“Part of life is to enjoy food, isn’t it? Then what has possessed you to deprive yourself from the pleasure of enjoying life? Are you crazy?”, you might ask.
Yes, I’m crazy!
Or am I?
This is not one of those new year resolution “things”; I can assure you.
When I told a friend of mind, she couldn’t believe me and said, “I cannot go a day without meat. Good luck my friend.”
I encourage you to read entirely with an open mind. You might be in shock and find at least one reason you could relate to you.
Knowing there are many of you who are going through what I’m experiencing now. You might be thinking you are a strange person. It is my hope that by sharing this message, to let you know you are among one of many people in this world. I am one of those.
While some of you might think it is un-natural not to consume meat, there are always reasons for everything.
What is it so strange and un-natural about taking care of your health? We are blessed and to have freedom to choose what to have for our next meal.
FEELING GROSS OUT
Since in my late 20s, my body started to scream and yelled at me. I’ve decided to listen more to my body after it didn’t like a certain food.
Oh yes, your body tells you when it doesn’t like something. Just pay attention and listen to it. It tells you loud and clear.
After having food with MSG or dairy products, if you have a stomach pain or have diarrhea for the examples, it is telling you. You might think it’s just normal. It’ll go away. You should not ignore it. A few times I got very sick because I did just that.
Many years back, a few times I began to feel disgusted while I was preparing chicken or eating meat. Again I ignored it. I thought, it must be one of those bad days.
And there were a few times when I was sick. I could not eat or smell meat regardless how they were prepared. It was so bad that I gagged when I smelled meat in the house. I couldn’t handle the smell of the flesh.
And NO, I was not having a morning sickness!
Is it part of aging process? Is it just me? It’s strange. I found it hard to understand. I don’t think I’m the only person who feel this way.
As the result of those experiences, I drastically consume more vegetable and a lot less meat. I was never so much of a carnivore. In fact, having meat to eat was a luxury when I was growing up. I shared some of the stories in my first book From Internment To Fulfillment.
You probably think I’m a picky eater. I’m simple. However, I’m careful of what I consume if I have a choice. You know there are times after you eat, immediately you regret and say to yourself, “Oh, I shouldn’t have eaten that darn thing!”
I like food and want to enjoy it. Feeling gross or regret after having a meal is not a way to enjoy food and living.
PERSONAL CHALLENGE
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” ― Samuel Johnson
Do you have that feeling or habits that you have to have “it”? It doesn’t apply only to food.
Whatever that “it” is defined by you. If you don’t have it, you don’t feel full, complete or satisfy.
It might be that you have to have rice with your meal if you are growing up eating rice everyday like I do.
Where as, if you were raised with eating bread all of your life, bread can be your daily “got to have it”.
Personally, I realize that it is always difficult for me to eat only vegetable. You know that feeling like something is missing. Sometimes after your meal, you want just a tinny bite of dessert, a fruit, a piece of chocolate, something…
It is my personal goal to break out of that I “got to have it” feeling or habit. I want to be flexible and don’t have to have “it” under a curtain circumstance.
DETOX THE BODY
Like our cars, we take them for oil change and tune-up a few times a year. It’s part of the maintenance so the cars operate smoothly.
I feel it’s time to have my system clean.
A few years ago, I was at my doctor’s office. She gave me options to either take medication to detoxify my body or go on a diet.
“Doctor, do you want to see a walking skeleton in your life? No, I won’t go on a diet,” I said.
She laughed and replied, “No, what I meant was to detox your body without eating meat. Just eat only vegetable. If you can do that, then you can skip the medicines.”
I sighed in relief. If I were to take the medicine, I had to take two additional medicines because of its side effects. And then those two medicines had their own side effects.
If you are like me, who don’t like to take medicines due to the list of the side effects is longer and scarier than what it supposes to do, perhaps you can relate to my choice. I chose the natural option.
That doesn’t mean I’m against western medications. When I have to take them, I take them. But that wasn’t the case I had to take them.
That was the first time I gave up eating meat for 14 days! It’s very tough for me, I tell you. Especially, when it was getting close to the ten days. My body was nagging for meat. It seemed like my body was having withdraws.
I felt great after the ordeal though. Honestly, I salute you if you are a vegetarian.
Since then, I’ve started to eat less red meat and seafood. I’m not a red meat person throughout my life. So I don’t have a hard time eating less of red meat. Especially beef makes me feel warmer after I eat it, and I don’t like the fever like feeling.
Have you noticed how your body react? You should after you eat red meat or certain food especially if you don’t feel good afterward.
MADE IT THROUGH SIX DAYS AND CHALLENGES
So far, so good for the first six of 100 days. I would never thought that I could ever have more than two meals without meat. Well, except when I lived in the interment camps.
Below was one of the no meat meals I had this week. It was very simple yet very delicious! You can mixed with whatever you like with the flour. It was time consuming to make them one by one.
Cambodian Nom-krokh made of rice flour, young coconut meat, green onion and mung beans dip with sauce. One of no meat dishes. NearyHeng.com
Sauce
I don’t do any of those imitation look-alike meat stuff. It has to be real or nothing. Plus, I have no shortage of fresh vegetables that I like.
The only thing is that I find myself getting hungry sooner after each meal. Now, I eat four or fives times a day, two main meals and two or three snacks (most fruits). I do not want to lose weighT. It’s such a distraction eating too often though.
Cambodian Nom-krokh made of rice flour, young coconut meat, green onion and mung beans dip with sauce. NearyHeng.com
I must confess. I’m a seafood maniac. I thought I would miss seafood terribly. Surprisingly, I don’t miss it.
I think when you tell yourself that you’ll not going to eat it, your mind must be registered it somehow at the subconscious level.
The real test will be when mom makes this one Cambodian (Khmer) spicy sour soup with beef and watergrass. It’s called Som-lor mjou kroeung sarch koh in Cambodian. Oh gosh, any Khmer sour soup is tasty. She made one type of the spicy sour soups. I didn’t drool for it. At least not yet.
Oh yes, that is the other challenge. My mom cooking is the best. She is from an school.
I’ll continue to give you updates, progress and (drooling too if any) on a weekly basis.
What is your biggest challenge you would like to break away?
Do you think I’ll make it to 100 days?
Had you ever done detoxification for your body? I like to hear your challenges, and whether you overcame them.
If you are a vegetarian, I like to hear from your suggestions and tips. Why did you become a vegetarian?