-Vegetarian/Vegan

If you would have told me two years ago that I was one day going to become a vegetarian/vegan, I would have laughed in your face.  I have always loved meat, especially a good ribeye, cooked on the grill.  Ymmm.

Having a bad doctors visit changed all that.  I wanted to resolve my health issues without taking drugs.  I began doing research and I was blown away at all the medical data out there which showed how switching to a vegetarian/vegan diet would make a huge, positive difference in my health.

I started slowly a little over a year ago.  The outdoor grilling season had just begun, and for weeks it seemed like absolutely everyone in my neighborhood was cooking hamburgers and steaks every night of the week.  It made my daily walks even more painful.  Torture.

Slowly, I adapted, and became committed to a vegetarian/vegan diet in August of 2009. Amazingly, this change in diet, along with regular exercise, has totally restored me to good health, without taking the drugs my doctor initially wanted to prescribe.

I lost about 65 pounds (and have kept it off), and all my medical tests are in the normal range.  My blood pressure and plus are that of an athlete (I’m not).

Over these past months, I’ve spoken to a lot of people, including members of my family, about the health benefits that can be achieved through this lifestyle change. Even with little changes, like having a vegetarian lunch or dinner twice a week, you will start seeing results and you will begin to feel better.

I subscribe Vegetarian Times Magazine.  Their website goes into a lot more detail, and I’d recommend reading their Starter Kit. It does a beautiful job at explaining the vegetarian lifestyle, far better and clearer than I ever could.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog, I’m not a medical expert, and you should check with your doctor before making a lot of changes to your diet, especially if you have health issues.  I can only say what has worked exceedingly well for me.

Lastly I want to say that becoming a vegetarian/vegan was also a spiritual discipline for me. While I was trying to decide what to do, the issue kept coming up in my daily prayer.  It required trust and faith.  It has not been easy, but the results speak for themselves.  I am  now in better shape, physically, mentally and spiritually, than I have been in many years.  I wish the same for you, so that together we can all live long, healthy lives.  That is my hope and prayer.