[041] A letter to myself

Dear Self,

Tomorrow marks 365 days free of red and white meats. You've tried to accomplish this in the past years but eventually went back to your habits of eating fast foods, fried foods, and other junk that caused your overall health to go down hill. While you understand that meat is a source of protein (that seems to be the number one argument every meat-eater has ever mentioned), you have displayed, and continue to display, a great amount of self-discipline in keeping your meals red/white meat free.

Not only did take on an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet, you also gave up carbonated sodas as a new years resolution. And what do you have to show for it? Twenty pounds of weight lost in the past 7 months. Sure you've had some ups and downs but you've always managed to bring yourself right back on track. Never give up on your goals!

People doubted you. Teased you. Some even argued that meat is a requirement to lead a healthy lifestyle. Others called you a hypocrite for consuming dairy products and eggs. While those people were sitting around telling you all sorts of negative things, you continued to keep your chin up and look at the positives. Frankly, your meat-free diet isn't affecting their life at all. It isn't increasing nor decreasing their intake of meat or meat products. Sure some joke, "For every animal you don't eat, I'm going to eat three." Great! You'd sit there with them and watch them consume all three of those animals without cringing.

A lot of people will assume you're doing this for animal rights. When in fact, this all started as a simple "experiment" to see if zero red/white meat consumption decreased your eczema breakouts. As you've discovered by trial and error, eliminating fungus from your diet has greatly helped your skin. Now if only we could decrease your sugar intake. That would really kick your weight loss goal into gear!

Congratulations to you on your 1st Veggie-versary! Make your 2nd year even better by exploring new recipes.

Love,
Jasmine

P.S. Never give up!