Then I took it upon myself to do a little research into why someone would become a vegetarian. I was studying nutrition, biology, and anatomy at the same time. I was so moved emotionally and intellectually by the flood of new information and philosophical discussions involved that I decided to try it one morning. I quit eating animals cold turkey (no pun intended) and never felt better! The first change happened within a week. I gained a ton of energy. You don't realize how unhealthy you are or out of shape you are until the changes take place. Before, I thought I was perfectly healthy just because I didn't smoke and didn't suffer from a major illness, but after I also started dropping pounds (45 in total) I realized I was unhealthy before my diet change. Another major bonus: I didn't catch a cold or flu for 6 years. Before, I was always sick. If there was something going around, I was bound to catch it. At the time, you think that's normal. But after 6 years went by before I was sick again, I realized that it was a sign of how my poor diet was suppressing my immune system. Consuming more plant foods boosts your immune system. Anyway, a vegetarian diet has kept me slim ever since.
It drives me crazy when I hear someone say "So and So can eat whatever they want/eats like a pig/eats dessert every day and doesn't gain any weight" or "I don't know why So and So is overweight because they don't eat a lot". The truth is, we aren't around this So and So all day every day, so we don't really know how much or how little they eat. We see what they eat in one sitting once a day or once a week and assume that's how they eat even when we are not around. In other words, you don't know if that skinny person who just downed a burger and fries went home and didn't eat anything else the rest of the day and you don't know if that obese guy who just ate a Greek salad didn't go home afterward and spend the rest of his evening polishing off a large pizza and gallon of ice cream. With the rare exception, how much we weigh boils down to how many calories we consume and how many we burn. People who want to blame it on metabolism are lying to themselves because it makes them feel less responsible and therefore less guilty.
I encourage everyone to try a meatless diet for a week or two and see how much better your body runs. Seriously, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
PS: The best thing about a meatless diet is the absence of disgusting gristle, fat, and bloody veins in your food. Yuck.
