Maybe. So what. I got good friends who are hippies and tree huggers. I am borderline myself, so lets cut some slack. Ha-ha! I have been eating vegetarian for almost 2 weeks now. I know that isn't a long time but I just wanted to talk about it a little bit. First off, no it isn't easy at first. Your body is used to eating what it eats and when you deny it what it's used to, I believe you go through withdrawal. It was hard to push through, but I have made it. I actually enjoy the challenge of trying to find new foods to eat. In America I think it is much easier. We just never thought about not eating meat. The choices are plentiful and delicious. Just take some time and research it. I am still getting my daily fill of protein. Believe it or not, meat isn't the only source. It isn't even the healthiest choice. But I am not an expert and won't pretend to give you a list of foods to eat. This post is just to introduce you to the idea of a plant based diet.
Don't take my word for it. Check out Dr. Esselstyn's book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure". He is a doctor at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic. He is not only bringing heart disease to a halt but reversing it. I haven't made the full commitment he has, but I hope to in time. And the science and stories speak for themselves. There are also endurance athletes, boxers, mma and many other athletes from different sports who live on a plant based diet.
Lastly, I am a social meat eater. Mainly because I think it is important to honor my hosts and impose my limitations upon them. I embrace the hospitality and enjoy the food. Guiltless. Mainly because it is all about not just a healthy body but healthy relationships too. I honor relationships over my own needs. I am OK with that.
Do some homework Give it a shot. Maybe just a day a week. Do it progressively. It's not perfect. I still have to choose to eat fruits and veggies. I mean I could technically eat doughnuts and cheese pizza and still be a vegetarian. It's about good choices. So far, it works for me. Maybe I will make it 100% vegetarian (vegan) one day. We'll see. Something to shoot for.
Courtney isn't much of a meat eater to begin with, so we meat maybe once every two weeks, and even then it's never red. I honestly don't think about it that much, though I still absolutely love a steak now and then.
ReplyDeleteI particularly love your twist on the vegetarian approach, "I embrace the hospitality and enjoy the food. Guiltless....I honor relationships over my needs. I am OK with that." I think that's where Jesus enters the pictures. Thanks for bringing an individual, holistic, faith back into a community context.
On a completely different not. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to log in for comment from wordpress when I have a domain name over top of it. It's driving me nuts (vegetarian pun).