Being Sober AND Vegetarian: A Lonely, but Rewarding, Life đ đșđ„©
According to Gallup, 36% of Americans are total abstainers from alcohol. So 63% of Americans are drinkers.
And another Gallup revealed that only 4% of people in the United States identify as vegetarians. And only 1% of Americans identify as vegans. So 95% of Americans are meat-eaters.
The grand majority of people, in the United States, and worldwide either drink alcohol, eat meat, or both. So choosing to become sober AND vegetarian or vegan makes you a part of small group of folks who are committed to a healthier walk of life.
I am the only sober vegetarian that I know.
I do know people who are sober. And I do know people who are vegetarian or vegan. But I donât know personally know a single person, not even one, who is both sober and vegetarian.
Amongst my friends and family, I am the solo sober herbivore.
It isnât an easy lifestyle. Itâs full of obstacles, challenges, temptations, and adversity. But being a sober vegetarian has been very rewarding for me. Iâve gained more self-discovery, self-actualization, growth, fulfillment, and progress towards accomplishing my dreams than I ever would have otherwise.
So this is a glimpse into what my life is like, what it is like to be both Sober AND Vegetarian.
Temptations & Opportunities for Relapsing Are Everywhere
As a sober herbivore, you canât run, hide, or escape from temptation.
Almost every restaurant, bar, club â any establishment that serves food and drink â serves both meat, alcohol, or at least one of the two. In the grand majority of countries across this earth, people are eating meats and drinking alcoholic beverages.
Meat and alcohol are absolutely everywhere.
This is a fact of life that we, sober herbivores, have to accept right away.
Not only are meat and alcohol physically present at establishments, they are featured in movies, television shows, music, radio, and ads. You cannot enjoy any form of entertainment without constant temptations and reminders of the foods and addictive beverages that you left behind.
Iâve been sober for 9 years and a vegetarian for 6. Whenever I have felt the temptation to drink alcohol or eat meat, I have always relied on this strategy for coping:
Remember your reasons for quitting. And think about the consequences of relapsing.
I had a long list of powerful and compelling reasons to give up alcohol for life. And Iâve got some strong reasons for why I should never eat meat ever again.
And the consequences for drinking alcohol or eating meat â the mental health, physical health, financial, and legal consequences â could be disastrous for me.
So just simply remembering the truth about alcohol and the facts about meat-eating has always been enough to keep me from relapsing. And even when I did relapse back into my meat-eating ways 3 or 4 times in the past 6 years, I faced immediate consequences. I vomited!
I even had an unintended relapse this year in Nairobi when I ordered a âvegetarianâ soup at a restaurant. Because the broth was made using meat, eating that soup triggered acid reflux and I found myself vomiting up that meal.
So if you ever do relapse in your old ways, grab a journal and write down the consequences for backsliding into meat-eating or alcohol-drinking. Facing those consequences again and remembering them will help you stay sober and stay meat-free moving forward.
People Constantly Ask âWhy Donât You Drink?â & âWhy Donât You Eat Meat?â
Alcohol drinkers love to spend time, associate, and socialize with other drinkers. And meat-eaters enjoy spending time with other meat-eaters.
Birds of a feather flock together. Itâs an aphorism that people have been saying since the 1500s. Because itâs true. Human beings have a strong tendency of sticking to people who share similarities with themselves.
So as a sober vegetarian or vegan, you are going to be the one person who does not fit into the flock. You will be the solo bird flying in an opposite direction.
When members of the flock see you flying in another direction, itâs going to get under their skin. Drinkers and meat-eaters will constantly ask you why you arenât drinking and why you arenât eating any of the meat.
Most of the time, itâs an innocent question sparked by their curiosity to understand why you arenât partaking in what everyone else is doing. And sometimes you can tell that the meat-eater or drinker is legitimately triggered and irritated to see you abstaining from this way of life that they identify with.
Nothing bothers a passionate alcohol lover more than being around someone who isnât drinking. And nothing gets under a meat-loverâs skin more than being around someone who has forsaken meat forever.
Abstaining from alcohol and meat will get under their skin because your existence draws attention to an uncomfortable truth: drinking alcohol and eating meat are both unhealthy, especially when done in excess.
Eating meat has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and certain types of cancer. And researchers had identified alcohol as a cause for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, memory problems, mental health problems, depression, sexual dysfunction, unemployment, risky behaviors, domestic violence, and more.
It has been proven that both meat and alcohol are not healthy, especially when someone does either of them in excess. So whenever a sober herbivore is in the presence of people drinking alcohol or eating meat, you remind them of this painful truth.
No one wants to be reminded that what they are doing, a habit that they participate in every week or every day, is unhealthy and carries all sorts of risks.
Some of you meat-eaters and drinkers might even be cringing as you read this article right now. This is normal.
This is how I felt back at the University of Maryland, during the peak of my drinking, when I had a roommate who was sober for one semester. Weâll call him Ezra.
During college, I had a core group of friends who I shared an apartment with on the north side of campus in 2010 and 2011. But there was one semester when one of my friends went to England to go live abroad. That was when Ezra came to stay with us.
Not only was Ezra sober from alcohol. He was also very socially awkward. For example, there was one day when we all drove out to buy groceries. When Ezra gave us a ride back, he inexplicably refused to drop us off directly outside of the apartment building. Instead, he dropped us off in a parking lot that required us to walk a little bit to reach our apartment.
Ezra was always breaking unspoken social rules like this. As a result, nobody liked him.
In addition to not getting along with us, he was sober. Ezra had a habit of sitting down in the living room and watching my friends and I drink, without adding anything to our conversations.
I still remember feeling like Ezra was ruining my buzz with his awkward staring. I felt irritated and self-conscious about my drinking as he watched us. I felt like he was judging us. Even though I never did ask Ezra why he doesnât drink, never had that conversation with him, his staring made me feel guilty about drinking.
That right there explains why drinkers and meat-eaters constantly feel the need to ask âWhy donât you drink?â and âWhy arenât you eating meat?â You have reminded them that what they are doing is unhealthy. And even though youâre probably just minding your business and trying to enjoy your meal, they feel guilty and judged by your presence.
In a society where 63% of people drink and 95% of people eat meat, these questions are unavoidable. My advice is, try to avoid judging people or being too harsh when they ask you why you arenât drinking or eating meat.
Just give them a genuine and honest explanation all of the problems you went through that inspired you to quit.
For me, I suffered from legal, financial, mental, emotional, sexual, and health problems because of alcohol. Meaty foods often triggered mood swings. And due to acid reflux, meat makes me vomit.
Iâve got plenty of valid reasons to be a sober vegetarian. And people understand.
As you explain what your reasons are for quitting and what life is like as a sober herbivore, many people will actually reveal that theyâve been thinking about quitting as well. And you will be their inspiration!
The Sober Herbivore Life. A Lonely, but Rewarding Path.
As Iâve pointed out, 36% of Americans are totally sober from alcohol. And only 5% of the population are herbivores.
So being a sober vegetarian makes you unique, different, rare, and highly unusual.
It is definitely a lonely path. But with all of the illnesses, mental health, and physical health problems that are triggered and fueled by meat and alcohol, being a sober herbivore is a healthier way of life (as long as you donât eat too much plant-based junk food).
And itâs a rewarding lifestyle because every single day you are conquering huge challenges, persevering to accomplish your goals, and forging your own path in life. As a sober herbivore, you are establishing yourself as the kind of person who decides your own destiny.
These are two big lifestyle choices that, if you stick with them, will make you a stronger, more determined, healthier, happier, more motivated, and better version of yourself.
Are you sober, vegetarian, or vegan? Or have you considered giving up meat or alcohol? Have you thought about giving up both?
Let me know in the comments!
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