This study examines the lived experiences of vegetarians in the city of Yazd. Yazd, as a traditional city with an emphasis on family cohesion and meat-centered dietary patterns, is a context in which vegetarianism functions beyond a nutritional choice and becomes a social identity accompanied by cultural-familial tensions and negotiations. Given the limitations of qualitative studies on vegetarianism in Iran and traditional cities, this research was conducted with the aim of understanding the challenges, identity processes, and social consequences of vegetarianism. With a qualitative approach and thematic analysis method, purposive sampling was conducted and 21 vegetarians over 18 years of age with at least three months of sustained adherence were selected. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with informed consent and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings are summarized in five main themes: 1) Representation of the vegetarian body as an insufficient body (protein deficiency, severe thinness, reduced fertility); 2) Multilayered nature of lived experience (family pressure, social mockery, practical limitations, and occasional acceptance by educated groups); 3) Imposition of identity through negative labeling (“grass-eater,” “affected”) and psychological pressure; 4) Becoming vegetarian (transition from ethical doubt to identity stabilization and relationship improvement); 5) Lifestyle management strategies (stability of beliefs, situational flexibility, awareness-raising, plant-based cooking skills, and concealment). Finally, vegetarianism in Yazd is a dynamic and in-between experience that faces cultural resistance but simultaneously provides an opportunity for personal growth, ethical-environmental commitment, and relationship reconstruction. Participants consider it a philosophical and identity-based choice.