I catch a lot of flak from people when they find out I’m a vegetarian. This is especially true of the people who knew me before I decided to try this diet. I used to be one of those rude, slightly militant omnivores who would tell vegetarians that for every animal they didn’t eat I would eat two. Imagine my embarassment now that I don’t eat any animals but fish, and that only occasionally!
When I was a kid, I was a pretty picky eater. No vegetables for me, thank you – I’d eat raw hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and french fries. Chicken nuggets were another big favorite of mine. As I grew up I came to enjoy more different kinds of food, but I largely stayed away from veggies and rarely ate fruit.
I suppose at that time I was the “meat and potatoes” type. A good baked potato with cheese and bacon plus a nice, slightly bloody, juicy steak was a perfect meal and I tended to gravitate towards that throughout high school. I became pretty skilled on a grill as my friends and I had plenty of barbeques where we’d bring our own cut of meat and spend afternoons eating and watching movies.
Going through college, fast food became my meal of choice. I was aware of what a toll this was taking on my health but because I kept myself so busy with school and extracurriculars, I ignored it. This regular consumption (2-3 meals a day) of fast food led me to gradually phase out the greasy burger in favor of a comparatively more healthy chicken sandwich. I still felt like garbage for eating so much fast food, but it was easier on my system than red meat. In an indirect way, this eventually helped me along the path to becoming a vegetarian.
After college I was forced to confront a lot of personal issues I had been ignoring. It quickly became clear that, without a more stable physical health, my mental health, personal life and career were going to continue to suffer. I started reading everything I could get my hands on relating to diet, mostly on the internet. Had I really been thinking of the best way to improve my diet, I would have consulted a dietician and probably a personal trainer. However, due to some difficulties with my mental state, I was stubbornly focused on doing everything myself and without spending money.
While researching, I came to the conclusion that most diets recommend reducing the amount of meat one eats. Regardless of diet, fruits and vegetables and sometimes a small portion of meat were essential to every meal I read about. Around this time I also discovered the blog of Steve Pavlina, who was experimenting with the raw vegan food diet. Many of his articles expounded upon the virtues of a vegetarian diet (Steve has been vegetarian since 1993 and vegan since 1997), and I was amazed at some of his claims. Protein could be found in fruits and vegetables in sufficient quantities, even if you exercise regularly? You can experience increased mental clarity by not eating meat? Preposterous!
I did a little bit of supporting research and discovered that there were many people besides Steve making these claims. My sister had recently become a vegetarian, my girlfriend was a vegetarian, and there seemed to be a large amount of people defying the “normal” diet that most people in the country are accustomed to eating. Everything I read seemed to support the idea that, properly implemented, a vegetarian diet was completely sustainable and healthy.
After reading all this information, doing my homework, and determining to drastically change my life, I began a 30-Day Trial where I would not eat any meat for 30 days. This included fish, chicken and beef broth and stock (you’d be amazed at how much of that stuff is in your food, even vegetable dishes), and of course all other types of meat. The first two days were difficult, partly because the day before I began I ate more meat than usual to compensate. After those first two days of feeling sluggish and hazy, though, I began to feel incredible.
My mind started to clear up and I found my focus and concentration improved drastically. My skin felt cleaner, as if I had been sweating out all that meat byproduct. I found I would occasionally have cravings for meat, but later discovered that it wasn’t the meat I was craving. I was craving the familiarity of having meat in a meal. Meat substitutes, such as those offered by Morningstar Farms, would satisfy me and I was shocked at how much of the taste I remember in meat was present. I believe that most of what we associate with a meat flavor is seasonings or some sort of processed food or chemicals. If you don’t believe me, try Morningstar’s corn dogs and tell me they don’t taste shockingly like a real corn dog.
The initial learning curve was difficult. I discovered I would accidentally eat meat occasionally, usually in the form of rice that had been cooked in chicken broth or something similar. Shortly before the 30 days ended, I ordered a chile relleno dish at a restaurant that had chicken stuffed inside and ate half of it before I realized what happened. I was criticized by several of my friends. They said I was faking being a vegetarian to explain my accidental consumption of meat. They also said it was just a phase and pretty soon I’d need protein and go back to a good old-fashioned American diet.
I’ve been a lacto-ovo pescatarian since June 2008 and I have no real intention to go back to eating meat. The desire for the flavor and texture I remember is now overwhelmed by the thought that I am eating something’s flesh. I feel healthier, I think more clearly, and I enjoy many foods and spices that I never would have tried while I ate meat. In addition, I feel good about making a small contribution towards a cleaner, more sustainable food industry.
Someday I may go back to eating meat as a trial, although I think I would stick to two weeks instead of thirty days. A part of me wants to confirm the results I’ve had and see if perhaps a largely vegetarian diet with limited meat will be optimal for me. One reason I’m hesitant to do this, though, is that I now look at meat and think of it as dead, cooked flesh. I always knew it was flesh before, but for some reason it hits me harder now and I equate it much more with eating human flesh or pet flesh.
I understand that many people take exception to vegetarians (or pescatarians, in my case), and I accept that. If someone chooses to eat meat, that’s completely fine. I only ask that a person who continues to eat meat explore other options and realize that it is possible to survive without killing animals. If you don’t want to stop eating meat, then don’t. Just make sure it’s a choice you make.
None of the information in this article is intended to be medical advice; consult your doctor and/or a nutritionist before making any drastic dietary changes. Do your homework!
—
Interested in trying a vegetarian diet? Here are some helpful links:
www.goveg.com – I don’t agree with all of PETA’s tactics, claims or ideals, but they do offer great information for aspiring vegetarians.
www.living-foods.com/faq.html – If you find vegetarians extreme, check out raw foodism. There’s good information here and it helps put being lacto-ovo vegetarian in perspective.
zenhabits.net/2007/08/how-to-become-a-vegetarian-the-easy-way/ – One of the first articles I read as I was researching.
-Michael
