Being A Vegetarian: Week 1!
Hey guys, long time no talk! I hope every one of you has had a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year!
As we all know, the new year is a great way to get going on something new in your life. Common ones include exercise, reading more, eating less, all sorts of stuff! For me, the new year was nothing special. I decided to let life run its course and see what this year brought me. Basically, I had no resolutions and just went with the flow! But then something in me decided I needed to try something new, and I finally figured out something I've always wanted to do (something I'm not even ashamed to say was on my bucket list to try someday!)- I decided to become a vegetarian!
It all started with one of my friends in school who told me he was deciding to go Vegan. I said, "Good for you, but you know you're not going to last, right?!" and he told me to shut up and that he would. (Update: he gave up after a week) But anyway, I said, you know what? I'll do it with you! I've always wanted to see if I could do it, and so I decided to go straight into it- I quit cold turkey (haha), and from one day to the next, I stopped eating meat! This is not something I highly recommend, though. Before this, I had already not had red meat for about 4 months, so I was already a bit used to it. But I knew the only way I personally was going to go through with it is if I were to quit altogether, so I did!
It's currently been a week, and I can say I've already seen progress in myself. I haven't really been working out much yet, but my diet has already been SO much better. With this newfound lifestyle change, I also decided to clean up my diet, meaning not eating as much as I was, which was way too much! I'm eating better and a little less, and I've already lost a couple of little pounds, which I see as a success! A quick disclaimer, though, I'm not doing this to be skinny and necessarily "look better" because, honestly, everyone should love the way they are and not let anyone tell you otherwise! As the health intern, I don't want to say do this or do that to be skinnier; that's not the point at all! It's about feeling great about yourself as a person, mentally and physically.
I can say this choice I made was tough, but I'm feeling a lot better about myself at the end of the day! It's making me happy that I possess such willpower I claimed to not really have before! So I'm feeling better about myself rather than worrying and tracking how many pounds I lost and how I look! Everything comes together eventually, and the progress I make through my journey will just be depending on how my life goes!
As a newfound vegetarian, I have done a fair amount of research in seeing what I can and can't eat, what's recommended for me to replenish missing nutrients I'm going to miss out on, etc. It's tough work, let me tell you! I mean, I'm not doing this for health or religious reasons, so I have a bit of leisure. What I mean by this is I'm not necessarily a super strict vegetarian, more like mild. Basically, I classify myself as not eating any meat but still eating dairy and such! Anyways, before I bore you any longer with more facts and ideas behind this new choice, let me say again this little weekly series is in no way to make you all feel bad about what you're eating or me showing off what I am, but to give a little insight on a new-and-naive vegetarian's life, food options, and progress! Every week, I'll try to give meal options I've had the entire week so that I can give possible ideas to any new vegetarians like me out there who have no idea what the heck they're doing! Here's this first week:
Monday (first official day of vegetarian-ness!!)
Dinner: Spinach & Feta Ravioli
Tuesday:
Lunch: Salad & A bottle of water
Dinner: Teriyaki Noodles with veggies
Wednesday:
Lunch: Banana & Nutella Sandwich
Dinner: Black Bean Soup & a bowl of veggies
Thursday:
Lunch: Edamame Hummus w/ crackers
Dinner: Mini Vegetarian Lasagna (feta, spinach, carrots, etc.)
Friday:
Lunch: Apple Butter & Nutella Sandwich
Dinner: Cheese Pizza
Saturday:
Lunch: Red Beans & Rice with a side salad
Dinner: A Soy Chicken Burger
Sunday:
Lunch: Fries & A Shake
Dinner: Honey Nut Cheerios
Talk to you guys next week!
Lots of Love, Erica xxx