31 days til(l) Summer Challenge: Why I'm a vegetarian

So one of the things that people could choose on the challenge was to eat vegetarian for a day. One of my friends asked me why I was a vegetarian. I haven't answered it in awhile. It seems like the reasons vary from day to day sometimes.

I've been a vegetarian since I was 15...so almost 15 years. I would give up meat once a year during Lent...and after one season I didn't incorporate chicken back into my diet. I had a friend who was a vegetarian and I at least had a reference for meat-less eating. So after chicken, I noticed how I felt when I ate red meat. I was always lethargic and felt really heavy. I became that vegetarian. I ate everything that wasn't meat...tons of pasta and junk food. Oopsies. I think when I was in college I began to understand and expand what I could eat as a vegetarian. I incorporated more proteins and tried to eat more balanced meals. There were days that I would just eat vegetarian chili from the ZT Johnson cafeteria...and times i'd eat subway and other times i'd eat cheese pizza. I didn't have a strong grasp of whole eating at that point.

I went to grad school and packed on the pounds. I had a love-hate relationship with Betty Crocker and the neighborhood Coldstone...oopsies poopsies. Moved to Omaha and tipped the scale around 230.



I was still a 'vegetarian.' I started on Weight Watchers. I began thinking more about the impact that my food had on my health and on the rest of the world. By this time I had traveled to a number of our fields..and it's the story we hear often...Americans are obese while the rest of the world is starving. So, those are two aspects of why I'm a vegetarian, health and others. I don't get it right all of the time. I try to choose healthy, whole foods that are hopefully grown somewhat locally, but again, don't get it right all of the time.

I've also incorporating some seafood into my diet. That's the trickiest part. I also love love love animals. I wear leather though...so I'm not a card-carrying Peta member. K and I went to Miami for our honeymoon and I gotta tell ya, I had to have some seafood when I was there...hello Ocean :) So since then I have seafood a few times a week.

If you're doing the challenge, try going veggie for a day...I can give you some really fun websites and recipes, there are so many options. I try to eat whole foods, well-rounded and balanced meals....good grains, veggies, fruits, dairy...I get it all in.

Like I've said though...it's not about what you put in your body...it's what is happening on the inside with your emotions. Deal with 'em, don't starve 'em or gorge them with food....deal with them and be friends with them. They're your emotions, they want to be paid attention to, that's it. They don't want to control you.