Give Me a Side of Beef With That...Beef

I've been trying to "go veg" since my junior year of high school.

I'm a junior in college now.

And in the midst of my vegetarian aspirations, I've allowed 20 pounds to creep onto my 5'3'' frame.

Not cute.

I've always had a curvy figure, and it has always been the admiration of many. However, my figure has slowly warped, changing it from curvy--to just plain curved. And while my shape still looks decent, even with the added baggage, and while some may still admire it, I'm not happy with it.

I. Myself. Me.

I know what my body has the potential to be, therefore I am dissatisfied with the added packaging that has become the recent makeup of me.

And, if I become truly honest with myself, I have been in denial about the weight gain, avoiding mirrors and such, until church members back home pointed out what I had tried to ignore for so long.

"You got fat," one old lady smiled and pointed out, obviously clueless to the fact that she was a big mass herself.

"What size do you wear now? I got some clothes to give to you," another said, also oblivious to her gargantuan frame.

"I thought you would've lost weight by now," said yet another, while at the same time her ankles were actively melding permanently into her feet.

Hence my distress.

I always live in denial while away at school, ignoring any kind of health and fitness regime, and instead ordering Pizza Hut, Chinese food, Burger King, Philly cheesesteaks, and more!

I'm growing more dissatisfied with my sedentary and soda-heavy lifestyle even as I write this! (I just got finished polishing off the dessert portion left over from a hearty feast at Pappasitos.)

This is where vegetarianism comes in.

As part of my "wanna-be" healthier lifestyle, I have continued to log vegetarianism in as a mainstay in my regimen. Not only do I feel living a plant-based existence will allow me to shed excess pounds, I feel it will do my body good healthwise. I come from a long line of heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, and many other ailments that creep in as a result of unhealthy living.

I don't want to be unhealthy when I get older. I don't want to rely on prescription medication. I don't want to lose the use of my legs. I don't want to be forced into dialysis three times a week.

I don't want to die before my time.

However, while my spirit is willing, my flesh is so constantly weak.

I actually succeeded in becoming a vegetarian for a full month after a year of on-again, off-again, plant savvy living. Then I fell off the wagon.

And now, as I write this, as I mentioned earlier, my stomach cries out in protest of the torture put upon it, and in agreement to the words I place here. It's as if my stomach and my mind are working together to push me back into a state of healthy living.

I'm so stuffed from dinner. And it hurts.

Now I make my claim. Now I decide to take the reins of my health. Now is when I choose to live.

I will become a vegetarian! I will lose this weight! I will be healthy! I will live!

Let's see how this goes.

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.
Mark Twain