I am a former vegetarian (5 yrs) and raw vegan (18 mos.) who now is vibrantly healthy eating lots of meat and healthy fats. Some raw and some cooked. Easy on the carbs. Almost no processed food. Mostly organic, and well over half from farmers I know by name.

Early results with vegetarian diets were very encouraging, but longer term, I experienced malnutrition and health problems that required several years to correct. I now believe that my inability to digest fat and meat was due to a weakened digestive system. Gravitating to a vegetarian diet made me temporarily feel better, but did nothing to address the underlying issue. My digestion is now strong enough that I no longer need to worry about consuming the occasional SAD meal, even though it does usually serve to remind me why I don’t eat that way anymore.

One of my theories about diet is that short term, we feel better on almost any diet that moves away from the SAD, but long term success can be more elusive. Another way of looking at it is that we feel better immediately because of what we *aren’t* eating. Only later do we realize the effects of what we are eating instead.

Everyone is different with respect to diet, so the vegetarian/vegan diet may work for you, but it is hardly a panacea. For an approach that has worked well over the long term for myself and many others see http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/index.html

Good luck! Permanent dietary changes can be hard to maintain.

I did a no-meat fast in college and found it really easy as long as I had some indulgent vegetarian options. My issue wasn’t as much about willpower as it was about boredom with certain food options. I think a well-balanced diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, carbs, and lean meats is best for me.

Secondly, you talked about how humans ate 1000s of years ago. They were not vegetarians if they did not have to be. We are omnivores by nature and although being a vegetarian or eating your food raw may make you feel better (for reasons unknown to me since I haven ever tried it) I would argue that you are fighting your nature. Humans are meant to eat meat, and humans have always eaten red meat. Just because some doctors found a chemical that might be hard to digest does not mean we should not eat red meat.

That being said, you seem to have a realistic view that you will at times eat red meat, but you just don’t like the way it makes you feel. Fair enough.

I just mainly wanted to throw the whole napping idea out there. You can feel like a new person and only take 30 minutes out of your day (that includes the time it takes to cut up your apple and eat it). Maybe with a power nap you can go back to eating hearty beef burritos! =]

I love your idea about intentions though. Another thing that came to mind that I don’t think you mentioned was that goals are so easy to break and once we break our goal we feel like it was all for nothing and just go back to our normal, lazy way of doing things. Intentions prevent this as well.

Thanks for the great post.

This is WONDERFUL and really exciting! I did a 30-day trial of eliminating dairy from my diet in November. (I’ve been vegetarian for nine years, but I ate lots of cheese and carbs.) The change has been amazing. It’s very similar to what you noticed when you stopped eating red meat; I’ve had more energy and felt less urge to nap. A side effect is that I don’t take caffeine anymore! I no longer get tired enough or mentally sluggish enough to make me want caffeine.

I liked it so much that I’m extending the trial into December, and maybe I’ll stick with it indefinitely.

To anyone else reading this with dubiousness (dubiosity?), I recommend giving it a try. Even if you try it for just two weeks and pay attention to the changes in how you feel, it can be really amazing.

Congratulations on your change, I hope you stick with it.

I hope you manage to reach a few people to try something different if only for a week or 30 days.