Tag: Diet

Until We Meat Again

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Welcome back for another week of trying something new.

 This week: Vegetarian

I am a frequent consumer of meat. I normally start my day with 4-5 eggs and maybe a slice  of bacon. My lunch normally has chicken involved in some form and dinner is reserved for beef. My family buys a cow every year at the county fair so our freezer is fairly stocked full of meat and beef is a staple of my family’s diet. I had heard in my perusings through the internet that the vegetarian diet, although often done to fight against animal cruelty and the meat industry, can have health benefits. One of my friends switched to the vegetarian diet to help with digestion issues and another who switched to help with skin care. I decided to put these things to the test to see if this diet is for me and here is what I found.

1. What was the biggest change/effects I noticed?

I ate a lot more bread. I down vegetarian frozen pizzas like a fiend that week. If I couldn’t have meat, my body wanted a substitute which occurred in the form of carbs. Lots and lots of carbs. I did have to check to make sure the ingredients were actually vegetarian, but breads and snacks became my life blood. Because I knew that I was only doing this for a week, my body still has the craving to consume meat by the end of the week and it got pretty bad.

2. What were minor changes/effects that occurred throughout the week?

Throughout the week, I noticed that my skin did look a little better and I rarely got stomach aches unless I had a junk food binge. I had to eat a lot more vegetables to be full at a meal rather than eating a couple of chicken breasts. I naturally gravitated towards peanuts, cashew, and almonds as well as a healthy mix of vegetables, but also just a lot of carbs. I did have more energy in the mornings, but looking back, that was probably just my body in a panic seeking out the morning eggs it was deprived of.

3. Was this health habit enjoyable?

This was okay. Just okay. I wouldn’t do it again because I genuinely enjoy meat and I have no urge to give it up. My mom made a delicious roast that I had to turn down for the sake of this experiment which mad me sad.

4. How can this health habit sustainable in the long term?

I will not pretend to be an expert on this after one week. I know there are plenty of other people that could much better information to sustain this habit if you are interested. One source that is worth checking out is No Meat Athlete linked below.

https://www.nomeatathlete.com/relax-2/

I am probably never going to do this habit again because it just isn’t the right fit for me. I have nothing against it, but I like meat a little too much. I think it is worth a try for anyone trying to change things up and maybe explore the health benefits a little more. It is always good to look out for your health because ready or not…

Life Willkomm

The Sweet Side of Life

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Welcome back for another week of trying something new.

 This week: No added sugar.

Ever since we were little, we are conditioned to love sugar. Movies, books, advertisements about candy are geared towards children. The sugar becomes more and ‘refined’ as we get older to be delicious desserts and delicacies, but sugar has become more and more mainstreamed into our diets rather than desserts. It is genuinely amazing to see how much added sugar is in food. If you read food labels anytime soon, it can be shocking. We know that we are not supposed to eat A LOT of sugar, but it can sometimes feel like we don’t have a choice. Sugar is in everything. I have heard that it can be good to cut added sugars out, so this week I tried it. Here were the results:

1. What was the biggest change/effects I noticed?

First and foremost, cutting out added sugar was much easier than I thought it would be. What was completely bizarre was the cutting of weight. I dropped 3 pounds eating my normal diet, doing my regular exercise, but I just cut out foods that had added sugar. I felt more focused when I woke up and more consistent in my energy level throughout the day rather than having spikes after I ate.

2. What were minor changes/effects that occurred throughout the week?

In the quarantine life where food is not as abundant as it once was, I noticed I just ate what was available. I found that whenever I craved something sweet at night, I was able to substitute that for something like bread and butter and I was fine. After a few days. vegetables had so much more flavor to them because my sweetness threshold got so much lower. I love food and I love to cook/bake, but I noticed more flavors in food when sugar was cut out of the normal diet.

3. Was this health habit enjoyable?

This was a totally fine habit. It was easier in quarantine because I’m not going out. I’m not having any mixed drinks with soda at the bar or going to grab some late night ice cream or desserts. It was enjoyable when I look back at how much consistency in energy I had.

4. How can this health habit sustainable in the long term?

This is completely sustainable to an extent. I would never want to become that killjoy who won’t go out or eat somewhere because they are doing “no added sugar.” I’m not going to avoid treats of life because of this habit, but I would like to continue to cut out sugar as much as I can in my normal diet because I think it was more beneficial than it was a burden. If you are interested, I would just say to not tempt yourself and buy snacks that are sugary. You can’t eat what you don’t have.

I really liked this habit and it gave me recipes to research other than just researching for school work. I think everyone should try it at least 1 week in their life. I know for some people, it really helps their skin, superhero celebrities do it for their diets, and it has made me enjoy food so much more. For me, I was the consistency in energy so I can be prepared for anything the day throws at me because ready or not,

Life Willkomm