Hi I'm newly Vegetarian and could do with your support!

hey! gratz on making the change!

what exactly do you need help with?

struggling with food ideas?
nutrition?

you can check out the forum thread "accidently vegan" for HEAPS of ideas on what to eat. most of it, if not all of it is instant.. which makes things easy.

it can be hard at first.. but just remember we've all been there so we're all able to help

good luck

nutrition for me is going to be one of the hardest because of my constant lack of Iron- (anemic as a kid) i've been trying hard to eat lots of Dark green vegies beans mushies etc. and i do feel a bit of a fraud due to cravings (which i am exceptionly ashamed of so please don't judge) it does get hard at family events (coming from an italian/ Aussie family) people constantly trying to push murdered animals in your face. telling them your vegetarian just doesn't seem to sink in which always ends in a fight with their rebuttal of "is ok one bite won't hurt" and "you used to love it" "its just a phase" i guess i really just signed up here for a bit more support

you can get vego iron supplements in tablets... there is information on one of the threads. the first few weeks are always the hardest... but it gets much easier. one you know where you are with things and figure out favourite foods, supplements etc etc.

for your cravings.. try faux mince, faux cheese, faux chicken, faux ham, faux roast etc etc. In the supermarket try to find the Sanitarium things - frozen section i think. their products should help a lot. I would also invest in a vego cook book.

Hey, don't panic about the cravings. I'm a vegetarian of 3 years and honey chicken still smells pretty damn good to me. It's normal

Don't feel because you're 20 its sad that you're only becoming a vegetarian, it doesn't matter what time of your life you change.
People from Unleashed will give you so much support in the ways of being a vegetarian, if you want advice or just a chat. I've been on this site since February when there were only like gosh..20 people signed  up? And the responses over time have been so amazing, so your family and friends may lack in the support you need but we can help you out. And by the way, I had the same issue, being the only veg in my family it was kinda hard and still is to make people understand why I made this lifestyle. But its totally worth it, the arguements and questions you get let you express the issues that need to be more familiarised in Australia and can make such an improvement in someone elses life.
Now, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is pretty challenging at the start but don't be afraid to try different veggies and fruits aswell as asking your doctor about supplements you may need to take. Im on iron tablets only, but I know people who need more, just don't take what isn't advised to you.
If you're having trouble, going cold turkey isn't always the greatest idea and you usually should start out by just cutting meat out slowly, but whatever works for you is fine.
Go through some of these forums, I have posted a few helping new vegetarians where the Unleashed crew have shown their support giving nice recipes, tips and places where you can have a delicious meal on a night out!
don't be afraid to message someone, promise we don't bite..seeing as most of us don't like meat.

haha true

welcome to the veg*n family

i know its hard changing your ways, especially when you have a farming family (my grandparents owned a sheep farm, my mum was raised on a sheep farm) so not eating meat is like going against their livelihood. and yes we are!

but never fear, for we are all here.... for you! we've all been there, done that, got the shirt (see the merch for sale through animals australia! that's sure to stir the family )

as matt said there is so much fake meat in woolies/coles these days! sanitarium have sausges, ham, bacon, mince, burger patties, chicken fillets, deli luncheon rolls, umm... everything! there's even flavoured tofu which is great in salads.

as for the comments and ppl not believing that this is a life long commitment, i'd just use that as more fuel for ur fire! prove to them that u are serious and stick to it i find it easier to ignore them to debate with them.

but stick with it, you're doing the right thing, not only for the animals, but urself too.

congrats on becoming a vegetarian!

don't worry we've all been there when everyone just thinks its a phase, but really that does just give more of a reason to be one and prove them wrong. once they see your serious and sticking to it then the back off a bit.
at the start its always the toughest, almost everyone gets cravings at first, they go away and when they don't you just try finding a replacement that usually helps me.

you won't really want to get into debates about it all so around friends you could try joking about a bit which usually makes it easier to talk about, that way you can educate people but not in a preachy way, no one likes people who preach.

buy a cookbook and when you go to family events bring a favourite vegetarian meal, so you know for sure you'll have something nice to eat and you never know who'll like it.

this is a pretty great site to get support, everyone knows what they're talking about (if not someone soon kindly corrects them) we've all been trough roughly the same thing and i could go on with this for ages but i must be going.

best of luck and again congratulations on becoming a vegetarian!

great advice jessica!