Thursday, January 31, 2008

The 30-day experiment

On January 2nd I decided to give up eating meat for 30 days. This Saturday will mark the end of my little experiment. There were a handful of reasons I decided to not eat meat for 30 days, mostly to see if I could actually do it. I’m going to make it, save for a couple of raw fish bites (sushi). It was painful no doubt. Here are the top 10 things I’ve learned while not eating meat for the last 30 days.


1. Lunch is by far the toughest meal to try and survive. Turkey sandwiches are gone. Salads with chicken are a no-no. It’s been by far the most difficult part of this whole challenge. I’ve tried Tofurkey sandwiches believe it or not. If you smatter them with enough Dijon mustard and/or spicy hummus you can get over the fact that it’s not actually turkey. Just don’t try eating Tofurkey by itself…trust me.


2. I am CRAVING a big fat piece of steak. Not sketchy Taco Bell, not bacon on a bagel-egg-cheese sandwich but a really nice cut of steak grilled to perfection. Fuck. I’m like a pregnant woman.


3. My insides feel better. It’s hard to describe, but there’s not this wretched clenched feeling in the pit of my stomach. I also have more energy. I can get out of bed no problem in the mornings. Also, my tolerance for alcohol is way down. I guess Tofurkey sandwiches don’t suck up the booze like the real thing.


4. There seems to have been an influx of sketchy news articles coming out about the poor quality of meat. See here, here and here.


5. Not eating meat does not mean you’ll lose weight. Maybe a pound or two, but it’s just not happening. I thought you should know. Also, watching football and not eating meat is a bitch. Not sure what it is, but I've been to too many BBQs in the past 30 days where I've just had to admit to being a pussy. It stings.


6. I’ve had to stop my self numerous times from expounding the information I’ve learned. There’s nothing worse than a mouthy vegetarian. It’s comparable to people knocking on your door and selling bibles. I get this. I have been learning a lot and while I’ll bore my parents with what I’ve found I’m doing my best to spare the lectures to my friends.


7. I know this is going to make me sound like a tree hugging hippie, but Tofu is fucking great. I’m serious. It’s a secret nobody ever told me about. It has ZERO smell or taste until you cook it with something. My vegetable teriyaki stir-fry with tofu is easily better than the same meal with chicken. There, I said it.


8. This is an interesting one; Mexican food sucks without the meat. I love Mexican food. I love crispy tacos or a giant burrito the size of a small mule. But, without the meat, Mexican food just comes up short. This was really shocking to me actually.


9. It’s hard to go to restaurants. It used to be one of my favorite hobbies, but it’s just not the same without the meat. And I’m not a huge Italian food fan. We went to Myth a couple of nights ago and the risotto was my only option. Fuck that. And I’m too stubborn to go to one of the hardcore vegetarian restaurants in the city. I might not be eating meat, but I’m not going to admit that I’m a vegetarian. I’m just not eating meat for now. If that makes any sense.


10. I’m convinced that this Saturday (my 31st day) cannot be a free for all or I am seriously fucked. If I am going to reintroduce meat back into my diet (please note the ‘if’) then I cannot start with a triple double cheeseburger from Carl’s Jr. (damn, that does sound good though doesn’t it?)


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If? Yikes. Sounds like someone is a bit more hungry for attention than anything else.

Anonymous said...

I commend you, Magglio. Glad to hear you're sticking to it. Also, was so glad that your Tuesday ritual of blowing me behind the old Crow Bar didn't mess up your diet. Fingers crossed you don't give up dairy :)