One Year Later: What I Learned About Eating Vegetarian

I bought chicken for dinner last night, after one year of not eating meat.

Originally, I was seeking solutions to the constant migraines I was (am) getting. I had tried various other methods of eating in an attempt to assuage the discomfort my migraines delivered. Over the last 4 years, I’ve tried them all. Paleo, whole 30, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, a REALLY short stint with keto, low carb…. my headaches had me desperate for a nutritional lifestyle that would hopefully solve my problems.

I stuck with plant-based far longer than any other option and learned a lot from it. But…. I won’t be eating this way forever. Here are some of the things I learned, the areas I’ll keep and the parts I’m glad to get rid of.

1: Not eating meat does NOT equate to eating healthy. Oreos are vegan. So are Fritos, bean burritos at Taco Bell and a whole freezer section of artificial burgers and nuggets. This does not mean they are healthy or beneficial to weight loss, your overall health or wellbeing. In most cases, to make up for the non-plant-based ingredients like milk, eggs, or meat, even more ingredients had to be piled in.

2: When I did it right, I felt GOOD. But man, it was hard to do it right. For the first two months of eating plant-based, while I was still excited to learn new things, I my cholesterol dropped from 181 to 150. But then four months later it was back up to 179, and I was feeling sluggish again. My head aches persisted.

3: Some people are jerks. Whether someone consumes meat or not, they harshly judge your decision to not eat it. Other vegans or vegetarians tell you that you’re not good enough because you haven’t cut out cheese entirely or because you didn’t realize and ingredient had palm oil. I joined a few groups on Facebook thinking it would give me recipe ideas and instead it was one of the most harsh and judgemental environments I’ve experienced on social media. I left after a few days because of how negative the groups were. As if your inability to eat completely plant-based made you less of a human than they are. Your value was now diminished because you ate hibachi fried rice with EGGS IN IT ( the humanity!) by mistake. But then when people would see or hear that I wasn’t eating meat, and they gasp in horror like I’m poisoning and depriving myself life’s greatest pleasures.

As if the McDonald’s cheeseburgers they eat were any better for them. The difference is I don’t point this out to others. It reached the point where I was embarrassed to tell people I didn’t eat meat because of the reactions and judgements it garnered. Sigh.

4: There are not enough vegetarian and vegan options in the real world. If I was going to eat at a restaurant, chances were that I was either ordering a couple of side dishes or I was getting some kind of plant-based hamburger. It is very rare to find a restaurant that doesn’t have meat in every menu item, especially where I live. For me, my mission to eat within my guidelines literally induced anxiety in an unfamiliar place. I’d sit in the car googling restaurants and going through their menus trying to find something that would fit my personal preferences only to get more and more frustrated and anxious (hangry). It ruined more than one trip for me.

While I don’t intend to spend my life as a vegan, there are people who are morally tied to this lifestyle, and it’s disappointing how few options they really have. Maybe that’s responsible for some of the bitterness.

5: I saved money. I saved an average of $40-$60 every week not buying meat for my groceries. At first. Then I started adding in the crazy plant based artificial food and was back to normal.

6: You learn to get creative when cooking. One of the most appealing things about eating plant-based was that I truly learned some interesting hacks when preparing food. There are some delicious and creative methods and recipes I’ll use forever now… cashew cheesecake, cauliflower tacos and others like this. I do find that meal prep is easier and I am more likely to choose a healthy option if I can add in chicken or turkey.

So here I am one year later. I’m taking imitrex for migraines MORE often now than I did a year ago and I am so tired, all of the time. And even with 6-7 years of personal training/health coaching and even longer time frame of delving into my own health, something has finally, AT LAST, registered for me.

I don’t owe anyone an explanation or a label for how I want to eat. I do not have to have a title for the nutritional lifestyle I choose to follow. I am not obligated to follow “rules” when I grocery shop for MY family. I don’t have to explain to anyone, not the vegans or the powerlifting community or body builders or vegetarians or even my own doctor why I eat the things I eat.

I want to feel my best. I want less headaches. I want to not be tired after 9 hours of sleep. I want to eat good, beautiful food and be comfortable in my skin at the same time. And all of those things are absolutely available to me if I release the need to fit in a labeled box.

So my invitation to you:

Pay attention to the foods that make you feel good, mentally and physically. Explore which foods trigger bad feelings, or encourage great ones. If you get heartburn every time you eat something, or your stomach hurts afterward, stay away. If you’re full of energy and your skin glows when you eat Certain things, Eat that. THIS WILL BE DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE.

Move every day. Even if it’s just some yoga or a walk.

Explore new foods and learn to make your own. There is a divine and simple pleasure in preparing a meal from scratch. It’s therapeutic.

I’m seeing the paradox now: how unhealthy my relationship with food was even when I was trying to be my healthiest. I was more concerned with identifying with a certain label, that I lost sight of why I started in the first place. It’s unnecessary.

This does not mean that I’ll have donuts for breakfast everyday and Arby’s for dinner.

But It does mean I don’t have to commit to eating any one way, with rules governing my life and mental well being at every meal. 3 times a day, for the rest of my life. I commit, instead, to feeling good.