The reason I am using the "ish" at the end of vegetarian is due to the fact that I am not really sure how my eating habits will unfold, but am mainly concentrating on a diet consisting primarily of fruits and vegetables, some grains occasionally, nuts, seeds, and beans. Not too sure about what part any animal products are going to play in the scheme of things as time progresses, but I do use cream in my coffee (yes this is one I am working on getting rid of) in the morning which is milk-based, and I had some soup my sister made which was chicken based but no actual meat...
The reasons for my "experiment" are many but all can be summed up in one statement; I want to perform at my body's optimum levels physically, mentally, and spiritually, every day for the rest of my life....and from what I have discovered, my diet can either get me there, or send me in the opposite direction...
One false sense of security many of us are lulled into is, because our bodies aren't showing any signs of disease at the present moment, all of the abuses we subject our bodies to on a daily basis are just being dealt with by our body with no long-term ill effects. Fact of the matter is that much of the damage is cumulative, and therefore isn't perceived by us oftentimes until it is too late.
Most often there are no early signs of diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer until there is irreparable damage, in which we are forced into pumping artificial substances into our bodies to try and "cure" the disease. We are trained in our society to be reactive instead of proactive.
Something I have learned during recent years is that disease is just exactly as the word appears, the body is in a state of dis-ease, so naturally the cure would seem to be letting your body naturally return to a state of ease. Simple, huh?
That's where fruits and vegetables and nuts and grains and beans come into the picture....they were placed here for us to consume to keep us balanced and and provide us with what is needed for our bodies to fend off any attackers and toxins, so that's what I plan to do!
Some would say that animals were also placed here for consumption, and I have to admit that I love a nice, fat, juicy bacon bleu burger just as much as the next person, but when I consume meat I tend to eat more food at one sitting, and crave more food afterwards, and am left feeling sluggish and tired, hence the elimination of meat from my diet for the time being.
I am left wondering if it could be partially or wholly due to what is put into my meat before it reaches my plate. Something to consider about commercially produced animal product..it is an abomination of what it once was, laden with antibiotics and hormones, unnatural housing for, and unethical treatment of these animals, so raising your own is giving you more control of what you are putting into your body.
From what I have learned about how our beautiful vessels operate from watching numerous documentaries, I discovered that instead of just adopting a newer, healthier eating regimen, the body should be cleaned out a bit first, so that's what I did.
The first 11 and a half days were juice fasting days, which a lot of people do to cleanse and re-set the body after years of abuse with drugs, alcohol, fast food, environmental toxins etc.. Daily consumption of food is replaced with freshly juiced fruits and vegetables, and lots of distilled water. I initially learned of this through watching the movie Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead (check it out for yourself at www.jointhereboot.com), and other promoters of natural health such a Charlotte Gerson (http://gerson.org/), whose father discovered a natural cure for cancer.
I switched to solid foods in the middle of day 12 because at the beginning of my fast I decided that when my body TRULY told me it was time to get some solid foods in my tummy, I would listen.
Since then I have been eating what my body craves....it's strange how fasting resets your taste buds! I have been craving fruits and raw vegetables and it feels great! I have found a new love of raw asparagus and broccolini, red peppers, snap peas, avocado, and yellow squash! Yumm!
I am noticing quite a difference with what I have implemented so far, I am not as sluggish, I am sleeping better, my skin doesn't seem to be as dry as it was, and I have a renewed sense of clarity, which all would indicate that I am on the right track of reaching my best self, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
So, for the time being, I am going to continue on my vegetarin-ish path and see where it leads me!
