being vegetarian

July will make it 9 years since I became a vegetarian...or is it 10 years? It's been so long that I don't even remember. I do, however, remember why I stopped eating meat. After many failed attempts of trying to go vegetarian (like the time I got hungry and ate a can of Chef Boyardi because I forgot that I stopped eating meat) I watched a now cancelled TV show and decided right then to never eat meat.

I originally gave up meat for moral reasons. The show was 30 Days with Morgan Spurlock where people were asked to step out of their comfort zones and live in someone else's shoes for 30 days. The particular episode that resonated with me had a deer hunter live with a PETA exec and learn about being a vegan and the meat industry. I won't tell you the details of the show, you can watch any documentary about the meat industry, but what I decided is that if we are what we eat, then we are eating sadness and misery. I don't want sadness and misery in my body.

Going vegetarian, when surrounded by meat eaters is not easy. They say things like "oh, you can't eat meat.", and I correct them with "I can eat meat, I choose not to." Or I'll hear "I'm sorry you don't eat meat." ...Um I'm not sorry. I made a conscious effort to not be one of 'those' vegetarians, you know, the kind who like to talk about how horrible the meat industry is as you're eating meat. However, I found that when most people asked me why I became a vegetarian, they weren't really interested when I was ready to get into my story, so I just kept my answer to 'for moral reasons.'

Fast forward a few years later when I got severely sick with a super bacteria for over 2 weeks. During that time, I was unable to eat anything. It was the most sick I had ever been in my life. After I finally got better, I made the decision to eat healthy. While I had a mild case of this super bacteria (some people suffer from C Diff their entire lives and it can kill you), I will say that it was something of a detox (although I wouldn't wish it on anyone). Because I wasn't able to eat or drink anything, I was able to finally able to fix my caffeine addiction and get rid of some other cravings. I also believe this is where my gluten intolerance came from (or got worse). Either way, I decided that I would eat as healthy as possible. I began reading nutritional books, following blogs and watching food documentaries. I became an advocate for vegetarianism and eating vegetables.

I could never see me going back to eating meat or fish again. I still eat eggs and cheese on occasion as well as use half and half in my tea. (I had to give up bread, don't make me give up cheese too.) The results are that I don't get sick as much, my skin looks great and my hair sheds a lot less.

Are you a vegetarian or thinking about it? I want to know more.