Looking Back on 6 Months of being a Vegetarian

Well it's been 6 months since I put down the steak knife for good and I still feel great about my decision.  I'm a big fella still so there's no telling how many cows, chickens, turkeys, and pigs I've saved over the course of the last six months.  I'm sure someone could tell me the exact number, but I'd guess quite a few.  I still do eat a bit of cheese, but have cut milk, eggs, and meat completely out of my diet and to be honest, I do feel better.  It has been hard at times, but I'm very proud of the fact that I've had no meat in 6 months.  I've been asked what I miss most, and I'll be honest.  I miss Bacon quite a bit.  I miss Krystal hamburgers and I miss McDoubles from McDonald's a lot too.  The fact that Burger King introduced a double cheeseburger a week after I went veg did nothing more than piss me off (kidding of course).

I've encountered a lot of hostility and anger since becoming vegetarian.  It seems that quite a few people who eat meat feel threatened and get upset at the fact that I don't eat meat anymore.   It's almost as if the choices I make in my diet somehow affect them.   I can't tell you how many times I've heard the following phrases.

1. I couldn't do it.  I like (insert meat product here) too much.
2. If God didn't mean for us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them so tasty
3. Oh my God, are you still in that phase?  (as if making healthier choices is nothing more than a phase or fad)
4. You still eat fish right?  (as if Fish weren't a meat)
5.  If you don't eat meat, you'll get sick

Ashley and I have discovered that it's so much more expensive to eat healthy than to just eat junk.  When you're vegetarian, you pretty much have three fast food choices: Taco Bell, Subway, and Burger King and that's about it.   I've rediscovered my love of rice, beans, veggies, and potatoes since going Veg.

I'm very proud of the fact that I've been meat free for 6 months.  I wouldn't have been able to do it without having a partner (Ashley) to go through it with me.  Going Veg was the right choice for me, but again, I wouldn't dare try and push my views on anyone else.