I've now not eaten meat for 6 days, and I'm feeling,...well,... just as I usually feel (if not slightly better). As I still live at home, it was difficult not to let my parents know pretty soon that I had decided to change my diet, with questions like "Why don't you want chicken?" and "Why are you eating that for?". I got the whole "But we are supposed to eat meat" thing, and to be honest, the whole spiel I used to use. Then it got to "But what about steak, sausages, chicken?!?!" which then evolved into "But how are you going to get enough iron being anaemic?" (I may still be slightly anaemic, but I'm definitely not as bad as I was in my mid teens- where my haemoglobin levels were so low, they didn't show up on my blood test). My family even had bets on whether I would cave and have a steak when I went out for food at 'Beefeater' (I didn't, I had a mushroom risotto, which was tasty!)
I've done my research about iron levels in vegetarian friendly foods, and as long as I make sure to get enough Vitamin C in my diet (it helps with iron absorption), then I'm good to go.
*Random health fact* Did you know that pumpkin seeds have around 4.2mg of iron in every ounce, whereas lean sirloin only has 2.9mg in about three ounces! That's amazing!
I think I was around three days into my new diet when I told my boyfriend about it and he has now decided to join me. Whilst he was over this weekend, we enjoyed a spicy brown lentil and carrot soup (more like a stew, as I'd made it super stodgy), which I thoroughly enjoyed, and also made a tofu curry, which was good too. He also tried some Quorn chicken nuggets at home (his brother's girlfriend is a hardcore veggie!) which he liked too, but I'm still a bit dubious about those products, as I've tried them in the past and really not liked them, so possibly leaving those to try once I've tried everything I've never tried before.
Haven't really experienced any cravings for any foods I can't have, although my boyfriend was completely bummed out when he realised all the sweets he had to give up! (he has a big sweet tooth).
As for how my body looks and feels, I think I may have lost a little weight actually, my stomach is still a little fatty, but it does feel different, maybe I've lost about a pound or something? I will weight myself properly after around 3 weeks of being vegetarian, I know roughly how much I weighted beforehand, so it would be interesting to see if I do loose weight in that amount of time, and exactly how much.
I've also noticed that my stomach doesn't feel heavy after meals. I think the biggest change I've seen is in my energy levels. I've been going to bed nearly two hours later than I normally do, and not because I'm particularly tired, but just because it is late! It may just be a fluke, but it maybe due to the lack of stodgy, heavy meals.
My mother was very concerned that I couldn't eat the Hunters Chicken she was preparing for our Sunday dinner, but she did try some uncooked tofu, AND she didn't make too much of a face. Not sure if she was trying it out of curiosity, or whether she was trying it to see how 'boring' my meals are going to be for the next five or so weeks!
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