This diet is just too much for my health to continue on the crash course. I got really sick for a few days. So while I might not be a vegan yet, I am including a bunch of veggies into the diet along with smaller portions of meat. Now I feel much better. A few good friends suggested that I take it in steps and that is what I intend to do starting next month. I am going to revise the diet to elimination of one meat a month, starting with beef for the month of September, instead of a crash diet of no meat. It is too much for my system to handle all at once. I will miss the steak, but if it improves my health then it will be a small sacrifice. October will be the month I eliminate pork (dirty animal anyway), the thing here is that I love bacon. Perhaps it is the saltiness I crave. Might have to look into that and find a suitable substitute for it in the veggie world. If you have some suggestions I am game to try anything…mostly. November will be turkey and chicken. To be honest I get tired of chicken anyway, everything else tastes like it…heh. December is shellfish and that is going to be really hard as I love shrimp and lobster waaay too much. January of next year will be fish, this is another tough one for me as I think fish should be excluded, but with all the poisoning going on from various manufacturing I see little recourse but to eliminate this as well. February will be the hardest month by far because of wild game hunting that I enjoy so much. Meh, small price to pay. Perhaps I can simply take up competition archery instead? We’ll see what that month brings.
I did have a friend mention on Facebook that some people simply cannot give up on meat of some kind because their bodies need it. I do not know the truth of this as I am not a nutritionist. I’ll look into this further.
I wonder too how this will impact my workouts? I’ve read that there are vegetarian body builders, so perhaps this won’t be an issue either.
Now I bet some have wondered why in the hell I am doing this in the first place. I mean I am a sportsman, I play hard and work hard, so why would I take up the reins of vegan? It is twofold really. One is very private, but I will out myself. I am a Wiccan. I have wanted to get deeper into my Craft for a long time now and read that Cunningham said he did it and had great success in attuning to his magickal sensitivities because of his diet. He basically eliminated meat, eggs and dairy from his diet and instead ate nothing but veggies and fruit. I want that as well to see if it draws me deeper into the fold of the nature of my faith. The second reason is health. I am tired all the time. Sure some of it from work stress and issues at the home front, but that does not account for all of it. My diet is for shit…honestly. My kids eat junk and because it is in the house, my willpower is weakened by its presence. So I eat it, plain and simple. While I have done much to curb this threat by doing more away from the house, it is still there when I get back. So if I eliminate the other crap and see results like improved energy and weight loss, it will encourage me to drop the junk food from the diet as well. That is the theory anyway.
So there you have it. If you are reading this blog, and I know some are. Then comment on what you’ve done to make changes in your eating habits or simply give me some encouragement for stepping out into the unknown.