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Staff Editorial: Females Go Vegetarian For A Week
3:03 PM
Photo Courtesy: The Odyssey
The vegetarian lifestyle is chosen by many, however, it might not be as easy as it seems. Living a meat free life or even choosing to go vegan, opting out meat along with all animal byproducts, has become a trend. While many of us choose to stay our carnivorous selves, because that’s how we evolved, there still remains wonder as to what it’s like to live without Big Macs or even Chicken McNuggets. For one week, all the writers for Females for Fitness decided to at least try to eat a solely vegetarian based diet (trying to make it a little forgiving by allowing dairy). Each member recorded one day of what they ate, their experiences, thoughts and struggles.
Monday, Dec, 5:
On the first day of the challenge it was very hard for some of the writers to adjust to this totally different lifestyle, especially Copy Editor, Nia Vaia. "In all honesty, I did not realize how much meat I eat in a day until I started going vegetarian (which was this morning). Me being me, I forgot by lunchtime, so I’ve already cheated. Everyday for breakfast, I make an Orgain chocolate protein shake with almond milk. For lunch, I ended up eating mini sliders. Thankfully I improved by dinner by eating fried pasta and fried mac and cheese," said Vaia.
Tuesday, Dec, 6:
Copy Editor, Maddie Wiygul is proud to be a vegan and it's very easy for her to come up with food choices already. As a whole, we decided it would be best for Wiygul to include what she eats to help others understand how easy it is to find meat-free or dairy-free choices in their diet. "For Breakfast, I normally make oatmeal with bananas and peanut butter. My lunch menu was as follows: green apple with peanut butter, bell pepper, carrots, cucumbers, two oranges and a dark chocolate bar for lunch (I know really really big lunch). Then for dinner, I made quinoa, corn, black bean and pineapple microwave dinner over some greens with more chips, guac and salsa," said Wiygul.
Wednesday, Dec, 7:
It seems like Camille Steahly, feature editor, has been having a lot of fun with figuring out different alternatives; "I’ve been eating eggs more in order to make sure I’m not lacking on protein, so for breakfast I just ate two of them scrambled. I forgot to eat lunch, since I was working on homework. And, in the true spirit of vegetarianism, I had a veggie burger for dinner! I’m getting the hang of this," said Steahly.
Thursday, Dec, 8:
For Editor in Chief, Natalie Rohman, she's been finding it hard to go out to restaurants and have to order something vegetarian. " I went to Chipotle and was super psyched about getting a huge chicken burrito, then I remembered I had to be vegetarian and I got really sad. So, I sulked and pretended my tofu was chicken," said Rohman. "At least more restaurants are becoming more accommodating to people who don't eat meat," she added.
Friday, Dec, 9:
While some of the writers succeeded at this challenge, some struggled a lot. Feature editor, Gracie Weinstein, could not adapt this meat-free lifestyle into her diet. "Friday--I already gave up, it had been a day of strong will and confidence but i couldn’t last long, i’m addicted. For an afternoon “snack”, my friend and I walked down to the new taco restaurant, Guac N’ Tacos, and I ordered steak tacos, without noticing if I may add. After eating three tacos as part of my midday snack, I took a trip home to munch on a turkey and cranberry flatbread sandwich. All in all, i bombed this attempt," Weinstein said.
Saturday, Dec, 10:
"After going through the whole week, going out of my way to steer clear of meat, without even realizing it, my journey came to an end on Saturday. I ate only tater tots and corn for that past week. Then at Panera, I ordered chicken noodle soup, without realizing it had meat in it. The broth made it difficult to see the pieces of chicken. I continued with my day, not knowing the mistake I had made. Then after retracing my meals from the week, it dawned on me that I wasn’t a true vegetarian. I found the experience to be fun and not as difficult as I thought it would be. I may even consider being one in the future," said Claire Libert.
Sunday, Dec, 11:
Editor in Chief, Shaylin Fuller, also lives a meat free lifestyle like Wiygul, but claims to only be a vegetarian. She also guided the other writers on their journey throughout the week. "I have been enjoying my vegetarian diet for about 6 months now. This week felt as good as any other. During this week I got energy from food sources other than meat and was lovin’ in. I eat this way because it is sustainable for the environment, animal friendly, and healthy with the right indulgences and pre-planning," Fuller said.
At the end of the week, everyone came back to share their experiences and struggles with the group. Our consensus was this: it's very different for each person and changing your lifestyle can either be hard or easy, especially drastically changing your diet. There are numerous amounts of reasons why people choose to go meat-free and/or dairy-free. According to many sources, like Global Healing Center, "A vegetarian diet is associated with a higher consumption of fiber, folic acid, vitamins C and E, magnesium, unsaturated fat, and countless phytochemicals. This often results in vegetarians having lower cholesterol, being thinner, having lower blood pressure, and reduced risk of heart disease." If you are someone considering to eat less meat or dairy, try researching a bit and slowly make meatless alternatives apart of your diet. You never know until you try.
Photo Credit: The Odyssey
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