Initial experience not eating meat - 2-week look back

pierinifitness
pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Once of the things I'm doing for Lent 2019 is abstaining from eating meat. I'm doing it solely for that purpose and not for losing weight or any other health/nutrition goal. Yesterday was day 14 and I don't recall ever going this long in my 64-year life not eating meat. Maybe when I was an infant being breast-fed and given baby formula in a bottle.

I have no lifelong plans continuing a meatless existence beyond the remaining days - about 30 - of Lent. Thought I'd share my initial experience for those who might be interested. I'm not advocating this for anyone, just sharing.

Actually, I'm surprised that I haven't really struggled with this. I did have a thought the other day of eating a chicken teriyaki rice bowl - one of my favorites when eating out on the go. And, I did think about my last meat feast, a full-rack of BBQ baby back ribs at Outback Restaurant on Fat Tuesday. But, that's been about it.

I don't seem to have a problem getting adequate protein. I've read how Vitamin B-12 can be an issue for those not eating meat. At the moment, I'm not concerned about this.

One additional share, I've eaten canned tuna twice. In my Lent "rule book", it's not considered meat.

Again, just sharing and not advocating. Those who practice meatless nutrition have much more to offer than me to those curious.

Replies

  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    If you're still eating eggs and dairy, B12 isn't a concern. And since you're eating tuna, it really isn't anyway.

    I've been ovo-lacto for about 27 years now and never looked back. I'll admit I started out for the "wrong" reasons: I was looking for a way to rebel against my parents that wasn't going to probably kill me in the end (never smoked/drank to excess/did drugs/ran with the wrong crowd. But we were a meat-eating family and I already had two sisters on 'special' menus due to food-based allergies. This worked.) And I was also sort of getting laxer with being kosher, but I didn't want to get to a point where I'd actually be eating non-kosher meat. Cutting meat out completely sort of kept me from falling too far. And even when I went back to being strictly kosher, the vegetarianism stayed. By then, I'd noticed that a skin condition I'd had had cleared up and hasn't recurred.

    So, started out being rebellion and way of not rebelling too much... ended up being a health thing.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    I gave up meat for lent one year as well. It was an interesting experience. I don't think I struggled to do it during that time, as there were still definitely options to eat. I still ate seafood (which in both the normal and the Catholic definition isn't meat), and there were plenty of things I could do with cheese. The interesting thing for me was I actually felt like I probably ate less healthy and nutritious during that time. Granted, I wasn't into watching my weight or nutrition at that time, so obviously there are a lot healthier ways to go meatless. But some people seem to think that cutting out meet automatically will make their diet healthier which didn't seem to be the case for me.

    Good luck on the rest of your Lenten fast. One thing you might want to consider if you have not already, which is possibly giving something else up on Friday's during lent, since you are already giving up meat. I gave up a non-food related item every Friday during lent to replace the traditional abstention from meat when I was already abstaining from meat.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I stopped eating meat mostly as a cost saver (it was easy to cut out because I wasn't a big meat eater before anyway), but I also have developed irrational revulsion about touching uncooked meat and eating meat I didn't cook myself. Kind of a recent development, might have originated from some food quality issues I've run into. So no fish either. I'll eat eggs sometimes but am getting out of those too. I get most of my protein from yogurt and cheese, which I don't have issues with. I would say my issues with meat have caused some food anxiety regarding eating out, but since I don't do it often, it hasn't really impacted me.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    edited March 2019
    I sort of became a pescetarian at the beginning of January, to make room for more fish and then plant based foods like beans. I went from having meat 1-2 times a day, down to non-fish meat 4-5 times in the past 11ish weeks, (all social settings), and I haven't missed it. Started out as an experiment but I'm enjoying how I'm eating currently and plan on continuing on for the time being. When I spot check over on cronometer I'm surpassing my protein targets etc.
  • DanyellMcGinnis
    DanyellMcGinnis Posts: 315 Member
    edited March 2019
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    If you're still eating eggs and dairy, B12 isn't a concern. And since you're eating tuna, it really isn't anyway.

    I've been ovo-lacto for about 27 years now and never looked back. I'll admit I started out for the "wrong" reasons: I was looking for a way to rebel against my parents that wasn't going to probably kill me in the end (never smoked/drank to excess/did drugs/ran with the wrong crowd. But we were a meat-eating family and I already had two sisters on 'special' menus due to food-based allergies. This worked.) And I was also sort of getting laxer with being kosher, but I didn't want to get to a point where I'd actually be eating non-kosher meat. Cutting meat out completely sort of kept me from falling too far. And even when I went back to being strictly kosher, the vegetarianism stayed. By then, I'd noticed that a skin condition I'd had had cleared up and hasn't recurred.

    So, started out being rebellion and way of not rebelling too much... ended up being a health thing.

    25.5 years of ovo-lacto for me and also never looked back. I didn't do it to rebel, I really just never liked meat and finally decided I'd had enough. (We were a nonpracticing Protestant household, generally, so there were no particular religious food restrictions.) Never paid much attention to nutrition other than switching to all whole grains a few years ago (dropped my triglycerides to a great number).

    Edit: corrected a typo.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    I recently gave up meat for ethical reasons and feel physically great. I am also mostly dairy free now.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    amandakesslers wrote: »
    How are you feeling? I'm sure your stomach is thanking you

    Could you elaborate on this a bit more? I went from a fairly heavy meat diet, to pretty much cutting it out besides fish, and I've noticed no difference with how I feel/digestion. Curious to know what you're referring to, thanks!
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    I've been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for about ten years now. I became one because like an above poster, I really don't like meat.

    I've been trying to rely less on animal sources of protein (though I still consume them) and more on plant sources lately. I doubt I'll ever be fully plant-based because food intolerance issues greatly limit my protein sources and would leave me with a pretty boring diet.
  • Dreamwa1ker
    Dreamwa1ker Posts: 196 Member
    I have been trying to work on blood pressure and cholesterol in addition to losing weight so I have been trying to eat more fiber and less saturated fats, swapping to healthier fats. One of the easiest ways to do this has been to mostly eliminate the meat items from my work lunches and replace with things like beans and lentils plus some healthy fat. So most of the time I eat vegetarian lunches. At dinner I still eat meat but portion control it. I'm a huge carnivore so I've been surprised how well this has gone for me - mostly it's just made me get more creative with my cooking (e.g. kung pao chickpeas). It has actually made the weight loss easier too because legumes are so filling.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Sundays are not part of Lent.

    Yes, I know. But, I’m choosing to “pretend” they are for what I’m doing.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    amandakesslers wrote: »
    How are you feeling? I'm sure your stomach is thanking you

    Why would you be sure of this? When I went vegetarian 14 years ago, there was no change in anything having to do with my stomach.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    amandakesslers wrote: »
    How are you feeling? I'm sure your stomach is thanking you

    Sorry for my belated reply, just saw your question. I have a gut made out of steel, my wife says I could eat a brick. So, to answer your question, my stomach hasn't given me any feedback about my current meatless journey. Thanks for your comment.

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