Omnivorism

Yesterday was a rest day for me because my glutes were so sore! After Crossfit on Wednesday, I went to train my friend at the gym and did most of her workout too. It was a pretty long day although I felt good after.

I am doing a try-a-tri in a little over two weeks so I really need to put the weight training on the back burner and focus on cardio.

Anyway to make up for yesterday's post I wanted to talk about my recent decision to start eating meat again after almost 7 years as a strict vegetarian.

This decision was really triggered when I tried to become vegan. I know this sounds odd but it really got me thinking about why I was doing what I was doing. I had become a vegetarian because I didn't like the way that animals were factory farmed. I didn't like how they were treated and I didn't like the idea of being part of that process. However by being vegetarian I really felt like I was being hypocritcal. I was still eating dairy, which was still a major part of the meat industry, and still eating eggs although I tried to buy exclusively the free run type. After trying the vegan thing and failing, this was on my mind. Combined with summer. For the first time in a long time the smell of meat cooking on a barbecue was appealing to me. I thought about it long and hard before finally going to the local butcher. The place I went to has locally-raised, organic, antibiotic-free meats and they focus on animal welfare. If I was going to eat meat, it had to be done with my conscience still intact.

I purchased one chicken breast and kept it in the fridge for days. Finally when my boyfriend came home on the weekend I informed him of my intentions and we cooked it. Eating it felt good. I know it sounds strange but something about it felt right and instinctual and I realized how much I missed it. After that, there was really no going back. This was about two months ago. I started eating small amounts of pork, chicken and even beef. It's very expensive to buy this type of meat but that just means I eat less of it. North Americans have this whacko idea that they need to eat much bigger portions than they actually do, and that they have to eat it every day. This is not true.

I feel good about my decision although it is difficult when going over to people's houses, "Oh sorry, I only eat free-range organic meat"... yeah right. In that case I try to avoid eating it or eat a very small amount. I think whatever we choose to include in our diets, it has to be done with our consciences intacts. And, the burgers I bought from this place, are the most amazing burgers I've ever had. If you've never tried this type of meat and buy that boxed-factory farmed crap, you're missing out.