pork fried rice.

Eat what you like. No reason to need a diet with a title.