Being Lacto-ovo-vegetarian
Weird.
People used to say that to me when I tell them my diet. I guess for Filipinos it's not typical for someone to be a vegetarian given the abundance of meat in the country.
Honestly, I never really expected to take this path. I used to love pork chops, fried chicken, beef steak, shrimp sinigang, and other dishes with meat on them. There was even a time I ate beef a lot because I wanted to gain mass.
But that all changed when I saw the news on the "Crush video".
Have you heard or seen it? Videotaped by a couple, it shows animals being squished with their bare foot from rabbits to rats, you name it, they probably would have squished it to death.
Animal cruelty. So there I was thinking "Why would people even want to hurt animals?" It was unbelievable and yet undeniably existing among us especially people who did not have proper education. The moment I watched the news about those animals, I know I had to take action. After that incident I immediately signed in to PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) and also posted status updates relating to animal advocacy. I'm not an active member let me tell you that however I am still active in my own way.
That's when I first started to cut back the pork and beef, initially, and retain seafood and chicken. I know, I should have taken them all out immediately but it was a work in process. Taking protein sources out of your diet instantaneously is dangerous for one's health. I should know, my life revolves around dieting.
I eliminated beef and pork in April 2011 then after seven months I took out all other seafoods except fish, and retained chicken.
For more than a year I lived on chicken breast, chicken hotdogs, cream dory, boneless milkfish, and eggs.
Then when I lost my job October last year, I decided to take out chicken. It was automatic. I still had chicken hotdogs left in the freezer and my Mom was telling me to finish them but I decided to stop eating chicken. That was difficult as I am not really fond of fish. Growing up with milkfish and tilapia as staples made me less enthusiastic on eating those again - thank goodness for cream dory - but that was short-lived because two weeks after I eliminated chicken, I eliminated fish too and decided to go lacto-ovo-vegetarian.
Giving up on meat products when you were so fond of them even as a child really made it difficult. I had to find alternatives on where to get my protein as there was no way I will go back on eating animal products again.
But how about eggs, you say? Well initially when I thought about going full vegan, it would kill me. Firstly because I thrive on bread (I eat rice on an every other day basis usually after gym) and we all know bread contain eggs. So in the end I had to make a hard decision to not take eggs out of my diet.
What was it like? During the first weeks I realized how my energy depleted very easily and that I cannot stay in the gym for more than an hour and a half, my endurance decreased, and my nutrition made a 180-degree turn.
What do I eat now? Tofu, gluten, and eggs are my staple. They provide the needed protein and energy without resorting to animal products, plus you can experiment a lot because they have neutral tastes. So in a way it lets me be creative with cooking (re: not my forte).
I am happy with how things turned out. Of course I still dream of biting into a juicy burger or biting into a meat-loaded pizza but I can curb those temptations.
Animals are our friends: they make us happy. I can attest how many pet owners there are who can say the same as I can. This is me speaking on behalf of them and not some Disney princess who lives in the woods with deers, rabbits, squirrels, and birds helping her with her chores.
Being an animal advocate is my contribution. It has a good purpose, I think. I may have sacrificed a lot in order to at least salvage some of them from being put into my mouth but I know it's worth it. And caring for them is well worth it.
So should you.
If you see signs of animal abuse or maltreatment, don't hesitate to contact PETA immediately. Animals have lives too, you know.
People used to say that to me when I tell them my diet. I guess for Filipinos it's not typical for someone to be a vegetarian given the abundance of meat in the country.
Honestly, I never really expected to take this path. I used to love pork chops, fried chicken, beef steak, shrimp sinigang, and other dishes with meat on them. There was even a time I ate beef a lot because I wanted to gain mass.
But that all changed when I saw the news on the "Crush video".
Have you heard or seen it? Videotaped by a couple, it shows animals being squished with their bare foot from rabbits to rats, you name it, they probably would have squished it to death.
Animal cruelty. So there I was thinking "Why would people even want to hurt animals?" It was unbelievable and yet undeniably existing among us especially people who did not have proper education. The moment I watched the news about those animals, I know I had to take action. After that incident I immediately signed in to PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) and also posted status updates relating to animal advocacy. I'm not an active member let me tell you that however I am still active in my own way.
That's when I first started to cut back the pork and beef, initially, and retain seafood and chicken. I know, I should have taken them all out immediately but it was a work in process. Taking protein sources out of your diet instantaneously is dangerous for one's health. I should know, my life revolves around dieting.
I eliminated beef and pork in April 2011 then after seven months I took out all other seafoods except fish, and retained chicken.
For more than a year I lived on chicken breast, chicken hotdogs, cream dory, boneless milkfish, and eggs.
Then when I lost my job October last year, I decided to take out chicken. It was automatic. I still had chicken hotdogs left in the freezer and my Mom was telling me to finish them but I decided to stop eating chicken. That was difficult as I am not really fond of fish. Growing up with milkfish and tilapia as staples made me less enthusiastic on eating those again - thank goodness for cream dory - but that was short-lived because two weeks after I eliminated chicken, I eliminated fish too and decided to go lacto-ovo-vegetarian.
Giving up on meat products when you were so fond of them even as a child really made it difficult. I had to find alternatives on where to get my protein as there was no way I will go back on eating animal products again.
But how about eggs, you say? Well initially when I thought about going full vegan, it would kill me. Firstly because I thrive on bread (I eat rice on an every other day basis usually after gym) and we all know bread contain eggs. So in the end I had to make a hard decision to not take eggs out of my diet.
What was it like? During the first weeks I realized how my energy depleted very easily and that I cannot stay in the gym for more than an hour and a half, my endurance decreased, and my nutrition made a 180-degree turn.
What do I eat now? Tofu, gluten, and eggs are my staple. They provide the needed protein and energy without resorting to animal products, plus you can experiment a lot because they have neutral tastes. So in a way it lets me be creative with cooking (re: not my forte).
I am happy with how things turned out. Of course I still dream of biting into a juicy burger or biting into a meat-loaded pizza but I can curb those temptations.
Animals are our friends: they make us happy. I can attest how many pet owners there are who can say the same as I can. This is me speaking on behalf of them and not some Disney princess who lives in the woods with deers, rabbits, squirrels, and birds helping her with her chores.
Being an animal advocate is my contribution. It has a good purpose, I think. I may have sacrificed a lot in order to at least salvage some of them from being put into my mouth but I know it's worth it. And caring for them is well worth it.
So should you.
If you see signs of animal abuse or maltreatment, don't hesitate to contact PETA immediately. Animals have lives too, you know.
I have to see you soon. Twinkish ka pa rin ba? Lol.
ReplyDelete