I've been toying with vegetarianism and veganism on and off for about 2 years; I'll go vegetarian for a while, but then fall off the wagon. I live in Atlanta, and my husband is a hardcore Alabamian (read: favorite food is pulled pork, pimento cheese, and anything covered in bacon). It's easy to eat meat in my house. In fact, just like most people I know, I was raised in a "meat-and-potatoes" household. The most exotic food we got was Chinese take-out. Mom thinks a good vegetable is iceberg lettuce or Campbell's green bean casserole.
Needless to say, I haven't always been very health-conscious. After I got married, I went from 140 pounds to 170 pounds on my 5'-1" frame. In January 2008, I decided I'd had enough. So I quit smoking and started running. So far, I've run three half-marathons and dropped about 20 pounds. I was really liking the way I was feeling. But something still wasn't right. I still feel a heaviness in my body, and I don't necessarily mean my weight.
For Christmas this year, I asked for a few vegan cookbooks and Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Life Diet." Today, I read Alicia's book cover-to-cover, and it sealed the deal for me. I decided to give up animal products. I'll commit to one month to start with, beginning on Monday, January 3, and plan to continue veganism past that month.
Let's start!
