Look Ma… No Pictures!

I do not have my full blogging arsenal at my disposal today, so I will have to present this post sans pictures. 

I’ll do a recap of today’s eats when next I do a full post, but I wanted to ask a few random questions today. I do not have a multitude of readers, but I would appreciate any feedback! : )

Question #1 – How important is protein in your diet?

I gave up meat a couple of weeks ago (as is very apparent in this blog) and I’m finding that the vegetarian lifestyle is in no way a sacrifice for me.  I’ve never enjoyed meat and have toyed with the idea of giving it up for several years.  Since going veg, however, I’ve been paying extra close attention to my protein intake and have realized that more often than not, I come up waaay short.  I really didn’t think it would be that hard, especially since right now I’m still eating dairy, but for some reason I just can’t get enough in my diet. I don’t want to double my fat intake just to eat more protein.  So my first question is, for both veg and non-veg alike, what is your favorite source of non-meat protein?  I’m really not a fan of tofu, but I should probably give it a second chance… Second, do you think getting adequate protein is important even when the proteins you use to fulfill the requirement are processed, i.e. tofu, protein powder, etc.? And lastly, if you have given up meat, have you noticed that not getting as much protein has negatively affected your health in any way, or AM I JUST BEING PARANOID? Feel free to be honest about that one, I am probably thinking way too hard about this, as I do with most things!

Questions #2: Why did you start your blog (if you have one)?

First, allow me to explain why I started mine.  The main reason, as I explain on my about me page, is that I needed to start focusing on myself more and learning to create happiness for myself.  I thought blogging would be a great way to get in touch with who I am and what I need to do to increase my self-acceptance and inner peace.  That will always be a work in progress, but I feel I’m actually off to a great start.

The other reason, and at the time I don’t think I realized this, that I started this blog was because even though I have seriously, amazing, wonderful, fabulous friends I was feeling a little lonely.  Most of my friends have absolutely no interest in health and fitness and quickly become extremely annoyed tire of hearing me talk about it.  When I went vegetarian I didn’t receive much positive feedback on the decision from friends or family.  I guess maybe they thought I was acting holier-than-thou, or they were afraid I was going to start pushing my beliefs onto them (which I would never do, at least not intentionally, I believe diet it incredibly personal and each individual has to do what is best for them).  A few of my friends actually refer to me as “Hitler” and tell me I’m un-American now for being a veg.  It’s all in jest, but it makes me feel a bit like an outsider.  My mom loves veggies, so I get to chat with her about it quite often, but that’s about it.  I guess I turned to the blogging community so that I could feel like a part of something that I think is interesting and valuable and that I truly enjoy reading and writing and talking about.  There are certain people in my life who share my love for cooking, or working out, but they quickly tire of hearing my ramble on about it like a 16 -year-old girl talking about Robert Pattinson. 

I really want to thank every blogger out there for allowing me to get my fill of Green Monsters, yoga, running and all the other exciting topics you write about with such enthusiasm.  I’ve been commenting on a lot of the blogs that I read daily like Gourmet on a Diet, EatFabinNYC, Nerdy Fitness, LovIN My Tummy, Eat Live Run, Daily Goods, and Hungry Hungry Hippie, just to name a few (I’m seriously an obsessed reader of tons of blogs!).  Each blog offers a different perspective and motivates me in a unique way.

SO… back to the question(s) – Why did you start your blog? Do all of your friends know about/support the blog?

 Sorry for the rambling today… I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking!  I hope to hear some of your input.  Thanks for putting up with my randomness : )

I probably won’t post again until Saturday or Sunday because I have a very fun weekend ahead of me out of town, hopefully involving some hiking!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!