Inner Debate: To Be Vegetarian or To Be Vegan?
My boyfriend and I had one of the best weekends to date. We stayed in NYC and I found a $25 groupon for a dinner at a Japanese restaurant on the Upper East Side that included 2 sakes, one shared appetizer, and two sushi special rolls. When it came time to choose a special roll, nothing was purely veggie. Everything had either crab, tuna, shrimp and/or eel. And I felt like if I told them to take it out, I would have wasted the groupon we got. So, I did it. For one night I ate seafood, after being vegan for almost 3 months.
I really thought afterwards I wouldn't feel any different, but I was wrong. The eel special roll I ordered made me feel so full. I haven't felt like that in a long time. Then, later my boyfriend confided in me that he wishes I would just be vegetarian, he said, "It would be so much easier if you were vegetarian. We could share dessert." He is right. Life would be easier. I could eat cheese again or veggie dishes with cheese sprinkled on top, have ice cream, and be able to enjoy more baked goods. But I don't know if I want to do that. Would I be doing it for him? Or for me? Would I be coping out? Would I be giving up? Moreover, I have read how bad dairy really is for our bodies.
It is sometimes a struggle eating out or going to social events, to be on a constant alert for anything non-vegan. To be vegan really requires A LOT of preparation at home. I have also been thinking about seeing a nutritionist to make sure I am doing this vegan thing right...
Sometimes I wish I knew more vegans, or lived near more vegan restaurants, or sometimes I wish my boyfriend was vegan. He says he would probably try going vegetarian if we lived together. It's becoming harder and harder living vegan in a world that is majorly non-vegan...
But I don't want to give up. I love how my body feels, but I hate how my mind is struggling: vegetarian or vegan?
