I have an old friend who swore on his life that he’d never eat meat again about twenty years ago.

Well, fast forward to today and the guy can’t get enough of the stuff!

Steak, ribs, chicken: you name it, he’ll eat it!

Let’s hear from folks who opened up about why they stopped being vegans and vegetarians.

1. F**k it.

“I was a vegetarian for a year and a half.

I came home to care for my grandfather, last stages cancer. Upon my arrival he made a lot of meat food that i used to love. (Gołąbki, he made the best i ever ate). He forgot I don’t eat meat.

I told him that and I watched his face became so sad… f**k it, I’m going to eat it. He was so happy to cook for me while he still could.”

2. Enabling it.

“Realized I was using being vegan as an excuse to enable my eating disorder.

Less options for me to eat, almost never had to eat out with friends/family or on the holidays. I do love animals/Earth and told myself that’s why I was vegan but….. I don’t fully know.

I couldn’t fully recover until I had a less restrictive diet.”

3. Blame it on Italy.

“I was veggie for almost 2 years while traveling.

Not for any reason in particular, other than having lost the taste for meat.

Then I came back to Italy and at the first big dinner had meat again and it was, unfortunately, delicious.”

4. Wasn’t a good idea.

“Traveled and lived in places where there truly was not adequate nutrition available as a vegan – true malnutrition is awful.

Plus, cultural expectations in those areas around entertaining guests, hospitality, celebrations, and rituals don’t always leave the option open to refuse a specific food without offending or hurting the host or community, which meant that I needed to consider balancing my preferences with the needs and practices of the communities I was living in.

Today, I’m primarily plant-based in practice but don’t call myself vegetarian or vegan. I learned a lot about how I think about food, food culture, and the privilege of choice from those experiences.”

5. Too much work.

“I was a vegetarian for 10 years and honestly I just felt like it was too much of a pain.

I still limit my meat, I won’t prepare it for myself and if given a vegetarian option I will choose that.

But if someone prepares meat for me or there aren’t other options easily available I’ll eat it.”

6. Couldn’t do it.

“I lived in Mexico in a small city. I couldn’t maintain my veganism there.

And when someone would prepare food for me I had to accept it.”

7. Used to be edgy.

“I was an edgy vegetarian teen, but when I was in the university we had to visit a lot of small towns.

Locals were incredibly welcoming and they provided food for us, all with meat. I obviously ate, it would be very rude not to, food is not just food in a lot of situations in Mexico.”

8. Switching gears.

“A change in health circumstances led to a (doctor-recommended) restrictive diet which meant cutting out a number of fruits and vegetables.

Couple that with gluten intolerance and veganism and I could barely eat anything. I had to prioritize my health.”

9. Feeling out of it.

“I had brain fog all the time and I was trying to lose weight, so I focused on eating vegtables and I just kept feeling sick / gaining weight.

Tried a low fermentation diet, and my life just got so much better. Some bodies just can’t process vegtables.”

10. Thanks, Mom.

“I was a vegetarian because I thought I h**ed meat.

Turns out my mom couldn’t cook, she never used seasoning.

So once I got out on my own, and started cooking for myself, I learned I actually do like meat.”

11. As simple as that.

“Becoming a mother.

If I don’t eat leftover chicken nuggets I don’t eat.”

12. Just being polite…

“It was the inconvenience for others.

For instance, going to people’s house and them feeling the need to cater to me. Also I travel a lot and it’s disrespectful to not eat what they make.

Does not help you make friends.”

13. Wow.

“I was vegan for 8 years— for health, the animals, the environment— and also because it was a great cover for my eating disorder.

All day long for 8 years I thought about what I could and couldn’t eat.

It’s been so healing for the last four years to eat what I want, to nourish my body and to not put any restriction or much thought into food.”

Do you have a story like this?

If so, please share it with us in the comments.

We can’t wait to hear from you!