Veggie Tales
February 21st, 2010 by Harry Sachz
If you have been following my Twitter account, you’ll know that I’m planning on becoming a vegetarian for a week starting at midnight tonight (Sunday). There is no moral or health issues behind this decision, it’s just simply to see if I can pull it off. Every meal that we eat contains some sort of meat. In fact, that’s how we decide what meal we cook every evening. “What meat do you want?” is usually the first question when walking into the store… So I’ve decided to log how horrible my week is expected to be… [edited post for sequence]
Only Three Days Left
The 30 day challenge is almost over and I’ll have to say that this hasn’t nearly been as difficult as hoped. In fact, we enjoyed the last month so much that we have decided to stay vegetarians (for the most part). Since there is no moral obligation to removing meat from our diet, we can still add it when we feel it necessary. For now though, it’s going to remain a part of our lives so we can maintain the health benefits and keep our finances in control. In the last 30 days I have lost 13 pounds and maintain an exercise schedule of running, situps, and push-ups. I gained a few pounds back after St. Patrick’s Day, but now that the beer is all gone, it won’t be a problem to get back on the routine again. So… Three days left, and I don’t miss eating meat. One more thing to mark off our list.
… and Two Weeks later
It’s roughly been a about 16 days now and this challenge isn’t nearly as difficult as I had hoped. Not eating meat isn’t hard, its just tough to find a menu that supports this lifestyle. Turns out that half the places we frequently eat at only have one or two items that seem edible enough to try. For the most part, we just stop at the store and buy enough food to last us a few days – which this anti-meat diet has lowered our weekly grocery bill considerably. In the past two weeks, I’ve dropped 10 pounds and started exercising again. I feel like I have a ton of energy and it’s almost become a game to see what interesting meals we can find / come up with. After making it past that first hump of starvation and intimidation, there is not an obvious problem continuing this lifestyle indefinitely..
Tuesday…
Well, after much thought, I decided to extend my little experiment to 30 days. Why 30 days? Well, I love the show… This could be a great adjustment to my body as far as cleansing, sobering up, getting in shape, and losing a few pounds. Starting tomorrow, I’m beginning an exercise routine of cardio and weights. Starting with light work of course, due to the change from my almost completely inactive lifestyle. The exercise plan I’m on is also 30 days. Also, 30 days from when I started is Saint F’n Patrick’s Day! It couldn’t be more perfect. A celebratory drink-fest awaits when my hard work is complete. Today, I had peanuts and a spinach salad with sourdough bread as a side. Tonight, vegetarian chili (who would have thought there was such a thing?). I have the energy and the motivation for self-torture to pull this off. So, let’s see how it goes…
Monday
I’m so hungry… It feels like I skipped lunch today. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, is pissing me off right now. I don’t think my attitude can be attributed only to the veggie diet, given that I recently stopped drinking and had a horrible day, but there is no doubt that the hunger pains in my stomach has just a little something to do with it. After I eat this humorous excuse for a dinner, it’s bedtime. Don’t think I have the energy to stay up tonight. Gonna watch some cartoons then pass out. So far, this isn’t fun…
Sunday Night
We hit up the store and picked up apples, oranges, sourdough bread, crackers, granola bars, cereal, noodles, rice, and salad stuff… Also, I purchased a vegetarian cookbook (as mentioned on Diggnation) for @magaragazza as an Xmas gift, so if we fail, it won’t be from lack of preparation.
Tags: meal, meat, test, veggies
Posted in Personal | Comments (3)
February 24th, 2010 at 2:46 am
Keep at it! You can do it!
March 10th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
This is all sorts of awesome. Glad to hear you’re feeling great with the changes in your diet. Some people switch it up and end up feeling weaker, etc, but I think they just aren’t doing it right. I don’t think I’ll ever give up meats/fish, but once in awhile, it’s nice to try something different. I dont’ go out of my way to eat one or the other, just whatever to stay balanced.
March 12th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I’ll be thinking of you when I eat this juicy, succulent, medium rare T-Bone steak