If you just started this series, catch-up with part 1
So as I stated in part one of the series, my fraternity brothers were quite confused as to why I weighed only 180 pounds that weekend while visiting University of Hartford. They said things like: “dude, you look a bit smaller. What’s going on, man?”
At the time, I brushed it off and said something like “I was trimming down.” But in reality, I really wasn’t. That weekend, I remember taking a piece of calamari (fried squid) from my brother’s food basket – while at the bar — and that was the last time that I would eat a piece of flesh.
I remember telling myself: “This is the last time I’ll eat meat. Wow.” And it was the last time that I ever ate meat. From that point on, I would begin my journey as a vegetarian; but more than just a “vegetarian,” someone who would forever be health conscious and thoughtful of my body and what I consume. My entire thought process changed.
After the weekend was up and I returned home to my school, Pace University, NY; I, again, faced the firing squad as my local fraternity brothers continued to question my sudden wait loss.
Most of them thought that I was on cocaine or speed pills. Little did they know. I was losing weight rapidly. I not only cut out meat (now that I was a full vegetarian), but I had cut out coffee, sugar (adding sugar), and junk foods such as candy, fatty chips, milk (swapped dairy for soy), and most types of cookies.
As the weeks passed, I finally began to accept the fact that I was a vegetarian and no longer ate meat. There was a period of a few months when I felt ashamed and almost scared – to a degree – to share that with people. But as I continued to study health, I began to grow bold and confident in my decision.
A little history before that semester…
My brother Danny and I visited a close friend on mine one night, Stephan. Stephan has been close to the family since we were all little boys, he’s been nothing short of a brother to me and the rest of my brothers.
It was during Christmas break of 2004 and we were all sitting in his living room. Danny (vegan) and I began talking to Stephan about health and the ways that we had been eating.
I shared with Stephan how I was on the verge of becoming vegetarian and how I had cut out almost all meat from my diet. Danny followed up with his sharp insight on health, since he was vegetarian/vegan for 2-3 years before us.
Stephan began to ask questions and Danny and I taught Stephan what we knew about eating right and how vegetarianism changed our lives: the way we thought, our energy levels, and our overall moods. Stephan seemed intrigued, but his doubt and skepticism was obvious and he wasn’t yet convinced that not eating meat was healthy for you.
For the next 3 months, during my winter semester (2004) at college, Stephan and I would correspond via AIM messenger almost everyday as we spoke about health. Stephan was becoming more and more curious about vegetarianism.
We discussed essential fatty acids (Omega 3-6-9), the chemicals and steroids in meat, flax seed, “enriched” white flour, tofu, vegetables burgers, etc… I was sharing everything I knew with Stephan and he was quickly amassing his own knowledgebase of information on health.
Our chat sessions were very important to both of us. As I was cementing my vegetarian attitude, Stephan was slowly cutting out meat and heading in the direction of me. In a few months, Stephan, too, would become a vegetarian.
Stay tuned for part 3 when I’ll discuss how my mind and body changed and when I made the plunge to become vegan.
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haha..People actually thought you were on cocaine. That’s crazy. I need to tell my story now.