Vegetarian update

Two months ago I decided to go vegetarian.  For the most part it has been great.  I have been cooking more and eating a lot healthier.  I even lost about 10 pounds!  However, lately I noticed that I have been abnormally tired.  I read that a sign of protein deficiency is being tired when you shouldn't.  I did a little experiment where I decided to have some meat again to see how it made me feel.  A little while after I ate a delicious pork salad from my favorite restaurant, Cafe Rio, I noticed a spike in my energy.

I will not be returning to eating meat again, but I wanted to be sure that it was a lack of protein or nutrients found in meat and not something else.  Now that I know what was causing my exhaustion I can fix it.  This will most likely require me to be more careful about calculating the amount of protein that I'm getting every day.  I thought I was doing a decent job at making sure I was getting protein, but I guess not.  I will probably also have to take some extra supplements, like B12, to offset the lack of meat in my diet.

Overall, I'm happy I made the transition.  I'm happy to not support the corporate farming industry and their harsh practices.  I haven't made the trek out to local farms, but perhaps if I get a meat craving I will head out there and buy some meat once in a while.  I don't miss it enough to justify the 30 minute drive.  The hardest part about giving up meat has been eating out.  I feel like many restaurants are really lacking in their options for vegetarians.  I can only imagine how hard it must be for vegans!  I'm surprised by the lack of options because there are so many delicious recipes you can make without meat.  I've pondered the thought of going vegan, but for now I will just stick with being a vegetarian.  I love cheese way too much and dairy is in many of the foods that I enjoy.  It's just too big a leap for now, but perhaps one day.