Written by: Sam
Sorry for the huge break from writing! School got so crazy for me and then life happened, so I was just overwhelmed and unmotivated. Now that I'm home for the Summer, I really want to pour into this blog again and give you guys something good to read. So for whoever is reading this, thanks for sticking with us and I promise there will definitely be more commitment than what we've shown within the past couple months!
I'll give a little bit of background on how this post came to be. I was eating dinner with my friend Rebecca, who happens to be a vegetarian. I wondered how she could do this to herself, why she would want to live this life of suffering. But, she assured me that you can still enjoy a life without eating meat. She then challenged me to do it, and as I was cutting into my pork chop, I said no way. But after thinking about it, I figured, why not try it? I'm blessed with so many food options at Michigan State, including food lines designated to serving vegetarian options, so this would be the time to try it as opposed to later in life when I don't have this luxury. And on top of that, at that time, I was looking to drop a few pounds, and I figured that vegetarianism could help me out a little bit. I then told her I would try out being a vegetarian, but only if she gave me a reward in return, which she never did (thanks for conning me haha). So now that I was somewhat motivated with the promise of this reward, I decided to try out being a vegetarian for one week. It was a really interesting week, involving a lot of struggles with meat cravings. But in the end, it was a rewarding experience that taught me a lot about the versatility of a vegetarian diet.
The first couple days were horrible. Three weeks prior, I had also challenged myself to stay away from fried foods for one month, so I had both of these challenges going on simultaneously and they would also end at the same time. For those in college, we all know that a vast majority of the food in the cafeteria (well, the good tasting ones anyway) is either fried or contains meat, which explains my suffering during this time. Because of this, I needed to get creative with my food options, and thankfully some of my other vegetarian friends were able to help me do so. As the week went on, the challenge became easier, and I found myself not really wanting to eat meat as much as I had before. Don't get me wrong, I feasted on fried chicken the day my challenges ended, and it was glorious, but vegetarianism is something I grew to somewhat appreciate. In the next section, I am going to answer some of the questions people asked me about the vegetarian diet, and I'm hoping it will further expand your knowledge and possibly pique your interest into trying it out yourself!
1) What were some of the benefits I gained from this diet?
I felt like I had a lot more energy as a result of all the extra vitamins and nutrients I received from the extra fruits and vegetables in my diet. Even after eating a lot, I didn't feel guilty about anything I ate, and I felt really good. Often times, we feel really heavy or weighed down when we eat a diet with a lot of saturated fats and meat, and I never had that feeling in this one week stretch. Vegetarianism became a catalyst for my weight loss that week, as I had dropped 3 pounds and gained some muscle as well. This high fiber diet also gave me the best poops of my life! Since I live in the dorms, I can't relate to this, but for those who live at home and have to buy their own groceries, being a vegetarian is a lot cheaper, as meat is usually pretty high in price if you want a decent quality cut. Taking all these things into consideration, being vegetarian is something that would be good to try if you have the resources to do so!
2) What were some struggles that I faced?
Most of the struggles were mental, as mentioned previously. There were so many temptations to give in and eat meat with the rest of my friends. Also, I started to become bored, as a vegetarian diet can often be very monotonous. However, I was strong-willed enough to say no to temptations and stay the course. A potential problem that can occur is I became hungry often and I had to eat more than usual, because veggies have a lot of water and don't fill you up like meat does. But since I exercised 4-5 times that week, this became a non-issue and I was okay from a weight-gain standpoint. If you don't exercise often, this can lead to weight gain because of the excess carbs you find yourself eating in order to stay full.
3) How did I get my protein?
One of the disadvantages of this diet are that your protein supply is very limited. During this week, I had eaten a lot of egg whites, peanut butter, beans (a good source of healthy carbohydrates as well), and tofu, if available. Tofu, commonly known as bean curd, is made from the coagulation of soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into white blocks. The great thing about tofu is that it is relatively flavorless, so it takes on whatever flavor you want to add to your dish. It is also very versatile, as it can be eaten cold in salads, be blended up in smoothies, or cooked in stir-fry's. For one half cup serving of firm tofu, it will supply you with 10 g protein, 94 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, and 0 cholesterol. On top of that, 1 serving provides 227 mg of calcium, about 22% of your Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) of calcium, and 1.87 g of Iron, which is about 22% RDA for men and about 10% RDA for women. In comparison, a serving of ground beef (around 3.5 oz) contains more protein (26 g), but also has 259 calories, 16 g fat, 5.7 g saturated fat, and 89 mg of cholesterol.
A product that is often served at the vegetarian lines in the dorm cafeterias is Gardein Chick'n, and I grew to fall in love with it. This is a protein substitute that is made from soy protein and wheat gluten, and it has a mild, meaty flavor that is very versatile and can take on a lot of different flavor combinations, similar to tofu. Their website http://gardein.com/ provides a substantial list of products, delicious recipes, and also the nutrition facts for each product. As I glanced at each product's nutrition facts, each generally showed to have a high amount of protein, while being modest in fat and calories, and having no cholesterol. If you are able to get your hands on these products, I really suggest that you try them!
4) Is it worth it?
I will say that I enjoyed the vegetarian challenge and I may do it again sometime down the road. My mind became more open to different food options, and even now at the cafeteria, the vegetarian line is always my first stop. I have also been able to keep off the weight that I had lost during this time as well! However, I need to have my meat and personally, I don't by any means see being vegetarian as a necessary route to being healthy - it all comes down to being smart, having the right mindset, and staying active. If it is something that works for the individual and they seem to enjoy it, then all the power to them.
Sources:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/healthnutrition/p/tofunutrition.htm
http://gardein.com/
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-ground-beef-i23502
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