I have mentioned that I am an anti diet gal. The main reason that I have taken this stance is that I don’t believe you can fix a long term problem with a temporary solution. Diets are temporary. If they aren’t temporary – they aren’t a diet, they are a lifestyle change. Something you are doing permanently. Unless you are someone like Bill Clinton, who tries vegetarianism just to drop a few pounds for a wedding, giving up animal products in your diet is nothing to take lightly either.

I made my decision because I knew that a veggie based diet was better for my health. I knew people personally who have gone from taking insulin shots a few times per day to not having to do that at all, just from changing their diets. I met people who were told they had heart disease and there was nothing more the medical field could do for them and these people reversed (not just stopped the affects, they REVERSED) their heart disease – by changing their diets. I know of people who have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer and did not have any invasive chemo or radiation treatments but they are now cancer free – because of changes to their diets. Do you know what they did to rid themselves of their ailments and health problems? They became vegetarians.

You are sitting there probably thinking the same darn thing that I was when I began looking into this “Why on earth isn’t everyone doing this, if it’s so good for people”? Well, I compare a vegetarian lifestyle to that of a smoker. Some people can handle it, some can’t. You have to WANT to clean out your bod. You have to understand what you are putting into it as much as you understand what is coming out of it. You have to learn things that aren’t pretty in an effort to truly “get” what it means. It’s not for everyone. I put much thought into my decision. I researched. I talked to people. I didn’t want to make a half assed decision that would affect my life in such a big way. And guess what, I am STILL, almost 3 years later, not where I want to be as far as the diet goes. I still am consuming some animal based products but I also realized going in that this was a process and that this process wasn’t going to happen overnight. You can’t just wake up one day and completely change your diet from fast food and garbage to one of pure earth based foods. Well, not if you hope to do it without trips to the ER anyway.

Vegetarianism has been around for centuries. It was a thing of the Native Americans (not all of them hunted down buffalo you know), and then the peace loving hippies and now as more people realize the health benefits of eating this way, it has moved into the modern culture of this century. Hollywood has put it in our faces as more and more famous people are jumping on the band wagon.  I have to say, thank the Goddess for Alicia Silverstone!! I just love her. Her books and blog are a HUGE support place for me. She has brought new products into my life but also an entire new way of thinking about food. I would encourage anyone who is considering vegetarianism to READ, READ and READ some more. Decide if it is something you believe in and more importantly if it is something that you can be happy with for the long haul. It isn’t just a toss meat to the curb change – you have to replace your proteins so your body can thrive. You have to learn to understand your food labels so that you can recognize animal products that hide out in your food.  I can tell you that it is much easier than I thought it would be.

My lifestyle change has not only affected my weight, but also my skin, my hair and my nails. It also makes me feel better as a human being because I know that my diet is not contributing to global issues facing this planet. I am eating sustainable foods that aren’t taxing our environment. THAT is more important to me than anything right now. It makes it much more fun for me to try tempeh or tofu when I get to consider not only the health benefits of the foods, but also where it actually comes from. It makes me happy to eat!

I am not one to push my lifestyle on people however I do want to share my knowledge of food with as many people as I can. That includes the whole “OMG You don’t eat meat?” thing. So, in honor of the Meatless Monday campaign, guess what our readers are going to be getting come Mondays? Yep. The Queenie knowledge of kicking critters from the table. Now, aren’t you excited? I know that I am.

Lets not forget that it’s Friday. Hop on your scales and let us know how you are doing on that front. Come on readers, we NEED some celebrating and cheering going on around here.