Go vegetarian for one month

“Week 1: I struggled in the first few days, especially that my family belongs to the meat eaters. Imagine sitting at the dining table, bacon smell floating around, and there I am, strictly eating my avocado toast – It tasted great by the way. I also felt a bit weak, then I came to the realization that I needed to find new protein sources. That’s how I added more rice, lentils and beans to my diet.”

“I went vegetarian cold turkey, which means on the eve of the last day of March, circumstance made me to have a buffet dinner. It was an expensive buffet so I had to eat as much as I could, the most expensive food that I could find, of course. I gave no warning to my body when I switched completely the next morning. While I guessed that it must take some adjusting for my body, I didn’t know that it came in the form of heavy bloating and a gassy stomach. It was quite strong in the first weeks or so, with the bloating building up during the day and got worst at night, eased completely in my sleep and then started again the next day.”

“The hardest thing about being a vegetarian for me is not missing the taste of meat, but the extra time required to plan and cook our own meals. Usually my husband and I eat lunch at work and I only have to cook dinner, so when we decided to try vegetarian, it means I had to cook an extra meal everyday for us to bring to work. Our lunches were simple but because I am not the one who likes to repeat myself, I don’t want to eat leftovers of previous day’s dinner, or cook meals in batch to eat for a few days in a row, it was even more time-consuming. I had to make fresh meals everyday.”