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I became a vegetarian over a decade ago and while it wasn't exactly easy, it certainly wasn't all that difficult compared to most of the other hard things I've done in my life. For instance, losing half my body weight (which occurred many years later because ice cream is vegetarian yo) was at least 2 orders of magnitude harder and maintaining that loss is a never ending battle. By comparison, getting out of bed to go to work is harder than maintaining my vegetarianism. Cutting back meat consumption to a mere 1 or 2 meals a week cannot be that difficult.

I also think all the talk of missing protein, iron, and vitamins is significantly overblown. Every blood panel I've ever had has been normal with iron on the high end and I can maintain an active lifestyle quite easily.

> just because you and some other people have it easy to quit meat doesn’t mean that it’s easy for all the rest.

Yeah but... so what? What's the point in only pursuing easy goals? Do you think we should have cancelled the Apollo program just because it wasn't easy? Abandoning meat will be another milestone for mankind - even if it's just for our own long-term survival on this planet.

> For people with adhd, there is a correlation with meat eating

> I get occasional cravings so high that I could kill anyone who would want to prevent me from eating meat.

lightbulb moment

I would love to cut down on meat consumption for ethics/sustainability/health, but it's almost like my body knows it runs better on it. I get extra cranky, foggy, and tired if I don't have a pretty dense protein meal early in the day, ideally red meat. Can't do legumes due to allergies. Even like whey protein isn't the same as meat.

My iron levels are fine. Maybe it's one of the amino-adjacent compounds, like creatine?

> I get extra cranky, foggy, and tired if I don't have a pretty dense protein meal early in the day

Imagination is a powerful thing. You're just used to it.

I don’t think I was assuming, but it’s one if the most frequent misperceptions. It’s highly subjective indeed when it comes to your relationship with meat. But vegatarian meat replacements are getting ridiculously good, especially the last couple of years, if its just about the taste and texture.

And again, it’s not about dropping meat right now, it’s about seeing if you can cut down. Even eating it one day less makes an impact.

Just try it is what I am saying. See if there is something in your culinary palette that fills the appetite (and has no biological negative net effects)

Eating less != quitting