Going vegetarian

I’ve been thinking about this a lot as of late. Actually I’ve been thinking about going vegetarian for more than two years now. In 2010, I went the first 5 months without eating any meat. And then I fell off the wagon and never got back on … I’d really like to go vegan, but I need to be realistic. If I can make it as a vegetarian for awhile, then I can transition to veganism.

So why? For me, it has nothing to do with ethics (sorry). Though I do love the animals that have been an important part of my life, but I just have never found issue with animals being in the food chain and humans partaking of said animals. Don’t shoot me .. it has a lot to do with how I was raised. I was in 4-H. I raised pigs with the specific purpose of being sold at auction and then slaughtered. My dad has a working cattle ranch. I’ve always been exposed to meat as food. Good or bad, it’s what I know.

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve experienced more health issues. I’m not dying (thank goodness … dodged that cancer bullet), but I also feel like crap. A lot. I’ve lost a ton of weight in the last year (35 pounds). I’ve added a significant amount of exercise to my life (running and walking 60 to 100 miles a month). But still, I’m tired and achy. I keep thinking: garbage in, garbage out. I put a lot of garbage in my body, so I shouldn’t be shocked that I feel like trash. I think it’s time to start thinking about what I’m putting into my body and start taking things away that aren’t helping.

I’m on day four of no meat. I’ve been eating dairy and eggs, which makes me a ovo-lacto vegetarian. I really like dairy, though looking at some of my health issues (gas: no need to say more), it might serve me well to cut back and eventually phase out dairy. But for now, it stays. I’m also quite certain I’m a sugar addict. Now sugar has nothing to di with becoming a vegetarian, but it relates to my overall better folder.

It helps that I’m traveling, so I don’t have to worry about what I’ll feed Mike and the kids. But it’s also hard to travel and find food that is good, filling and vegetarian. I was scouring the internet the last few days and came across this great article with tips on how to transition to a vegetarian diet. I appreciated the idea that it’s okay to go at your own pace and slowly transition. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing in the beginning. 

I came across a cool blog that is compiling a list of restaurants (even fast food ones) that have vegan friendly menu items. This helped me last night to make good choices at Chipotle.

Anyone else out there making major changes in their diets? Anyone else cutting out meat? Have any tips for me? Or tips on how I can get Mike and the kids on board?