Hello, everyone! I thought I had almost given up on blogging entirely, but I had to share something very close to my heart ;)
Three months ago I became vegetarian. This was, admittedly, my nth attempt at vegetarianism in my whole life, so my hopes weren't high; however, this time it finally clicked. I had always wanted to be vegetarian, ever since I was 11 years old and read my first yoga book. But despite my best efforts, I had always found a vegetarian lifestyle difficult to maintain. I suspect that the reasons for this include (1) My approach; (2) Not being the primary moneymaker/cook in the house (i.e., living at home with my parents); and (3) Again, my approach.
And before I go on, I would just like to mention that in the first week of becoming vegetarian I lost 5 lbs, kept it off, lost another 5 lbs, have maintained it (despite not having quite conquered my sweet tooth), making this year's weight loss total to be 20 lbs (so far). 10 pounds off from Clean Eating, and another 10 from vegetarianism. Which puts me at 120 lbs, and on my 5'5.5'' frame, equals a nice BMI of 19.7.
ANYWAY. Of course, I had seen all the nasty PETA videos, and read all of the nasty studies and interviews, etc. But it wasn't until after reading Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet that meat really started to gross me out. She paints an extremely, disgusting, vivid picture of exactly how meat (beef, poultry, seafood, game, etc.) arrives at your grocery store (or butcher shop or wherever you get your meat). The night I read that chapter I literally gagged while eating my broccoli and chicken casserole (which I had spent a lot of time making). It was like a corny montage when everything fell into place - everything I had ever read, or watched, or heard, and just knew intuitively came together and I just could not eat meat anymore.
*A note on Alicia Silverstone's book: it's a very nice read, great photography etc., but please remember that as much as I love her, she is neither an RD or an MD (or a health professional/certified naturopath). A lot of her claims are - there's no other way to say it - false, as well as transparent. I'm referring not to her argument against eating meat, but rather to her nutritional profiles on certain vegetables. For example, while it has been shown that "nightshades" (such as red peppers and eggplants) have been shown to exacerbate arthritis in some people, nightshades only do so if the person is already predisposed to arthritis or already has it. As well, if cutting out nightshades does not alleviate symptoms in arthritic people, then it is likely that the nightshades did not affect them in the first place and that they may continue eating them. What I'm trying to say is, her statement that nightshades are bad and should be avoided is not a realistic guideline for the general population. Where did I get my info you ask? I consulted my colleagues :P and of course looked up some actual journal articles. Please double check my facts too ;)
Moving on! My first week of cutting out meat was very difficult - I had the same symptoms that everyone complains of their first week in: nausea, fatigue, an overwhelming sense of hunger... But after that first week, wow. I felt lighter in my body and clearer in my mind. It just felt right. A few weeks in, I had a piece of chicken in a moment of desperation (I had not cooked myself anything for lunch and the chicken was all that was left). After eating half of a drumstick, I was full until supper. That meat just hung in my stomach like a big nasty rock. I had no idea how HEAVY meat was! Yuck. In the beginning my husband would try to taunt me by bringing bits of steak up to my nose to smell, which only resulted in me gagging - a true reflex, since I hate being rude about food, whatever it is (hey, I have actually eaten everything from rabbit to shark to frog to snake to alligator. The alligator was the best).
So what do I eat? I get asked this all the time. Um, what don't I eat? Since I started eating clean, my diet was full of veggies and whole grains, many of which were already protein-dense. I've added lots and lots of beans and lentils and of course, a little bit of tofu. I do buy "meat substitutes" but only once in a while, if the dish really calls for it (e.g., moussaka). This is one of the BIGGEST reasons that vegetarianism works for me now, when it didn't before - rather than trying to recreate my current diet and simply replace everything with a "meat substitute", I eliminated meat and meat-like things from my diet altogether only indulging in meat substitutes once in a while. And by the way, the veggie meats that we have these days are WAAAAY better than the ones that they had when I was in high school. Most of them are actually just tofu, just seasoned. I recommend Yves.
Being vegetarian has opened up a whole new world of flavors for me. Another very important reason why this has worked is unlike before, I actually enjoy cooking now. Like, I literally daydream about cooking. I luuurrrrve it. And while my husband still eats meat when he's out of the house, he loves everything I've cooked and has still not taken me up on my offer to cook him a meat dish. As for my son, I let him eat whatever he'll eat (he's very picky). He's actually not a big fan of meat (and actually, neither was I as a child) but if he wants it, I'll let him have it; however, I'm not necessarily encouraging it.
I've also noticed that my skin tone has evened out and my skin has cleared up in general. I've actually stopped using foundation entirely - something I never thought I could do.
I'm not vegan, so I still eat cheese and eggs. However, my family has switched from dairy milk to almond milk. It turns out that I was the biggest consumer of milk in our household. Case in point: the minute I started cutting down on my milk consumption (and I mean just cutting down, not halting it) our milk started to spoil. Three spoiled jugs later, I realized that the only person who would be missing milk is me. Plus, both the man and the baby actually enjoy almond milk way more.
If you actually take a look at Canada's Food Guide I bet you'll find that you are eating twice as much meat as recommended for your age/gender. And if you calculate your actual protein requirements and then take a look at how much protein is in beans, lentils, tofu, sprouted bread, quinoa, etc. you'll find that you will more than cover yourself on a vegetarian diet. I mean, especially if you're still eating eggs. Check the portion sizes on Canada's Food Guide - 2 small eggs = 1 serving of meat, and women are advised to keep their meat servings down to 2. So there you go.
So that's how I eat! The Eat-Clean Diet (most of the time) + vegetarianism. Mmmm. Let me tell you, it's make the hugest difference in all aspects of my life.
Until next time, stay healthy :)
