I am Jeannie Lin and I am 32 years old. I was vegetarian by the time I was 14 and that includes all meats, seafood and everything. I decided to go vegetarian partly because of environmental reasons, but I think the first reason was simply because I love the animals. I always grew up with pets and I enjoyed going to farms and I spent times on the farm feeding animals. And I think finally one day I just made the connection that those animals are the ones that show up in the supermarket. And I just finally, just one day just decided not to see them as food. I love all animals and I just did not think it is right to eat them.
I have been a vegetarian for 20 years. I definitely do not think that has slowed me down at all. Actually I am very healthy. Ever since I was a kid, I have never been sick really, I do not have any chronic problems or conditions or anything. I have a perfect attendance all through out high school actually. And I am just rarely sick, just the common colds that everybody has but I recover very quickly.
I feel like being vegetarian has kept me strong and energetic. It has also kept me going through a lot of sports. I have been a three-season athlete ever since high school. I was in varsity sports and even to this day I am really athletic. I do a lot of water sports actually. Now, I am a competitive dragon boater. I do a lot of paddling sports, so I do race canoeing, and actually I compete a lot. So next year I will also be competing in world championship for dragon boat.
I eat everything that is not meat and that does include a lot. I love colorful foods. When I eat, I like to have my plate with a lot of color. And I think that is in general, a very good gauge of healthy eating. That is a lot of vitamins and minerals and all the food groups and a lot of non-meat protein, that way too. For example homis and I make a good spinach pie actually. So I love the middle eastern dip kind of foods. All those different kinds of beans and lentils. I love Indian food and Chinese food. A lot of the Asian food has some really good vegetarian options.
Protein is in everything. A lot of people do not know this, but everything has protein, just different amounts of it. So, following again the method of just eating with a lot of different groups and different colors on your plate, if you can eat a lot of different kinds of foods then you can actually get all the protein you really need.
Friends and family have called me a nice vegetarian because I am not a screaming militant as many vegetarians come across as. I am nice because I do not force it upon everybody, much in the sense that I do not wish other people to force me to eat meat. So, it goes both ways. If people have seen that I do not eat meat and it is also something I believe in and something I have done for most of my life then they respect it. I think a whole lot more than me trying to pester them and telling them not to eat meat. So, once people really see that it is a philosophy of how you are and that you are not imposing it upon them and it is just something that you really formally and honestly believe in then they respect it.
Being vegetarian is right for me because it is just like a second nature for me. It is the way I am. I have always loved animals and I have always loved the earth and I have always loved working out and being an athlete. So, mentally, physically I have been strong, healthy, energetic, and if it works for me I think it can really work for anybody.
To learn more about the natural living lifestyle, get a copy of The Beginners Guide to Natural Living at your local Health Food Store or Amazon.com.
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