But I have been taking it for a test drive.
Honestly, its not so bad. It will be better when I figure out that I have to pack more food for lunch!
I spent 5 days last week eating no meat. I did pretty good. I think I found decent protein replacements. I have never eaten a lot of meat anyway; rarely red meat, lots of chicken. I haven't mastered the cooking for 1 process either, regardless of my diet. I rely a lot on convenience foods such as frozen chicken strips for salads or frozen meatballs for spaghetti.
I broke my meatless streak twice Saturday. The first time was when my son refused the bacon biscuit I bought him for breakfast. He has his own food issues and bacon is one of the few proteins he eats at all. I didn't want to throw it away so I tried to eat it. It was the worst bacon biscuit ever. Fast forward to Saturday lunch. I was at the local greasy spoon where lettuce and tomatoes are the only veggies in sight. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and could only eat half of it before I was full. It also gave me heartburn although I imagine that is related more to the cooking process than the chicken itself.
I decided to continue this week but I'm not very creative and I haven't had a chance to do much grocery shopping. Lunch has been spicy black bean burgers with salsa and cheese on mini whole wheat pitas. I made Thai red curry broccoli and noodles one night. That was good, would have been better with more sauce. Time for a trip to Trader Joe's!
I am not taking in enough calories. I am painfully aware of this right now as I type. I'm a little excited that I've remember the cheese stick stashed in my purse.
It's funny the way people have reacted. "Oh, so you're a vegetarian now?" with obvious disdain in their voices. No, just something I giving a try. It can't hurt anything. I've been a work in progress for several years on eating healthier. Plus being vegetarian is more environmentally responsible. Anything I can do to offset my extreme love for my gas-gussling SUV, I should attempt.
So, I'm not a vegetarian today. It takes 21 days straight for something to become a habit. But, I may be one day.
As a side note, I re-read my last post and have determined no more late night blogging after a few glasses of wine.
I had a lot of the same feelings when I first went vegetarian. At first, I felt great, getting more fruits and veggies. The drastic change in diet (and the fact that I didn't know enough about nutrition) led to me feeling like crap for following 2 weeks. I was sluggish, un-focused, and seemed to lack my basic daily energy. I am a runner too - those two weeks were the worst runs I have ever had! After studying up some on basic nutrition and after my body began to adjust, I started feeling better and eventually, better than before. Since then, I have become vegan, which was surprisingly an easy transition. I have taken a few tips that help me to eat healthy and want to eat healthy. One thing I do is that I have a smoothie each day and a big salad each day. The other meals, I'll change up, but the salad and smoothie are the staples. They help to control the day and remind me that I feel better when I eat good food. Anyway, keep going Rebecca! It's a big step in trying to be more environmentally sustainable and the cows like it too. :)
ReplyDelete-Mike H.