I’m NOT a vegetarian, OK?

This week’s blog posts seem to be themed around food and restaurants. I guess they’ve been on my mind…!

For some reason, occasionally, a number of people say to me, “Oh, you don’t eat meat” or “You’re vegetarian, aren’t you?” - eg when we’re arranging to go for a meal or when we’re talking about gyms we go to, running and health and fitness.

“What makes you think I’m a vegetarian?!” I find myself crying out in horror.

These people don’t know me very well, clearly!

My instinctive reaction is to be insulted. No offense to my friends who are vegetarians (and some of my best friends are!) or to anyone else who is a vegetarian. It’s just that I don’t see myself as one and my self-image and identity is tied up with being a Malaysian ominvore with a hearty appetite for meat. So for me, the possibility that others might see me as anything but that upsets my sense of self!

But then I calm myself down by telling myself that what these acquaintances probably mean is that I seem healthy and fit and I don’t drink. Perhaps in their eyes, I have an “alternative” or non-establishment air about me - and maybe even an aura of loving-kindness?. So, maybe in their thinking, someone like that must also have a very healthy and pure diet that excludes dastardly deeds done to living creatures but focuses on lush, juicy, wholesome fruit and veg. That’s a compliment, right?

Well, the funny thing is that I may be half-way to becoming more vegetarian. I started at a new gym the other week and had my first personal training session. For some time now, I’ve been trying to lose what my sister calls my “muffin top” that peeps out over my jeans. However, despite much running and huffing and puffing on the cardio machines and weights at my old gym, the muffin is still defiantly there. The new personal trainer has recommended that I cut out carbs after lunch to solve this problem.

So I am trying out a new habit of substituting loads more veg and salad instead of rice, pasta or potatoes with my evening meal. He said that I could have as much fish or meat as I wanted so I’m leaving my usual portions of protein as they are. The idea is that I don’t go to bed loaded down with carbs that have nowhere to go but round my tummy and other such undesirable locations while I sleep - in contrast during the day, carbs are burnt off as energy while I move around etc.

It hasn’t been too arduous so far as it’s only one meal a day that I have to tweak. By having extra portions of veg instead of rice etc, I’ve been nicely full and that’s one of the main priorities for me in the evening - to have a feeling of contentment and satisfaction after a long day rather than going to bed hungry and craving more food. I think it will be fairly easy to follow, too, when I go out for meals with friends in the evenings if we go to a Western restaurant where the meat and veg offerings are fairly bland. But it’s going to be a challenge when we go to Malaysian or other Asian eateries for dinner where the spicy dishes need rice to blend and dilute the strong flavours….

So for those of you who might see me with a plate piled high with vegetables at dinner time, before you assume I’m a veggie look again and you will see the meat lurking underneath. I’m not a vegetarian, ok?

Photos:
veg - thanks to Muffet from flickr.com (CCL)
muffin - thanks to yomi955 from flickr.com (CCL)