Today marks the 1 year since I started experimenting with vegetarian eating.
The ideas people have about vegetarian cooking are oftentimes completely wrong. I was no exception. For that first day I had some random dishes for lunch like some salad, half a squash, some spiced zucchini, and some crackers. It was enough to fill my stomach, but only lasted for about 30 minutes then I was starving again.
I wanted to avoid going back to eating meat that day even though I was starving. So I went to a vegetarian restaurant that I’d heard so much about, Cafe Yumm!. That was the best meal of my life. At that point I realized how important protein is to regulating hunger. After that I started making sure to get some form of protein in every meal and haven’t been hungry since. Beans, Tofu, Tempeh, Cheese are some of the great ways to get all the protein you need. In my situation, I needed to continue eating eggs as there was something missing that they provided. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and comparatively easier on your body than chicken, pork, or beef.
Every person is different, and so what works for me might not for another. After several months without meat of any kind (except eggs) eating chicken, pork, and beef make me feel slow, lethargic and dead for the remainder of the day. Avoiding those foods, along with sugar completely changed my energy levels. Further experimentation shows that seafood and grass-fed beef in small amounts seem to be perfectly fine.
After the detox (yes really, there is tons of toxins in factory farmed meat) period of about 6 months I noticed a shift. I used to always be tired and lethargic, getting poor sleep, gaining lots of weight, and always having a cold or feeling sick. Soon I was feeling well rested, and I actually had energy to do things after work and on the weekends. While sitting around watching TV was a heavily ingrained habit, as I began to feel better I had more energy to get off the couch and do everything else I’ve always wanted to try but didn’t have the willpower to do so.
I hope maybe this post has inspired you in some way. Keep in mind, change doesn’t happen overnight but to reach your goals you need to keep chipping away at small pieces, and be patient along the way. You’ll get there!