Vegetarianism: The Bunny Life

So a year ago I decided to become a vegetarian. I had toyed with the idea for a while before (I was a vegetarian for about 9 months back when I was 12), so I tried eating vegetarian for a day to see if I could survive, and then I just decided to stick with it. 

Now, this post is not written to shame people who choose to eat meat or anything like that. Its simply to answer what I think are the three biggest questions or issues about vegetarianism that some people might have, whether they are considering becoming a vegetarian or just curious.

In a year as a vegetarian, I like to think I've learned one of two things. For instance, eating vegetarian is not automatically eating healthy. You can still fry things, and while you don't eat burgers and chicken nuggets, you still eat fries and oreos and a whole host of other not-so-healthy foods. I mean, there are some days that are crazy healthy, where you literally eat veggies and greek yogurt and maybe an egg or two, and that's awesome. But there are also some days where you eat cookies, and veggie burgers with fries (or chips), and basically everything bad for you, which happens. No big deal. But some people get it into their heads that becoming a vegetarian will automatically make you eat healthier, maybe because generally speaking there are less options. However, trust me when I say, if you are craving something bad, or don't have the willpower to eat healthily when you eat meat, it doesn't really change when you stop eating meat.

In addition, you will not believe how many people comment on my eating habits. They think that suddenly, because I've told them I'm a vegetarian (and I really only do that if its necessary, aka if food is involved) they are allowed to make remarks on it - the most popular one seems to be "But where do you get your protein???" or something along those lines. Honestly, where do you think I get my protein? Yes, I eat eggs and cheese and drink milk, though certainly not every day. But think about it for a minute - cows, rabbits, and tons of other herbivores get enough protein simply by eating vegetables. Vegetables have protein in them - granted, each vegetable does not contain all the varying types of protein that are necessary, but really the only way to have a protein deficiency as a vegetarian is if you literally only eat one kind of vegetable, all day every day. I know some picky eaters, but even they aren't that picky. And I know, that vegetarians get a lot of flack for judging people or lecturing them, but I doubt that that is the majority of people, and I certainly don't behave that way. To put it simply, if I don't comment on your eating habits, please don't comment on mine.

And finally, just because I gave up meat does not mean that my body suddenly stopped craving it. After the first month or two, it got more difficult, especially when people would cook a steak in the room I was in. I grew up eating meat, so yeah, it smelled delicious. But I stuck with it, and I can honestly say now that most of the time meat does not appeal to me anymore. There are one or two exceptions, mainly when I'm on my period (I'm guessing it has something to do with the loss of iron) but its easy enough to ignore for a day or two, because even then I still stand behind my decision to give up meat one hundred percent.

Before I decided to give up meat, I did research. I read books about it, figured out how I would get the essential vitamins, proteins, etc. and checked the selection at my local grocery stores, and I definitely encourage anyone who is contemplating becoming a vegetarian to do.

I hope this was helpful!

Love,

Caro