veggie to chicken to back

Hey all! So I have been on and off veg growing up. If I decide to eat meat I keep it to chicken, turkey, and fish. I was veg for a while, but one night meditated and randomly thought of chicken. That week I found myself adding chicken to my salad. I strangely felt I needed it. Over a year later I now find myself going more vegan and avoiding meat and dairy. I am thinking I needed more grounding there for a while, but now I feel myself coming back. It all feels intuitive.

Has this happened to anyone else?

[knightofalbion]

I suspect it might be a nutritional imbalance i.e. maybe you aren't getting enough complete protein.
Just like a pregnant woman has food cravings. It's her body telling her she needs extra this or that, and the body associates certain foods as being a source, hence the cravings.

If it's just the allure of chicken taste, there are faux chicken vegan 'meats' available.

[Green.Heals]

There are those that admit to Flexitarian, & of course everyone has their own view on this.

It may be you're not getting enough nutrients or a wider range variety of A) Minerals, B) Fat C) Protein

& Or it may be what YOU need in your diet. Keep experimenting.

[Emmalevine]

I'm a bit like this actually. I've been and on and off vegetarian since my teens but reverted to fish and even meat at times. I do have health issues though so part of my decision to revert has stemmed around wanting to improve or, more importantly, wanting to stop myself getting worse, rather than as an intuitive thing.

I think Knight has a point about the protein though. I have a sugar addiction which is considerably more under control now, but I think when I was vegetarian and found myself feeling worse it was due to eating too many empty calories and not enough protein.

My advice, if you want it, is to watch your protein intake. Hemp protein powders are good as a back up. Snack on nuts and seeds if you can tolerate them. Lots of unprocessed meals using beans, lentils, tofu, grains, eggs if you eat them. It's important to eat enough. Your craving for chicken might be that your body is desperate for a condensed form of protein because it knows its lacking.

If this doesn't help then don't beat yourself up. Our bodies are different and a diet that works for one person might make another ill. I tried paleo not so long ago because many people have claimed miraculous results but I had never felt so ill in my life. Likewise a vegetarian diet might work perfectly for a lot of people but be unsustainable for some. My suggestion is to ensure your protein and healthy fat intake are optimum on a vegetarian diet then look at where you are in terms of cravings.