On Being a Vegetarian.

I'm not a hardcore vegetarian (at least, not yet) but I gave up meat for Lent. It's been tough especially coming from a family where beef and chicken is always the main entree. I miss carne asada and ribs and steak... well, you get the picture. I've always liked duck, lamb, venison, and even alligator. I'm not a picky eater. For Lent it came down to a choice between coffee and meat. I shot down the coffee choice because of finals. It wouldn't do me any good to be going through caffeine withdrawals while trying to concentrate and study. It's bad for me, too, since I've winged myself off coffee once. Shakes, headaches, bad moods are just some of the symptoms. I've gotten down to about a cup and a half a day and supplement the rest with tea and water.

Anyway, like the good Catholic that I am, please, hold those snickers, I gave up the next best thing: Meat. I feel pretty good about it. The hardest thing is actually eating enough veggies. Do you realize how much veggies you have to eat in order to get a full days nutrition? It's crazy! Anything less than that though and your body will start to think you're starving it so then you'll start gaining weight (ie. why starving yourself will ultimately backfire and you'll gain more weight than ever). I'm taking vitamins and making sure I lay off the cheeses and breads so I don't get an overload of sugar into my system. Cold and Hot soups are a Godsend. I do love veggies plain and snack on mushrooms, carrots, and even cauliflower.

But man, just planning meals is tough. I'm trying to loose more weight for the Sheriff's department and think I plateaued. IT sucks and its making me a bit stressed. I'm suppose to be a young, cute 21 year old who can loose weight just by thinking about it! I feel like I'm working much harder than I did in HS. If this is growing old, may I please stop now?

I'm off work in an hour so I'll this griping has now made me motivated to do an extra hard work out later on this evening. Need to get extra fit by August because at 5'4" I need to be able to handle a 6'4" guy. Hmm... I think I should go running on the beach again.