How to Reintroduce Meat After Being Vegan or Vegetarian
If vegetarianism or veganism doesn’t work for you, then you’ll want to read this post with eight tips for reintroducing meat after being on a vegan or vegetarian diet. Get tips for which animal proteins to add first, how to support your digestion, and tips on adapting your mindset to eating meat again.
Eating Meat Again
Eating meat again after being vegan or vegetarian is a controversial topic. People who have made the commitment to being vegan or vegetarian because of ethical reasons don’t like to hear about people who aren’t thriving on such a strict diet.
After following a 100% strict vegan diet for 3 1/2 years, I realized in 2014 that I needed to expand my dietary choices and figure out which foods really would nourish my individual needs. I wrote this post on why I am no longer vegan.
The truth is, being vegetarian or vegan isn’t right for everyone, and can lead to nutritional deficiencies and even disordered eating patterns.
I wrote a comprehensive article with the top vegan diet dangers that you might be interested in reading. One of the vegan health risks can lead to irreversible health damage.
Read on to the end of this article for more information on my experience going from vegan to eating meat again.
Most People Eat Meat Again
One study showed that 84% of vegetarians return to eating meat again.
There are obviously vegan diet risks and benefits. Once you realize that you aren’t thriving on a vegetarian or vegan diet, you’re then faced with the choice of discarding everything you’ve come to believe, making that mental shift, and adding meat back into your diet.
I get how difficult of a decision this is to move away from a vegan diet. The vast majority of my audience and friends were incredibly supportive when I made my announcement about not being vegan anymore, but there were a few people who were unkind and cruel showed a disturbing lack of compassion and humanity.
So, in order to offer support to those who are going through this tough transition, I’ve come up with eight tips for how to reintroduce meat back into your diet after being vegan or vegetarian.
And, just to be clear, I’m not trying to convince anyone to eat meat or to stop being vegan or vegetarian.
This post is for the many, many people who have reached out to me asking for help because they’ve realized they need to try adding meat back into their diets. Along with these tips, I offer kindness, compassion, and empathy for a very tough decision.
8 Tips to Reintroduce Meat
1. Re-introduce animal foods slowly, and one at a time
A person transitioning from a vegetarian or vegan diet back to an omnivorous diet might want to introduce fish first, then poultry, and then red meat.
If you have been vegan and are adding animal products back in, eggs might even be a better first choice before fish. It’s a very individual decision and there’s no one right way to start. Even listening to your cravings might be the best rule of thumb.
I understand that some people may choose to stay away from red meat for good, but for others, red meat provides the nutrients that they’ve been lacking on a vegetarian or vegan diet. By all means, don’t fall for the pack of lies that fake meat is comparable to real meat. Fake meat is, in fact, a highly processed, unhealthy food.
Read my article on the potential dangers of plant-based meat.
Red meat from grass-fed, organic sources is an incredible source of healthy vitamins like B12, minerals such as zinc and iron, beneficial antioxidants like glutathione, and essential fatty acids such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
In fact, adding meat back into your diet may help reverse one of the biggest dangers of vegan diet which is B12 deficiency.
And, of course, meat is a very bioavailable source of protein, with all sources of animal protein providing complete sources of protein.
Start your reintroduction of meat slowly, and with one protein at a time. This means trying 1-2 ounces of cooked animal proteins a day. Or, if you are really having a hard time, try eating 1-2 bites of lean protein per meal.
This approach can help reacclimatize your body to digesting protein again and it can also help alert you to any allergies or intolerances to foods as eggs and shellfish are among the top food allergens.
Over a period of days or weeks, you can start to eat more variety of animal proteins and in greater quantity with each meal. Be sure to listen to your body and maybe even keep a symptom journal to note your changes in energy or other symptoms that resolve or occur after you eat.
2. Support your digestion by taking enzymes
If you’ve ever experienced or heard about the “heavy” feeling that can come with eating meat after being vegan or vegetarian, then you might benefit from taking some digestive enzymes or betaine HCL with your meal.
Eating meat after being vegetarian can take some time for your body to adjust.
The most likely reason for that heavy feeling you get after eating red meat is compromised digestion. Or, maybe you ate too much of it at one time.
Those meat-digesting enzymes were taking a break when you were vegetarian or vegan, and your body might need some help.
Low stomach acid is not uncommon. Your functional medicine practitioner can run tests to determine if you would benefit from taking enzymes (find a functional medicine doctor near you).
If you suspect that red meat is affecting your gallbladder, you may need to supplement with bile salts. It helps if you use a slow cooker to prepare your meat.
You might like this recipe for Slow Cooker Tri Tip with Root Vegetables, for example. Slow cooking your meat will help break down the proteins more making it easier to digest (see all my tips for how to eat clean without starving yourself).
Or, for another red meat option, you could opt for bison instead, which has less fat and may be easier for your digestive system to process. See my article on the health benefits of bison or my recipe for a Ground Bison Bowl.
If you have continue to have stomach heaviness or other digestive issues after eating meat again, you may need to take it slower. Reduce your portion size or try a different protein.
You may also need to consider adding more probiotic sources to your diet to help your system. See my list of the best foods with natural probiotics and also check out my article with the best gut healing foods.
3. Choose higher-fat cuts of meat for more flavor
Let’s be honest, the most flavorful cuts of red meat contain more fat.
If you find yourself grimacing at the taste of red meat, it may mean that you’re choosing too lean of a cut. An example is switching from consuming 99% lean ground beef to one that has an 80/20 ratio. The fat in meat adds flavor and helps make the meat tender and appealing to consume.
There’s no need to fear the fat if you’re consuming organic, grass-fed and grass-finished beef. In conventionally raised beef products, toxins generally get stored in fat tissue.
But in organic, grass-fed and grass-finished beef products, consuming some of the fat is actually quite beneficial. You’ll get an added dose of conjugated linoleic acid, plus the fat will help you absorb all those essential vitamins and minerals that are so plentiful in red meat.
See my guide on how to find grass-fed meat near you.
4. Consider the source of your meats
Conventional feedlot beef is not a good choice for a myriad of reasons. Both vegan and paleo communities agree that factory farming is unethical, unnatural, and horrible for animals and the planet. There are quite a few companies that source their meat from organic, grass-fed and grass-finished farms.
Outside of buying from local farms, you can now order online and have frozen grass-fed meats shipped directly to your door.
You may need to purchase an extra freezer for your garage to help store all the extra meat, but you’ll certainly save money and have control over the quality of your animal proteins by buying from trusted sources.
5. Lose the fear of eating meat
Sarah Ballantyne from The Paleo Mom wrote an informative blog post debunking the “unhealthy” myth that surrounds red meat consumption. She cites studies that have shown that red meat may cause cancer.
And while it’s possible that red meat does contribute to the formation of cancer, eating red meat with plenty of vegetables mitigates your cancer risk.
There’s really no need to worry about red meat being unhealthy if you’re eating clean most of the time and consuming plenty of vegetables.
The idea that eating meat always causes disease is one of the ways proponents of a vegan diet use fear to grow the movement. Choosing cleaner, less processed sources of meat and not charring it helps mitigate your cancer risk as well.
Additionally, in 2019, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine “found low- to very low-certainty evidence that diets lower in unprocessed red meat may have little or no effect on the risk for major cardiometabolic outcomes and cancer mortality and incidence.”
So, this is further evidence that meat is not bad for humans.
6. Get help with disordered eating patterns
Even with the understanding that red meat is part of a healthy, balanced diet, people with a history of eating disorders or disease may struggle with the idea of eating red meat again.
As stated above, red meat is not an unhealthy addition to one’s diet when done right.
However, obsessing about restricting certain foods, such as red meat, could be unhealthy and may trigger some people to go back to their disordered ways of eating.
This interesting study encourages the use of “real food” meal plans over restricted diet meal plans for people recovering from eating disorders.
Getting help with this transition to eating meat again could include anything from working with a specialist to simply learning from informed people who have a balanced perspective. This article also provides a great balanced perspective on how the vegan talking points aren’t actually correct.
Here are some other tips for what to do if you have orthorexia.
7. Choose a variety of red meats and animal proteins
The truth is, humans evolved eating a much more varied diet than most of us eat now. The variety is what provides us with the macro- and micro-nutrients our bodies need.
I am guilty of eating the same foods over and over again, but I’m trying to get into the habit of ordering different types and cuts of red meat and other animal proteins when I order online.
It’s also a good idea to try different cooking styles when you’re getting back into the habit of eating meat again. In fact, I remember feeling very overwhelmed by how to cook meat without drying it out when I was adding it back into my diet.
Be sure to check out my articles on the safest cookware options for your kitchen, plus the safest cooking oils and a picky eater list.
You can also try using animal-based protein powders to help add more protein to your diet. I have a list of the best best non-whey protein powder that might be helpful.
And, as a last resort, you can even try something like cricket protein to help get more high quality protein into your diet.
8. Get social support and join new communities
Leaving veganism or vegetarianism is a huge life change; many people say that veganism is less of a diet and more of a lifestyle. For me, the experience of moving away from a vegan diet and vegan lifestyle meant re-building my identify and finding new communities to join.
The paleo and primal communities are filled with ex-vegans, including Mark Sisson and Chris Kresser who have each created empires around conscious food choices.
A simple search on Facebook for “recovering vegans” will result in groups of people who have gone through this experience and have experienced vegan health risks.
Life transitions as big as this are always made easier with the support of others.
My Experience Reintroducing Meat
I was 100% plant-based from around 2011 to 2014. But, I stopped being vegan and realized I had to make a change to support my failing health.
I experienced several of the problems with a vegan diet including fatigue, nutritional deficiencies, and an increase in symptoms from my autoimmune disease.
Once I made the decision to stop being vegan, I immediately started craving eggs and steak. I started with eggs and moved quickly to red meat. I did not have any negative physical effects from eating animal products again, but I did start taking a betaine HCL supplement with meals to help with digesting protein.
I did struggle with the ethics of eating animals but I made the decision to try as hard as I could to eat only sustainably-raised livestock and animals. I also worked with a professional eating disorders therapist who helped me work through the difficult decision to eat animal foods.
I did a lot of reading and questioning around the ethics of eating meat and came to the conclusion that our bodies evolved to function with the nutrients from animal products, so it was counterproductive to try and argue against what my body needed to work correctly.
It as a very tough decision but I am happy that I ultimately listened to my body and did what was best for my health.
FAQs About Eating Meat Again
No, vegans do not eat meat or any product that comes from an animal. Many vegans also avoid wearing clothes or using any other products that come from an animal, such as leather.
Vegetarians or vegans won’t get sick when they eat meat, but they might feel sluggish or have a stomachache if they eat too much too quickly.
Start slowly and with small amounts. Some people might find it easier to eat fish or ground meat to start.
Vegetarians or vegans might not be making as much digestive enzymes, so it’s not a bad idea to take digestive enzymes when you reintroduce meat.
Vegetarians technically do not eat fish, but I would encourage you to be less concerned about rules, and more concerned about supplying your body with the nutrients it needs. So, if you want to eat fish, then eat fish!
This is a tough issue and may require some professional counseling from a dietitian or eating disorders specialist. There is really no reason to feel guilt for nourishing your body the way it evolved to be fed. However, societal pressures can lead to feelings of guilt. Outside of consulting with a professional, you might try offering thanks to the animals for nourishing you before you eat a meal. It can also be helpful to connect with other people who did not thrive on a vegan or vegetarian diet and who have gone through what you are going through.
If you are not feeling well on a strict vegan diet, then you may want to consider consulting a profession who can do lab work or evaluate whether or not you need to change your diet. A vegan diet is considered a very restrictive diet and can lead to health issues.
It may be helpful to consult a dietitian or eating disorders specialist who can help you change your attitudes about eating meat.
You may also want to try meat dishes that are made in a slow-cooker with lots of vegetables to help mask the flavor of meat as you are getting used to eating it again.
Healthy Recipes to Consider When Re-Introducing Meat
More Clean Eating Kitchen Favorites
- Clean Food
- Boil Potatoes in Instant Pot
- Chicken Sweet Potato Recipe
- Homemade Almond Milk
- Diet for Leaky Gut
- Soft Food Diet
- Low Histamine Food List
Conclusions
I hope you find this post helpful! Have you had experience reintroducing red meat back into your diet after deciding to transition away from being a vegetarian or vegan? Let me know other suggestions in the comments below.
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition. She is a top wellness and food blogger with nearly 10 million annual visitors to her site. Carrie has an incredible story of recovery from chronic illness and is passionate about helping other women transform their health. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
Note: this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for recommendations related to your individual situation.
I have been struggling for some time to make the choice to return to meat eating. I have been a devout pescatarian for the past five years of my life. I compromised with myself that I would start to eat chicken again, as I have really struggled with my iron and protein. Especially now as I have started to weightlift consistently. This article is very helpful and gave soothed a lot of my anxieties with starting the process. Thank you!
I’m so glad it was helpful! I wish you continued good health and strength!
I was vegan for 8 years and trying to conceive for half that time. I wrestled with the decision to reintroduce animal foods for several years. I was an ethical vegan who at one time worked for PETA. My husband and I have operated a small organic farm for the past 3 years so we ate healthy homegrown veggies and legumes most of the year. Still, after a big plate of black eyed peas, collard greens, beets, and homemade cornbread we would both spend the night grazing on whatever we could find (often processed vegan snacks or cereal or baked goods) to try and achieve satiety.
Six months ago I finally reintroduced eggs into my diet after researching the important role of cholesterol in hormone production. We both now eat two eggs a day and it is wonderful— I’m not hungry again until lunch, whereas before I would need to eat again around 10 and was constantly snacking throughout the day. Eggs are also so much easier than vegan breakfasts I would make in the past. I underestimated the amount of mental energy I was expending trying to meet our nutritional needs without eating the most nutrient-dense foods available (animal products). My husband is not ready to have meat in the house so I order fish when we eat out. We live in an area with lots of small, responsible farmers as well as hunters that would provide an acceptable source of meat for me.
I never thought I would eat animals again but I am finally able to accept the realities of human biology. I think our bodies can run on reserves for a long time, but eventually those nutrients that just are not bioavailable in plant foods will need to be replenished. Supplements are not an adequate substitute for natural human foods.
Thank you for writing about this! I know the vitriol ex vegans face online. I’m in hiding from my vegan friends lol. I’m recovering from a lot of misinformation like “there is absolutely nothing you can’t get from plants” and regret that I fell so hard for an ideology hellbent on denying reality. It harmed me. I still have not been able to get pregnant but I am looking forward to seeing how reintroducing meat affects my fertility. There is a lot of freedom and peace in accepting natural law. I know I am on the road to recovery.
0% vegetarians return to eating meat. The people you are talking about are just weak meat eaters who decided not to eat meat for a while.
Well that is certainly not what the research shows.
You are right about the definition of being a vegetarian, since science does not look at the ethical side but uses it to describe an eating pattern. But I think we can all agree it makes it easier to understand what they are trying to say.
I’d just like to share that after almost 10 years being vegan (and mostly of the healthy-eating variety) I recently started eating salmon and tuna. Approaching age 70 I began having some health issues and whenever I read about them the science pointed to the benefits of higher consumption of Omega-3 fats, Vit D, calcium, B12 and complete protein, along with other high quality plant fats and an abundance of fruits and veg. These nutrients may be found in plant foods, which I have regularly consumed like flax, hemp, nuts, and greens, or via supplements, but the research shows they are not always readily bio-available especially as we age.
In just a few weeks I’ve noticed improvements in skin condition (psoriatic arthritis), lower blood pressure, and regular weight loss ( I could not seem to lose weight as a vegan, even on the restrictive and somewhat unpalatable ETL type diets).
I will never resort to eating mammals, birds or other animals, including farm raised fish. I caught fish a few times as a kids and would be able to do so again, but would never feel right taking the life of other animals, and have made some peace with wild, line caught seafood. I also purchased some high omega-3 “certified humane” eggs which are sitting in the fridge and may get gifted to a neighbor. I think even that standard allows for the eventual slaughter of the birds, and perpetuates the breeding process which suffocates or macerates male chicks upon hatching. I may look for a truly no kill egg farmer in my local area, but tbh don’t think I need them and the high cholesterol might not be healthful (the evidence is very conflicting). Dairy is inherently cruel in all circumstances as far as I can see, and also not a healthy food for humans. I will also continues to avoid clothing made from animal products, seek out cruelty free personal and cleaning products, and enjoy my local vegan eateries.
One interesting side effect of this change is feeling part of the human race again and not having to center my identity based on my food choices! Thanks my story and I’m sticking to it, and thanks for telling yours and for all that you do!
I’m glad you are continuing to evolve your choices and listen to what your body needs. I went through a time when I agreed with everything you said. But, the more I learn about nutrition, the more I see that foods like dairy and eggs aren’t necessarily evil or “bad” for the human body. That said, you have to do what matches your values and continue to monitor how you feel. My point is that I wouldn’t rule out any food at this point, especially without testing it and continuing to learn more about potential nutritional benefits.
This was really helpful and insightful article to read.
I have been a vegetarian for over 35 years and have recently introduced fish back into my diet following many year of have gut related problems which has progressed to Crohn’s disease . I intend to gradually introduce some meat into my diet and see how that work out.
i really do not have time or energy for people making me feel bad about my decision as this is personal choice.
My mother is 102 and has been a vegetarian than vegan for over sixty years. I myself have been vegan since the age of 24. I could never in good conscience ever go back to eating meat because I care too much about the suffering of animals. I was anemic while a meat eater and have never been again, since changing my diet. Our food choices can either reduce environmental pressures and animal welfare or add to it.
That’s wonderful but you assume everyone has your good genes and can thrive. Eating meat is part of the human experience for those who choose to do it. That said, there has to be a better way to take care of the environment and animal welfare without forcing a non-human diet on people.
Thanks for a helpful article. I didn’t eat meat for 25 years, and now I’ve been dabbling with the idea, because I have recurring aneamia and low energy levels. I’ve been eating fish for the last 12 years with no issues, and I’ve always had eggs and dairy, but meat feels like a massive step. So far the easiest things to eat have been bone broths, chicken stock and dried game jerky. These don’t give me tummy trouble, but I had a tiny bit of chicken and it gave me a bad stomach ache. Game and poultry also feels more acceptable than beef or pork. Now I’ve ordered some venison to slow cook, but will probably be only able to nibble at it a bit, we’ll see. I’m not telling anyone except my partner!
My 17 year old son went vegan for 2 months because of some GI issues that he was having. He is wanting to reintroduce meat. This article was very helpful. Thank you!
I am so glad and I hope he feels better soon!
I feel like this was the first and only genuinely helpful article I have found on this subject since I started looking. Thank you!
I’m so glad you found it helpful, good luck on your journey!
Thank you for the article. It’s been helping me with my decision. I’ve been vegan for a little over five years. Today I decided to add eggs to my diet. I don’t regret being vegan all this time, I learned a great deal about food and am now more willing to try different things than I ever used to be, I also have a much greater appreciation for animals and what they have to deal with. As far as I’m concerned, factory farming should be banned! Unfortunately, one of the things I also learned, is that my body doesn’t absorb iron they way it’s supposed to. Seems to be in the family as my mother has the same issue. I spent about 9 months using medication (ironically the iron tablets prescribed were not vegan) to get my levels back to normal, and the last two years trying to keep them there with the same medication. Of course you can find iron in plant based products, but it’s so much easier to absorb from animal products. I know eggs aren’t the best source, but I would still like to try the least destructive option first. Perhaps that might tip the balance. I won’t ever return to eating dairy, that causes far more pain and suffering than the meat industry. If I do end up eating meat, that again will require research so I know where the animals have come from and if they had a chance to live a happy life before it was taken from them, if I return home to Australia, I may even consider eating Camel meat (Camels are a pest in Australia, they roam the desert, destroy waterholes and damage plants that other animals need to survive) it would be a way of helping the environment but also avoiding a contribution to an industry that purposely breeds animals in order to kill them. In Buddhist philosophy, the idea is to find the middle road. I feel like this is going to be my middle road. Making choices that cause as little harm as I can, without giving up my health in the process.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Lauren! I agree with you on so many levels!