Introduction: JMLD

Born in southeast Texas and raised on a ranch influenced greatly the dietary norms of this southern boy. Red meat was not just something to eat; it was what we ate. A friend of mine once told me "Vegetables are what 'food' eats", and, as a culture, my family lived that mindset everyday. At age seventeen I was a 6'2", 285 lbs. offensive lineman for my high school's football team. Large and in charge left me fat and depressed.

After graduation, I looked about me searching for a way to get a start in life. Few things in the Texas Golden Triangle appealed to me, and I knew that I lived in the type of town that people never leave. I finally decided to join the US Navy in search of adventure and purpose. Unfortunately I was nowhere close to the weight requirements. I had to get serious about more than my weight, more than my exercise habits; I had to get serious about my life, about my lifestyle. I was an athlete, per se. I knew how to work hard, play hard, and how to commit, but I lacked the tools and information that I needed to be successful in my plight to escape the Golden Triangle doldrums and get into a lifestyle of deeper and clearer, cleaner waters.

That is the purpose of this blog: to not only have a place for cataloging the information discovered, but also to provide a source of information for others who may read what Cailin and I have found for the enrichment of our lives. My wife and I have committed to a lifestyle of healthy living, starting with our diet and simple steps like recycling, but allowing that mindset to move beyond the everyday, beyond the ordinary. Many people, when they find out that my wife is a vegan, have asked her, "What do you eat?" Likewise when I say that I am an O+ carnivore, people assume that I am the same unhealthy and unhappy man that I was. Through this blog Cai and I want to shed light on the union of veganism and meat eaters to give hope to those who think that a healthy diet is unrealistic and unattainable.