After hearing my uncle had heart surgery, among other co-workers and family members getting illnesses related to cholesterol, cancer, diabetes et-cetera, I decided I wanted to try going ‘clean eating’ vegetarian for a month in January.

I’ve realized thrown myself into a new world that I’ve dismissed as a nuisance before. I’ve learned that vegetarianism isn’t just about the food you consume, but a vibrant subculture that’s been under my nose this whole time.

So there are many varieties of vegetarians, (I don’t count pescatarians or pollo-veg because they are eating animals). From these varieties I’ve noticed the type of people who are practicing this diet are doing it mostly for religious reasons, for their love for animals, or just for health reasons.

• Vegans: eat nothing from any animal.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarians: no animal meat but eggs and dairy is OK.
• Lacto vegetarian: no animal meats but dairy is OK.
• Ovo vegetarian: no animal meats and dairy but eggs are OK.

These dietary lifestyle choice comes from:

• Religious beliefs (ie: Hindu, Buddhism, etc).
• Love for animals.
• Health reasons

The people who have been brought up with it from childhood and do it for religious reasons, are less vocal about their dietary restrictions, where as people who do it for health reasons or love for animals are a little more vocal about it. The vocal vegetarians are sometimes a nuisance to listen to when I’m enjoying my steak, but I catch myself doing the same thing sometimes since I’ve started this lifestyle. I’m starting to understand the vocal vegetarian culture a little bit more, it’s not because they’re trying to annoy you, but they’re feeling smug adopting this new healthy lifestyle, and they want to announce it to the world. It’s like I’ve started something new, and feel happy about it, so I have to share to the world. I’m watching my manners now, and being non-difficult vegetarian. Though I’ve have cheated by eating veggies sauteed with meat, but I don’t care too much, I’m just trying it out to see how I feel, and prepping myself to go to India at the end of the month. I’ve been trying it out all month and it’s only been 2 weeks, I’ve haven’t really missed eating meat too much.

Hunger

The first 4 days I was extremely hungry all the time. I subdued it with snacking on almonds and drinking lots of water. A lot of the meals I cook and eat are mostly using starch and veggies. My cheat meal is cheese pizza and or mac and cheese, but I only cheat once a week.

• Starch: Rice, lentils, beans, chickpeas, pasta, sweet potatoes (yams, ube, etc), somen noodles, vermicelli noodles.
• Veggies: fennel, broccoli, avocado, collared greens, chard, squashes.
• Fruits: bananas, pears, oranges.
• Protein: mushrooms, tofu, cheese, yogurt, milk, almonds, nuts.

How do I feel?

Some days I feel drowsy from excessive starch intake and some days I am extremely hungry (usually before bed, in the mornings, and after the gym). I don’t feel any different from when I was eating meat.

Weight gain/loss?

I’ve have dropped 3 lbs from all the holiday food, but I think that’s because I’ve been working a lot of hours and not eating proper lunches. I don’t think vegetarianism has any effect on it.

Other health benefits?

Haven’t gone to the doctor so I wouldn’t know. I have to had done this for a couple of months to get accurate measurements.

Takeaway

I think it’s healthier to eat a balanced diet of carbs, veggies, protein. I think eating lean meats is beneficial for you and going vegetarian is also beneficial. I’ll probably go back to eating meat because I love it, but perhaps I can go 2-4 days without it. I’ll probably continue eating the vegetarian foods I’ve been eating but just supplement it with fish, pork, beef, and chicken sparingly. I’m only halfway though the month, if anything changes as I complete my full month of vegetarianism, I’ll be sure to update.

Update: Feb 2nd

It’s been a month, I started on January 1, and finished on January 31. I was actually glad to try a South Indian sea food dish on Feb 1st when I realized that I finished my month long vegetarian goal. My take away from being vegetarian for the entire month is that I can get extremely full during meal times but extremely hungry (like on the verge of famine) right before mealtimes. I think I prefer the gradual transition into hunger rather than the ‘suddenly I’m dying of starvation’ approach. After being in India for the last week of the month, I thought that India is vegetarian heaven, but after about 5 days of every meal being loaded with spices, my stomach couldn’t handle the overload. I literally had to reset my stomach one day just eating naan and rice with nothing else. Even light salt and pepper upset my stomach. I did accidentally unconsciously ate meat like 4 times this month. The meat just laid in front of me and I didn’t remember until after I’ve swollowed 4 pieces already. But I kept continuing my goal even after I messed up. I will try again another month and hopefully I won’t have any slip ups then. I did jump into eating fish/shellfish the day after the month long goal, then immediately beef on the airplane ride. I don’t feel sick or anything but I do enjoy the taste of meat, and the feeling of not being hungry so quickly.