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I just sort of jumped into it. then as I learned about what things are made of meat I started cutting those out of my diet.

I went cold turkey on both. It was good and easy. heart

I had been thinking about going vegitarian for a year or so, but kept putting it off, until on January 1 of this year I was online randomly looking around and I happened to stumble across this: http://www.alternet.org/story/12162/ . From that point on I was free of factory-farmed meats, though it took me until midsummer to cut out seafood. I'm not vegan, though I do avoid straight dairy and eggs(like cheeses, ice cream, butter, etc.) I still will eat things that have dairy and eggs in them... my parents don't want me to go vegan, but I try to be as vegan as I can be without them noticing. It still hurts me to consume animal products though, knowing that it comes from anothers pain and suffering... cry

I'm not sure how many time's I've posted this, but..

It took me THREE YEARS to even become vegetarian. I was on and off vegetarian for a while and finally commited and cut beef out of my diet around my third/fourth attempt to be vegetarian. Around May (earlier this year) was when I became vegetarian and didn't even THINK I'd EVER become vegan. But after a couple of experiences trying to go without dairy for a week, and then pigging out on pizza (during the summer) I realized it was time to stop loving cheese so much.

So at the end of October I went on a cleansing retreat and since then I've been Vegan. It's been a looooooong process for me.

That's kind of how it happened with me, only I had a few things that I still ate, mostly stuff I didn't realize. Like it took me a year to realize that imitation crab is pollock, which is fish. I'm still trying to cut down on things like gelatin, and to stop wearing leather. The problem with leather is that I'm a horseback rider, and there's sooo much leather to deal with when you ride. Saddles, bridles, boots, chaps are made of leather, and even riding breeches have leather grips. Actually, I'm starting to question my morals on riding, too. I mean, riding can't be fun for the horse, plus there's so much leather involved. But I'm getting off topic.
Actually, my dad still tries to convince me that "my body wants meat." And blah, blah, I don't get enough protein. I've been shoving protein down and getting fat just to shut him up. Anyway, if my body wants meat, why do I get nauseous when I see it?

I thought about it for about half a year after I saw my grandma cooking some chicken ((Which tastes gross anyway.)). That's when the thought, "I'm eating an animal!" kicked in. I kept putting it off. Then, I decided that I couldn't just go cold turkey. I'm not very healthy right now. I've been getting stuff like pnuemonea and bronchitis. So, week by week, and ate less and less meat. I had already cut out any kind of BBQ, though. I don't like the taste. But now, I am fully vegetarian. I do still eat fish, though. I thought about going vegan, but I decided it would be too hard and too expensive, especially because about 3/4 the things I eat have it already mixed in, and I could never give up deviled eggs. I am trying to eat a little bit less cheese, milk, eggs, and other non-vegan products, though.