Going vegetarian is one of those goals that a lot of us like to set for ourselves, but never actually live up to. I know I can think of quite a few failed attempts to become a vegetarian that ended up lasting on a couple of days before I caved in and went back to eating meat. Part of the reason this can be such a difficult change, and really why any dietary change can be difficult, is due to the supposed enormity of the change. After all, there are few habits more deeply ingrained into our being than the way we eat. We do it every day, multiple times a day, largely unconsciously. Because it's such a large goal, many people find it easier to become vegetarian, or make any dietary change, one day at a time.
So what does that mean exactly? Well, essentially what you do is decide on what change you want to make, and you start out by making that change for a single day a week to start. For this article that change is going to be going vegetarian. So, what you do it decide on one day a week when you absolutely won't eat meat. Maybe it's for a Friday, maybe it's for a Monday, maybe for Sundays. The day doesn't really matter, but generally you'll have an easier time if the day won't present a lot of temptations to eat meat. So if you always go out to the steak house on Friday's, then maybe your lazy Sundays spent in your house are a better bet to start.
Once you have your day in place, it's a good idea to be as fun and adventurous with this day as possible. Most people think becoming vegetarian is a real dietary limitation, while many vegetarians argue that it greatly expanded their diets. It's a good idea to take out some vegetarian cookbooks, or maybe join or start a vegetarian meet up group for this day. The idea is to make the vegetarian day a fun event that will be something new and exciting. Try new recipes, eat food that you like to eat, share your experiences with other people, do what you need to do to make the day something special. Besides the immediate benefit of making the day something you look forward to, you'll also find that you're slowly building a reserve of relationships and recipes that will help you make the larger transition to being a full time vegetarian.
Once you feel comfortable with your vegetarian day, for instance once you've practiced the day once a week for a month straight, you can then move on to giving yourself two vegetarian days a week. Saturdays and Sundays are good for this, as they are two days already set apart as something special for most people. Do two days a week for a month, then expand to three, then four, and so on until you make it to being a full time vegetarian.
Personal change doesn't need to happen all at once, and most people find it far more effective to make gradual changes that build up to something large and life changing. Try this approach the next time you want to make the change to a vegetarian diet, and in a couple months you'll find it second nature to live in accord with your beliefs.