#nomoreturkey

With Thanksgiving coming up, it’s hit me that this will be the first Thanksgiving that I will not be partaking of the turkey. Earlier this year, I decided to eat healthy. I wasn’t eating poorly up until that point, mind you – not much fast food, rarely any red meat, and my fluid consumption consisted of water and hot tea. But my diet consisted of a lot of rice, bread, chicken, and sweets. And, because exercise isn’t really my thing, my weight kept fluctuating in an upwards trajectory. I wanted to manage my weight, create a healthier diet for myself, and overall feel better, so I decided to go vegetarian. (Side note: I didn’t stop eating meat because of animal rights or religious reasons, so I’m still very okay with others partaking of meat and poultry). My friend was also changing her diet at the time, switching to vegetarian (and then going full vegan later on), so it seemed like a good time to make a change and support each other.

In keeping with the holiday spirit of giving, I want to share a little bit of what I learned during my switch (to being a vegetarian and then to pescatarian) that I wish I had bothered to Google prior to changing my entire diet.

1. Know your body

The first week, I was so excited to start my new diet. I had all kinds of great recipes lined up and went on a hunt to buy all kinds of great veggies (more on that later). I was definitely prepared to ace this whole vegetarian thing. And my dishes were really delicious and wholesome. But something really strange kept happening that first week. I kept losing energy. I was hungry a lot, so I was buying more snacks. At first, I thought perhaps I wasn’t eating enough – I had also chosen this time to cut down on my portion sizes, so maybe my body was trying to get used to less food. It took me two weeks to realize I was missing something crucial in my diet – protein. I tried subbing in tofu and putting more beans in my dishes, but that wasn’t doing it for me. That’s when I started adding fish to my mostly vegetarian diet, and my body rebounded almost immediately. Had I done the research ahead of time about what the body needs when coming off of eating meat, I probably would have saved myself the headache.

Also, your body will eventually get used to your diet. If it’s acting up at first, that’s just because our bodies are used to certain things and it’s going to take a little bit of time to become used to no red mean or poultry. But trust me, when you’ve been at it for a while, if you eat even the smallest bit of meat, you’re going to know. :(