I previously wrote an article on Meatless Mondays, how they benefit our bodies and the environment.
Just to summarize, here are some benefits of going meatless for a while:
Reduce Heart Disease and Stroke—Vegetables, fruit, and whole grains have been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease. One study found that each daily serving of fruits or vegetables was associated with a 4% decline in coronary heart disease, and a 5% lower risk of stroke.
Fight Diabetes—Research suggests that plant-based diets, particularly those low in processed meat, can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Curb Obesity— Eating a plant-based diet can decrease total calorie consumption, which helps you obtain and maintain a healthy weight! Several large studies in Europe and the United States have demonstrated that people on plant-based, vegetarian diets tend to have a significantly lower body weight and body mass index (BMI). This may be in part because plant-based diets are rich in fiber, which contributes to fullness, resulting in lower calorie intake and less overeating.
(source: albanymovementandfitness.com/2017/01/amf-february-challenge-meatless-mondays/)
Last October, my roommate and I decided to undertake the challenge to a whole new level: we decided to be vegetarians for a month! My friend is already “vegetarian-ish” and so all she gave up was chicken, but I gave up all of the meats for the month.
Pros:
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At first, it was so cool to see how grocery shopping was without having to buy meat. We bought our groceries together and it was dramatically cheaper without the cost of meat.
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We had more creativity in our meals for the week, (and all of the colors of our veggies made our dinners super instagrammable).
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Though at first we felt the cravings of wanting Chick-fil-A and Zaxby’s we grew to not even think about meat for a meal.
Cons:
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Not having Chick-fil-A or Zaxby’s for a month :(
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Getting tired of eating the same thing because we started getting lazy
Throughout the month, we realized the way our bodies adjusted to consuming a meatless diet. Your body learns to have a certain environment when you eat meat, so when you switch to a diet that does not have meat your body adjusts its environment to that. At first, we felt very sluggish because perhaps we were not eating enough protein. Once we realized that we switched to good plant-sources proteins. After about a week, we suddenly felt super light and energetic. It requires more energy for your body to digest protein, so not having to do that saves a lot of energy to be used in other ways.
Mentally, going vegetarian for a month showed us how disciplined we could be. TV and other sources of media advertise so much fast food that the temptation to eat chicken is always there. It required lots of discipline to fight those temptations. Even once during the month, someone offered to go get Chick-fil-A with us, but we had to say no! (which I still regret to this day).
Once the month came to a close, we realized that:
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Our diets are entirely too centered around meat. For most meals, as a culture we always have the main portion of the meal centered around meat.
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There are too many vegetables neglected out there! We just lack creativity.
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Meatless mondays are NOTHING compared to a month. We should totally start going meatless at least once a week.
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We will never eat another veggie burger again.
I challenge you to try it out! Start with one meal without meat, turn it into a day, maybe try out a week. Who knows, it could spark a lifestyle change for you!