#30dayveg

Well, the last day of the vegetarian diet (technically) ended yesterday.

I say "technically", cause I don't know if I'll really go back to eating meat.

I'm thinking of just eating whatever throughout this weekend (meat included), then going into a pescatarian (fish & veggie) diet Monday moving forward.

I know it's a bad idea to eat a bunch of meat after going long without it, so I will be taking it slow. My first taste of meat will be later today, because a coworker has ordered cheesesteaks for everyone as this is his last day (convenient, right?).

To anyone who may have been keeping up on these posts, thanks for checking in, I really appreciate it.

Well guys, sorry for not updating as much as I would've liked to, but my absence doesn't mean I've stopped doing this. The cravings have been getting a little stronger (for example, last week at work they had free cheese-steaks), but I've been able to resist.

Last week, things kinda got out of hand with my weight, and I have to regain composure this week. It's not that I ate meat, it's that I ate more of everything else. I kept snacking everyday/night, having a beer here and there. And as I've decided that on the weekends, I wouldn't diet as hard, things definitely seemed like my weight was going to jump back up. Even Saturday night, when I went to a formal event and had about 2 plates of lasagna (meat free of course, and it was delicious) with sides of wild rice, and a fair amount of alcohol.

I dreaded getting on the scale this morning, because I knew that last week my weight loss slowed down, and I had even gained a pound back near the end of last week.

But, surprisingly enough, I got on the scale, and my weight is currently at 182.6. Almost down 10lbs from when I started this. I'm quite pleased, and it's kind of surreal that I may be in the "170's" range soon (if I keep this up) as I haven't been there in about 2 years.

Who knows, I may be at my goal weight (160-169) before the month is over.

As far as food updates, I haven't really tried anything out of my regular salads and veggie burgers, except for yesterday when I tried Dunkin Donuts' "Egg White Veggie Flatbread". It was ok, just a little too greasy. I may have one sometime later this month. Tonight, I'll be having Spaghetti with "meatless meatballs", so that should be interesting. Then, maybe on friday, I plan on trying "General Tso's Tofu". I've been hearing mixed reviews everywhere, so I suppose this may just be something I'll have to judge for myself.

So today (Friday) I got up, weighed myself, and I'm down to 185lbs from 190lbs on Monday. While I'm ecstatic about the weight loss, I do know the dangers of losing weight too quickly.

I also know that it's possible some of that loss was muscle, and not fat, so I plan on increasing my protein intake. I'm trying to workout on a regular basis, but things come up, and that can't be helped.

I had a morning workout, followed by a Green Pepper, Onion, and Tomato omelette, so that was pretty good. It was my first time making eggs with anything but ham or cheese in it, so i kinda screwed it up, haha.

I put the eggs in the pan and by the time I went to get the other ingredients, the eggs were almost done. Next time I'll probably either sauté the vegetables first, or just put the veggies in the mix of beaten eggs and pour them in all at once. It all still turned out pretty good, and this was simply a learning experience.

So, although I don't make text posts very often, I've decided to document my experiences with this journey.

Why am I doing this?

Honestly, There's not much reason for it. I've been changing my eating habits, and as I sat at work, I thought "why not try vegetarianism?".

What about protein? How will you get it?

I honestly had no idea this was such a prevalent question. I eat a fair amount of Greek yogurts, and those are a pretty good protein source. But it does amaze me that this question comes up so much. It was the very first thing my sister and grandmother asked me.

And what about all the nutrition meat has? Can't you get sick from not having it?

You'd be surprised how many natural plants and beans are high in many of the nutrition that meat provides. But as I do know people get sick from trying this, I intend to take daily vitamins and such during this, to attempt to prevent any sickness that could occur.

Will you eat fish?

Looking into trying the vegetarian life-style has shown me there are quite a few "sub-divisions" of it. Some eat fish ("pescatarians") and some consider fish just as bad as red meat. I'll try not to eat fish during this month, but if I'm eating out with friends and there are no veggie-friendly meals, fish based meals will have to suffice.

When do you start?

I've decided to start October 2nd. Yesterday. This blog post is late because I work until 12am, and this was a last minute decision.

What will you be documenting?

Pretty much the things I eat, how I feel so far without meat, weight, overall being, and things of that nature. Occasionally I might even snap a picture of what I'm eating, or rpost/reblog a picture of something I would like to try. I'll try to keep all related posts under the tag"30dayveg".