As an avid carnivore, preferring meat and potatoes over any and all things green, I surprised myself about four weeks ago. I was CRAVING, with a vengeance, buffalo wings. This craving had been on my mind for days, but I had ignored it to the point that said craving had taken over. I went straight to the store after work to procure the elements. Walking through the store on my way to meats, my eye was drawn to a package. Smart Wings. "Hmmm," though I, "What are these?" Fake meat. Fake buffalo wings, no less. I normally would have walked away, but the caloric information held my gaze. 100 calories per serving. What?! Well, they can't be good, right? I mean...it's FAKE MEAT...it cannot be good! Then I thought, "Well, if they're horrible, I'll just come back for the real thing later." That's how it all started. One afternoon in a grocery store. And they were good. So good, in fact, that I challenged myself to go one whole weekend with no meat. When that seemed easy, I figured, what's a week? And now that I had gonna a week with no meat, I figured I may as well finally read the book I had owned for a few years, Skinny Bitch. I had been putting off reading this book, because I had absolutely no interest in giving up meat. And then I read it.
I, obviously, did not stop eating meat due to any sort of political agenda. But any desire I had to go back to it went away after reading this book. I will save my dominion vs. stewardship rant for another time, and simply leave it at I will never eat meat again.
I had been feeling better the last few weeks than I remember feeling in 20 years! Sleeping like a proverbial baby; waking refreshed; energized throughout the day; no nappy-time necessary around 2 p.m.; feeling full and not thinking about my next meal every second of the day. These were rare occurrences for me, but they were becoming consistent. Like the book said! Weird! BUT there were two very vital issues for me in the authors' lifestyles: caffeine and dairy. I couldn't possibly give up my five-a-day Diet Dr. Pepper habit! That would be lunacy! What would I drink all day long?! Water?! Are you kidding me? Nope, not kidding. AND cheese?! But cheese is part of my new vegetarian (now known to me as ovo-lacto vegetarianism) diet. A staple, even!
I had already given up my twice daily meat habit, so I gave it a try. It's been a week and a half with no DDP or cheddar. I really do miss the cheddar, and I can't see a DDP without a little tear welling up, but I feel amazing! My only dietary issue now is 15 minutes of sun exposure per day for the essential Vitamin D. We vampires can't afford the skin cancer risks, so it will have to be a supplement there. Otherwise, I am getting far more nutrients (and a lot less poisons) than ever before, and I can tell. I can feel it. Inside my body and in the lessening of aggression toward other people. It's weird and fun all at the same time.
