On my Third Month As A Total Clishe

[avocado_love]

I never thought I would be one of those people, you know?

Somehow, somewhere along the line I became my own cliche. You know the type: The atheist vegetarian environmentalist who lives in NorCal?

Yeah.

But I gotta tell you... I'm on my second month of giving up chicken, red meat and pork (Still clinging onto fish as I have to eat SOMETHING in restaurants, and I personally believe that dairy does more good than bad, especially for women). And suddenly, I have more energy than before. I used to get so tired mid-day, like clockwork. And I used to have to sleep 9 hours a day  on top of that to feel normal.

I wasn't expecting it at all, but within a few weeks I noticed a upsurge in energy. Now I can go 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night and not be tired in the next day. Sometimes I feel a little drowsy around 3 or 4, but it's easy to work through it.

And the meals? I don't feel like I'm giving up anything at all. Now, instead of microwaving a hot-pocket for a snack, I'll grab an apple. It's not bad. I substitute mushrooms or tofu or avocados or cucumber in place of meat in my meals. It makes things easier and faster to cook. I'm eating better, feeling better, and as an added bonus I'm pretty sure I'm losing weight.

It's still possible to eat very poorly on a more restrictive diet. I have to be careful not to, say, eat a bag of Cheetos from the vending machine instead of some trail-mix.

There's always the placebo effect, I suppose. But the thing is, I wasn't expecting any of these benefits. It's like when I gave up soda last year to keep from getting so many damned cavity and the stomach-aches that have haunted me all my life suddenly went away. Turns out they were caused by carbonated drinks. Weird, huh? 

So yeah, I guess I am one of 'those people' now. Damned hippies. I'm only on my third month in, but... so far, so good.

Comments

[eilonnwy.livejournal.com]

One of us, one of us! :D

I became a pescatarian around August. I love it. I don't eat much dairy because I'm lactose intolerant but I still eat eggs and aged cheese, and yeah I didn't want to give up fish because it would make things to restrictive plus fish is super healthy and the leanest of the meats. -_^

[avocado-love.livejournal.com]

You too? LOL! *high fives*

I felt like if I gave up the dairy and the fish, I wouldn't be able to stick with it for more than, like, three days.

[eilonnwy.livejournal.com]

Dude, when I was 16 I tried and I started to get sick because at the time I didn't love veggies the way I do now and so all I ate was pasta.

I have a vegan friend and she's super healthy and I admire her ability to be that committed but I can't, so pescatarian works great for me.

[lackadaisy.livejournal.com]

Damned hippies is right! *shakes fist* xD Of course this is coming from the girl who lives in western washington state, who periodically squeals 'treeeeeeeeeessss' when I go outside.

But then again I shall forever don my 'meat is neat' shirt, alongside my whole 'cute defenseless animals are tasty' one. xD;;; I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON, I KNOW. But ya know, I respect your need to eat fake meat, respect mine to eat real meat, and all that jazz. :] Glad it's workin' for you though babe!

I can't wait till uni, when I'm living away from my parents. I'm going to try and start eating healthy then. I'd try now but I'm not the one buying the groceries, and I know myself too well, I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.

[avocado-love.livejournal.com]

Nah, I don't judge anyone for eating meat. My personal diet is my own choice, and I'm not doing it to try to make a statement or whatever.

Some people gain weight when they leave their parent's house for the first time. I lost crazy amounts of weight (Going to about 125, which wasn't healthy) because I couldn't really cook for myself, had to walk everywhere, and was poor as dirt. So my advice to you is if you don't know how to cook, then spend a few days learning the basics. It'll save you a lot of aggravation in the long run.

[kirai-akuma.livejournal.com]

Pff cooking is easy. Open oven, insert pizza, close, wait, done.

See? Easy.

And I'll never give up meat. Wouldn't help anyways. I think to not be tired, I would need to sleep more than 6-5 hours a day.

Still if you like it more power to you.

[tehlobster.livejournal.com]

That's fantastic. :)

I try to eat better (of course cutting out gluten does that naturally) but I'd never be able to self-impose restrictions. It's already so difficult for me to find food to eat as it is, you know? And I hate being the person who always ruins food plans. (Want to order a pizza? Want to eat at Olive Garden? Want to go to 90% of places? Oh, too bad, you can't, because MC's here.)

But feeling better is always great, I wish I could do similar for the benefits. :)

[avocado-love.livejournal.com]

So you can't eat wheat products, right? Like pasta and breads?

If you and I hang out in RL, we're going to have to make a trip to Fresh Choice which is this really cool salad bar they have around here.

[tehlobster.livejournal.com]

Among other things. (Rye, barley...)

Haha, it's a date. :D

Food discussion mini-meme!

[sharkflip.livejournal.com]

The real food diet is not to be underestimated.

I have yet to give up meat and probably never will, but I do eat only "natural" and preferably "free-range organic grass fed" whenever possible/it's on sale. It's healthier, tastier, and more satisfying, so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself by eating less -- more that I'm treating myself. I'm picky about fish, though -- I want it dead less than 24 hours if I'm going to bother, which in this area is pretty easy about six months of the year.

I eat whole grains almost exclusively and try to think of refined flour the same way as refined sugar (people who eat costco muffins for breakfast inspire enraged tears), and have five or six small meals/snacks most days. I also have city chickens in the back yard, so I eat a lot of fresh eggs and incidentally don't have to weed or mow the grass.

I also exercise a ton, when things are going well, and that kicks my metabolism onto another level -- one of the reasons I won't entirely give up meat. I find most commercial soy production to be far more unnatural and ecologically damaging than responsible meat production, so I have consciously avoided the standard American vegetarian diet.

But yeah. The Whole Foods yuppie stereotype is me, even if I frequent the bulk bins rather than the specialty wines and cheeses. *dies*

[engelen.livejournal.com]

LOL I guess it's got to do with all the hormones and added shit American food has... OH MY GOD THAT IS THE ONLY REASON I AM AFRAID OF LIVING THERE!!! D:
(that and healthcare...)

[alexb49.livejournal.com]

The atheist vegetarian environmentalist is over 90% of the population of my little town. The other 10% are fake buddhist vegetarian environmentalists.

Tofu= wee bit too rubber to me. Much prefer the nuttier texture of tempeh. My diet consists predominantly of a giant bottle of Sriracha on everything and lots of alcohol.

And I tour on weekends to be able to hit me up some Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's + Wegmans= best grocery stores on the planet.

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

Tofu is awesome. I eat baby spinach like it's chips.

I have problems eating pork or cow, but have only some issues with birds, and none with fish.

So, I'm totally confused in terms of eating things, especially since we all eat bugs everyday anyway.