I can weigh in on this because I have been a vegetarian for over 16 years. Everyone asks why. For me it’s not that big of a deal really. It’s not my religion or anything. I am a Christian, and therefore have no dietary restrictions. Although I am a Catholic, and we practice abstinence from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Here is one reason I do not eat meat. It is a form of fasting. I also practice the type of fasting where I go days without eating at all. Of coarse these periods of time are coupled with prayer, contemplation and meditation. Fasting without prayer is called… starving. There is absolutely no point to it, except for loosing weight. It is very amazing what happens to your soul and spirit and even your body when you practice fasting. I’ve experienced profound things.

Back to vegetarianism, and some more reasons why for my self it is a good choice. Have you ever slaughtered an animal? I know many a meat eater that if it was necessary to butcher the meat they ate, they would not be able to. Here is where I go off-the-charts-weird in most peoples eyes. I am also a hunter, and have made a living as a commercial fisherman. I can bash in the head of a sword fish, hack saw it off, all while sloshing around in blood and guts…doesn’t bother me. I can field dress a deer, and take it home and butcher it…no problem. It’s fascinating really. What an awesome machine God created when he made us mammals, it’s cool to look inside. I wasn’t always this way. When I was 13 years old my uncle showed me how to dress rabbits and chickens. I puked, but got through it and learned something. This geared me toward vegetarianism. When you see what the meat looks like when it’s hopping around and breathing it feels a little cannibalistic to eat it. I could expound on that, but I don’t want to get too far out there…and I want to focus on vegetarian nutrition and strength in my case.

First, one last plug for vegetarianism: Animals have souls. Even a meat eater has to respect that fact. I heard a story about a young cow being slaughtered in the sight of it’s mother, and the mother cow freaked out. This story turned my stomach. This is showing blatant disregard for an animal’s simple psyche, and proves the psyche of the human responsible to be more than desensitized – sadistic really. Harvesting an animal for food is not a shameful thing, but do it with respect or it is wrong. I think it is done incorrectly in many cases, and I think meat is over eaten.

Veganism is not my bag. I eat fish and eggs and dairy products. There is no reason to eat mammals or even foul if you can get plenty of animal protein, replete with vitamin B-12 and creatine like I do. At over forty years old, 5′7” tall and 157 lbs…I have plenty of strength. I can bench 200lbs for reps of 6 to 10. I hardly ever get sick, and although my cholesterol is pretty high, I think it’s genetic…maybe it would be even higher if I ate more meat. I am going to work on lowering it by adding some more super foods to my diet…but thats another article. I take in a lot of carbs, but I think it is good considering most of my training is anaerobic. I don’t know why I can burn so many calories with a lot of strenuous activity, yet hardly take in more than 2000 calories a day. I wonder if it is because my metabolism is naturally very efficient or does it have to do with being a veggie? I’m also curious as to why I don’t loose weight when I fast and go long periods of time with very low intake of calories.