…I’m a not-so-veggie VEG-Head

Title courtesy of Liz who asks about being vegetarian…

How I became a Vegetarian
by Gina K

It all started about a year ago and it involves a face-to-face meeting with a sweet little cow. Okay, not really.

So last year….after returning from Europe {does it seem as though my life is divided into Pre- and Post-Europe?….or do I just love saying after “I returned from Europe?” with a haughty European accent, of course. Which reminds me, after I came back, for about a week I kept saying “last week, when I had lunch in Monaco…”} but anyway, I digress…

Long story shortened— I determined it was red meat making my tummy upset all the time. Literally. I was throwing up all the time…I had that acid-y feeling that was totally yucky. And quitting meat was something I had wanted to try…so I did. Just like that. First week in July I quit. And GAWD was it hard. I wanted a Whopper so badly I could practically taste it…and I think the kids at Burger King were starting to worry a little, as I’d circle the building several times just to get that heavenly burger-whiff.

For a couple of months I didn’t eat any meat. No red, no chicken, no fish {totally thought fish was gross anyway}. Thanksgiving was a test and I failed miserably. As you may remember Thom was supposed to be here and then he didn’t make it and I did or said something that made the two of us totally miserable…and I buckled….I ate turkey. And that led to eating chicken….occasionally, though. Not often…occasionally. But…then Thom was here and I went back to not eating any meat.

Yeppers, Thom’s a Veg Head too. Has been since he was a kid. And, no, I didn’t stop eating meat because of him.

After Europe {Yea…I said it again} I lost 10 pounds…and then I lost another 12 after I stopped eating meat.

But….{ actually, a big BUTT} because I really didn’t research being a “vegetarian” I wasn’t really eating properly. I was H U N G R Y all the time. So what did I do? Filled up with potatoes and pasta and bread. My 3 favorite things. Carb City, man…and all that weight I lost…found it’s way back to me 🙁 I probably should have called myself not a vegetarian, but a Pasta/Potato-arian.

So…that’s where I’m at: trying to figure out how to eat..what to eat..when to eat {since a lot of nights I don’t get home til after 10 and I’m starving and I don’t get a break from 4-10 and when I do…not enough time to eat anything proper so I inhale a candy bar instead}.

I went the salad route for awhile…but I can only eat so much green stuff before I get totally bored. Thom did introduce me to fish while we were in Wisconsin, though. And it was good, too. Actually, I think my taste buds have changed drastically since I stopped eating meat…is that possible? I like a lot more veggies now…and this sounds weird but I feel cleaner. Like I’m not filling my body with previously-alive “things”.

And circling Burger King in order to get a whiff? Not so much anymore. I don’t even think about it much. Except when I think about my Mom’s lasagna…or Dad’s sloppy joes…or hot dogs with relish and mustard, or blackened steak from Branns. {sigh} Still a bit tough, but mostly not. 🙂