I’m trying something new.
For 24 years and 4 months, I’ve been a meat eater. Not just an occasional, “humans are omnivorous creatures so I guess I’ll have some chicken” kinda guy, but a Meat Eater. Capital M.E.A.T. What this means is that far more often than not, I can be found consuming ground beef, prosciutto, salami, steak, turkey, sausage, ham, hot dogs (do they qualify?), chicken, lamb, fish and whatever else walks or swims or flies or crawls, and has eyes. I also eat a lot of processed food. A lot. Like parking lot. So, that’s not so healthy either.
The sad/funny/tragic/odd/whatever thing is: I love food. Good food. Great food. I spend a lot of money sampling New York’s fabulous restaurant scene, and if I could afford (money+time) to go out daily, I would. But far more often than I’d like to, I end up eating poorly. Blame being busy, blame money, blame convenience, blame upbringing, blame laziness, blame whatever you want, I know that I could change if I really wanted to.
And I do. And that’s what this is about.
For the next month, I will attempt a vegetarian lifestyle. Because I’m worried that I won’t be able to get all the nutrients I need otherwise, I’m making an exception (as many do) for fish, but otherwise, the plan is to cut all meat from my diet for (at least) 30 days.
This isn’t about becoming a vegetarian for life. It’s not about some moral decision to stop eating meat. This is about using a month of somewhat strict dietary constraints to force me into making better choices overall, a way of exposing me to alternatives that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, untested. This is, above all, about self-control, self-awareness, and self-care.
Each night, I will post what I’ve eaten for the day, taking care to be as specific as possible, and I will add some commentary about how I feel and what I’m thinking.
This is not going to be easy for me. Already, I’m thinking a lot of the wrong things about what I’m going to have for lunch today, and I don’t really know where to start when I go shopping tonight for “supplies.”
I’d love your help. In fact, I need your help. I need recipes, restaurants, snacks, tips, tricks, websites, books - anything and everything awesome and meatless. If you’ve got something, leave a comment on any post or send me an email at kevin at frivolousmotion dot com. I’d really appreciate it, and I will be eternally grateful. I’ll even make you a special downloadable certificate of appreciation!
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So, here goes. Let’s do it Veggie-Style!
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Plan: No Meat For 30 Days
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3 comments:
ah the old 30 days with no meat, I did that back in June (+fish). I decided to go on a 30 sobriety (no booze and pot) and just so happenned to be reading a book called "the food revolution" and it is basically the vegetarian arguement. So I ultimately decided to throw that in the mix as well.
I made it through (after the first week it gets easier) and celebrated with a big juicy Neiman ranch burger and then it was onto the vegetarian lifestyle. Ive stuck with it so far with only 2 binges (fucking jack in the box).
anyways if you can find a burrito place that will replace the meat with mushrooms, life will be easier.
morning star soy sausage is good (the fakon sucks), soyrizo is the shit and you better get used to tofu.
Thanks Danny. Great to hear from you, too. My celebration plan is some hardcore BBQ (my girlfriend's suggestion), and after that, I do plan on trying to stick to some healthier habits. Depending how this goes, maybe staying veg, but it's hard to imagine that at this point. We'll see in a couple weeks.
I'll look for some of that sausage for sure.
Also, Green Building Exchange looks awesome.
Good luck to you! No, seriously, good luck! Improving oneself is always a good thing (obviously) but it is also very hard. Why is that? Why is it so difficult to obtain/maintain a healthy lifestyle yet so easy to unravel it? Meh.
I'm not a very healthy eater. At all. I enjoy healthy foods, don't get me wrong, it's just...something always gets in the way of that. I'm not sure what. I keep using money as an excuse, saying that eating healthy is expensive. And, to me, it is. But eating unhealthy these days is also expensive. Eating period is expensive! So now I must think of a different excuse! That, or actually get off my butt and improve my own diet. All I need is a little something called motivation, sustained with a little something else called will-power...*takes a swig of pepsi*
I don't know what to suggest to help you out. Over time I will chew over this like a good piece of beef jerky (ha-ha) and think of something for you :) But for now I shall merely take up space commenting uselessly, ponder over your progress (and wonder what will happen next like one does over a reality tv show) and see if you inspire me enough to improve my own diet. Yesh. It shall be interesting!
Again, good luck! *hugs* Here's to a healthier lifestyle! (And don't mind my snark--that's just who I am on the 'net. I really do hope you achieve this goal of no meat for 30 days! *cheers you on*)
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