One Week of Meatlessness
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Hi, friends! Today marks one week in my new meatless world. I’m excited to tell you that I have been happily surprised by it, for several reasons.
First, let me start by telling you that if someone had suggested at any prior point in my life that I’d become a vegetarian, I’d have laughed them out of the room. I like meat. I could live on cheeseburgers. Oh wait! I did live on cheeseburgers; that’s how I got to weigh 200+ pounds for most of my life. Duh.
This week has surprised me because it’s been EASY! Don’t get me wrong; it hasn’t constantly been simple. Actually, it wasn’t simple a couple times just because making a restaurant meal without meat has required a little thought on occasion. However, it has been really easy for me. It’s felt natural. I feel healthy and strong and awesome.
Another piece of awesomeness? I feel like my body isn’t working to digest meat. Ever. I never realized that my body was working all that hard to digest meat until I stopped making it do that. Now, I can tell you that it’s been working hard at that my whole flippin’ life. (Note to body: if you’d let me KNOW these things sooner, I could help you out. Just sayin’.)
I won’t even try to tell you I’ve had a week of awesome, healthy food choices. I haven’t. All throughout my weight loss journey, I have practiced changing one thing at a time. My priority is always not to overwhelm myself. Thus, when I decided last week to stop eating meat, I decided to only stop eating meat. (However, I did research and look at my diet to make sure I was getting enough protein, carbs, and fat. I absolutely believe I’m doing okay.)
What I didn’t do though was drastically change the other things I’m eating. I haven’t gone all whole foods or anything…yet…
I say yet rather jokingly. At this moment, I don’t see me doing that. I do want to eat more vegetables. I don’t eat enough of them. I love them, so I can’t really say why I don’t eat enough of them. I just don’t. I think that will be a good next thing for me to work on in my diet, but in the interest of doing one thing at a time, I’m not jumping on that right yet.
On the exercise front, I feel fantastic! I took a few days off in the middle of last week because I wasn’t sleeping and finally just had to let myself relax. I am happy to report I’m sleeping again so Saturday I started working out again. I ran/walked (mostly walked) an hour Saturday. I climbed 71 floors in 15 minutes Sunday followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill. Monday, I ran 55 minutes! That’s my longest run ever without stopping to walk. This morning, I climbed 74 floors in 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill.
The best part? I. FEEL. AWESOME!!!
I have definitely become one of those crazy people who enjoys running. That Monday morning run felt so great. Not only did I last longer than ever, I ran faster than usual too. I averaged around 10 minutes a mile, which is phenomenal for me. I didn’t feel like I was pushing myself too hard either. I just felt great.
Do I attribute the exercise improvements to my new-found meatlessness? Actually, I think I do. I have felt so much better physically this last week. I’m certain the meatlessness (which is totally my favorite new made-up word) is a big part of it.
So…what’s the bottom line of a week full of meatlessness? I feel great, and I have energy through the roof! Is it for everyone? Of course not.
What one thing could you change in your diet to give you more energy? Are you doing it? Why not?
Make your today awesome!
