Becoming a Vegetarian: My Journey and the Moment That Changed Everything

In April 2022, I traveled across Vietnam and witnessed something that quietly, but permanently, changed me. I didn’t know it then, but this would become my journey of becoming a vegetarian. No, it wasn’t the raw cuts of meat—I had seen those before. Trust me when I say this, I’ve watched meat/chicken being cut since childhood. But somehow, it never really struck me that what I was eating was the same as what I was seeing.

I remember one incident very clearly. My grandmother was butchering a chicken, carefully removing its feathers. She told all of us kids, to go away, probably thinking it would disturb or upset us. But of course, we didn’t listen. We hid in a corner and watched the whole thing. And surprisingly, it didn’t feel weird or disturbing because it was just food for us that tasted amazing. We didn’t think about its pain or its life. It was simply something that would end up on our plates.

What Changed Everything?

Cut to my time in Vietnam. At one of the stalls, I saw dog meat being displayed. Not chopped pieces, but whole dogs, laid out after being skinned. And something about that sight broke me. Maybe because I have two pet dogs at home. I couldn’t disconnect what I was seeing from what I feel for them every day. That image stayed with me for months. It kept coming back, uninvited. And then came the question I couldn’t escape: 

Isn’t it hypocritical of me to love the animals I pet and eat the ones I don’t?

That thought didn’t leave me. Even when I tried to go back to eating non-veg, there was this constant guilt in the background, like something didn’t sit right anymore. It stopped feeling normal. So one day, almost out of nowhere, I stopped. Completely.

Do I still crave it?

Of course. I grew up loving non-vegetarian food. If given a choice earlier, I would almost never order vegetarian when eating out. And taste doesn’t just disappear. But something else became stronger than the craving.

The Challenges I Didn’t Expect

Yes, I did face problems, way more than I had expected. A few months into this change, my Vitamin D and B12 levels dropped critically low, so much so that I was not able to get out of bed one day, and I was convinced that I was having an attack. Somehow, with all the pain, I made it to the doctor’s clinic and came out with immediate vitamin shots to recover.

When I started reading more about it, I came across information on Vitamin B12 deficiency (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/) and Vitamin D deficiency symptoms (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-deficiency-symptoms), and it suddenly made a lot more sense why my body reacted the way it did.

In hindsight, it wasn’t just the diet change. I have a desk job that starts early in the morning, and I hardly get any direct sunlight. That contributed just as much. It took my body around 8–9 months to show these effects, but when it did, it was impossible to ignore.

What I Changed After That

Over time, I became more aware of what my body actually needed. I’ve experimented with my eating habits before, too, like in my experience with fasting, but this felt very different; this time, it stayed.

I also started understanding nutrition better. I had earlier shared my thoughts on protein intake, but now I have actually begun applying it. Learning about plant-based protein sources (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/) helped me make more balanced choices.

Now, I get my vitamin profile checked at least once every six months. If there’s any noticeable deficiency, I start supplements early instead of waiting for things to get worse. It’s a small habit, but it makes a big difference.

Looking back, becoming a vegetarian wasn’t a decision I made overnight; it was something that stayed with me and slowly changed me. It wasn’t for health or trends or even immediate. It was a slow shift, triggered by one moment, shaped by one uncomfortable question, and reinforced by a feeling I couldn’t ignore. And once that realization settled in, there was no going back.