Diary of a Reformed Meat Eater

So people have asked me "Dawn when did you become vegetarian?" Well here is the low down...

I have always felt that eating meat was wrong. How could I love animals and still eat them? But like many I was addicted to meat. I felt that I "needed" meat. I needed it for the protein...I needed it for the iron. Several months ago I did a detox and I was told not to eat meat during this time. I thought "Ok, I can do this. I gave up meat for Lent a couple of years ago, so 30 days is no problem." It was during this time, I realized I felt better. I no longer craved massive amounts of sugar and my energy levels were much higher. Better yet, I started to lose weight. I felt great!

If you are a loyal reader of this blog you know that in January 2009, I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). This is caused by a hormone imbalance. It is a known fact that our meat is pumped up on hormones. When we eat this meat we are also ingesting the hormones that were given to the animal to "pump them up". Doctors have already raised their concern that these hormones are causing young girls to hit puberty at an earlier age. Since I have given up eating meat I have not had any new cysts and I have been pain free. Just for the record...I do not take any medicine to control my PCOS.

Now don't get me wrong there are times when I walk out the door and there is a smell of grilled steak wafting in the air and my mouth waters. Being a reformed meat eater does not mean that I don't remember the taste of meat that has been grilled to perfection. But I know that my healthy food choices has cut my risk for certain cancers in half. These are just a few reasons why this girl is a reformed meat eater...

Until next time...Happy and Healthy Eating!

Meatless Monday

Hey blog readers...I'm back!!! My husband reminded me last week that I have been neglecting my blog readers of my trials and struggles. So just to let you all know I am back and I am on track!

Did you know that today is Meatless Monday? Today, is the day that everyone is challenge to give up meat for one day. For some this may seem unthinkable and for others this may be less of a challenge. Here are my thoughts...it is always good to change up your diet every once and while. Going one day without meat is not going to kill you and you may even find that you like it.

Recently, I have done a lot of reading about the Western diet. I feel that some where we have gotten all out of control with our diets. If we think back long ago when people lived on farms or hunted for their own food, meat was a luxury item. You could not go into the store and buy a couple of pounds of meat. They had to go out and hunt for it or you had to raise and kill it yourself. The fact of the matter is our bodies are not made to ingest the large amount of meat we are putting in to it! This is why cancer is on  the rise as well as heart disease but that is a whole other blog. :)

Today, I challenge you all to give them a break and go meatless. If you accept my challenge, I would love to hear about it. Until next time...Happy and Healthy Eating!