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Kimberly · 08-13-2012 11:08 AM

Day 18

Thank you zingfairy! Camping was really fun, except for when we first got there... as soon as we had the tent about half up, it started pouring. And I mean REALLY pouring! We had to abandon our half finished tent for about 20 minutes while we waited in the car for it to slow a little bit. In the end, my husband and I just decided to get out there and finish the job before the inside of the tent was totally flooded.

Sitting in the tent after, soaking wet, we weren't enjoying camping so much anymore, lol. But it turned into a great afternoon and evening. We figured out how to start a campfire, roasted marshmallows, cooked hotdogs, and went for a walk around the park.

I tried veggie hotdogs for the first time, and I have to say... I couldn't stand them.

This is the second time I have tried vegetarian meat and had a really difficult time eating it. Even my husband was laughing at the faces I was making, haha. But seriously, is this an acquired taste? I'm worried that I may run into problems later on down the road if I can't find something I like.

On the plus side, I get to check "Go camping!" off my bucket list!!

Just a quick update:
After snooping around on the internet, I guess my question actually is: Do I have to eat mock meat?

My mother-in-law is the only other person around me who is vegetarian, and has been for about 3 years now. She loves this stuff - fake turkey, bacon, burgers, hotdogs, you name it. She is really trying to encourage me and keeps telling me how wonderful it all is. But every time I take a bite, I cringe in disgust.

I was under the impression that I needed to eat mock meat for protein, or whatever is in real meat that is no longer in my diet. Is this wrong? (Please tell me it's wrong.)

In the meantime, I'm retreating back to my simple veggies (and rice).

zingfairy · 08-14-2012 03:10 PM

Hi Kimberley

As one of the reasons I gave up meat is because I hate the taste, I can categorically confirm you don't need to eat this mock meat stuff!!

I get a lot of protein from beans and lentils, as I have at least one helping of them a day (e.g. kidney beans, chick peas, black eyed beans, cannellini beans, aduki beans, etc there's a lot of variety!)

Also, soya is good for protein, so tofu-based foods - but tofu can be hard to get right to get flavour in it, so you may need to experiment a bit to find tofu food that you like.

On a side note (and really sorry to add this!) but marshmallows generally aren't vegetarian, as they often have gelatine in them to make em sticky.

Glad to hear you have a great camping trip in the end - grr to the rain! Well done on getting a campfire going too

Ish · 08-15-2012 02:06 AM

Kimberley Wrote:In the meantime, I'm retreating back to my simple veggies (and rice).

Hi Kimberley, you should not neglect the protein element. It's not necessary to take the fake meat - there are a lot of interesting alternatives like nuts, flaxseed, quinoa, and legumes, lentils etc.

Being vegetarian is not necessarily healthy - I have been vegetarian my whole life, but I have been neglecting protein since a few years, specially as my husband and kids are not veg. I've been recently diagnosed as having low albumen levels, and other complications - as my doc said "mal nourished". So I've been reviewing my meal plans and cooking something new and different everyday

or almost everyday

Calae · 08-15-2012 03:43 AM

(08-14-2012 03:10 PM)zingfairy Wrote: I get a lot of protein from beans and lentils, as I have at least one helping of them a day (e.g. kidney beans, chick peas, black eyed beans, cannellini beans, aduki beans, etc there's a lot of variety!)

This makes me wish I liked beans. D= Perhaps if I stopped eating meat, I'd grow to like them? =p

(08-15-2012 02:06 AM)Ish Wrote: Hi Kimberley, you should not neglect the protein element. It's not necessary to take the fake meat - there are a lot of interesting alternatives like nuts, flaxseed, quinoa, and legumes, lentils etc.

Ish, I'm so glad you posted some alternatives! I'm not a big fan of beans and I was starting to worry that might be the main source for a vegetarian. :sweat:

Kimberly: I don't think I've ever tried a "fake meat" product, but I know back at college they'd sometimes have this cheeseburger that was absolutely delicious and vegetarian. I'm not sure what it was entirely made up of, but you could see things like pieces of corn, onions, and tomatoes inside. Come to think of it, it was probably held together by mashed beans. :sweat:

But anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, it was a delicious substitute for meat in something I really enjoy (a cheeseburger) that wasn't trying to be meat. It was super flavorful as well! My only real complaint is it fell apart super easily, so I usually finished it with a fork. :laugh:

zingfairy · 08-15-2012 05:14 AM

(08-15-2012 03:43 AM)Calae Wrote: I'm not a big fan of beans and I was starting to worry that might be the main source for a vegetarian.

Hey Calae, don't worry! I'm on a much more restricted diet (vegan), it's probably much easier as a vegetarian - I imagine milk & its derivatives & eggs are helpful here!

I forgot that nuts & seeds are supposed to be a good source of protein too, e.g. almonds.

Kimberly · 08-15-2012 11:24 AM

Day 20!

Thank you Zingfairy, Calae and Ish for your thoughts and alternative ideas! I feel so much better knowing I do not have to force myself to eat something I don't care for.

Calae Wrote:at college they'd sometimes have this cheeseburger that was absolutely delicious and vegetarian. I'm not sure what it was entirely made up of, but you could see things like pieces of corn, onions, and tomatoes inside. Come to think of it, it was probably held together by mashed beans.

This veggie burger you are describing sounds so much better than the "hot dog" I had while camping. It sounds like something that could be easy to make from scratch! I'll have to look around on the internet and see if there are any veggie burgers that can be made with real, identifiable ingredients.

Ish Wrote:Hi Kimberly, you should not neglect the protein element. It's not necessary to take the fake meat - there are a lot of interesting alternatives like nuts, flaxseed, quinoa, and legumes, lentils etc.

Thank you for these ideas Ish. I did go out and buy some nuts yesterday at the grocery store. I have not been eating very many beans yet, so I will make sure to buy some the next time I am out. I have been eating eggs here and there for now, which I think has protein as well.

zingfairy Wrote:As one of the reasons I gave up meat is because I hate the taste, I can categorically confirm you don't need to eat this mock meat stuff!!

I get a lot of protein from beans and lentils, as I have at least one helping of them a day (e.g. kidney beans, chick peas, black eyed beans, cannellini beans, aduki beans, etc there's a lot of variety!)

Also, soya is good for protein, so tofu-based foods - but tofu can be hard to get right to get flavour in it, so you may need to experiment a bit to find tofu food that you like.

Thank you for the ideas as well! I haven't tried tofu yet either. In fact, this vegetarian challenge has really opened my eyes to how many different kinds of food, especially fruit and vegetables, that are out there that I have never tried before! I've got a lot of recipe experimentation ahead of me.

- - - - - -

Nothing too entirely awesome to share in regards to my vegetarian challenge. Can't believe I am 2/3 through already! I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to do after the challenge is over. I told myself at the beginning of the challenge that if after the 30 days I did not enjoy being vegetarian, I could go back to eating meat. But honestly, this far in now, I don't think I will go back. I feel really happy that I have stuck to the challenge so far, and I am really enjoying this new lifestyle.

Lina · 08-15-2012 12:47 PM

(08-15-2012 11:24 AM)Kimberly Wrote: I told myself at the beginning of the challenge that if after the 30 days I did not enjoy being vegetarian, I could go back to eating meat. But honestly, this far in now, I don't think I will go back. I feel really happy that I have stuck to the challenge so far, and I am really enjoying this new lifestyle.

Time really flies and you've made it so far through your vegetarian challenge! Congrats and thank you for being such an example of determination

The fact that you don't feel like going back to eating meat proves that your body has adjusted to the vegetarian diet which confirms- yet again- my principle that in life you should try new things, you never know what you might discover about yourself

Kimberly · 08-20-2012 03:15 AM

Day 25:

Just checking in. I've had a few very stressful days both at home and at work, so I have not been updating on here. Five days to go!

zingfairy · 08-20-2012 03:20 AM

Hope things become less stressful for you kimberley. Good luck with the home strait!

Kimberly · 08-21-2012 11:35 AM

Day 26:

Thank you Zingfairy. Unfortunately things have deteriorated at home lately, something I can't really talk about but I can't seem to stop crying. I can't sleep at night and then I am exhausted all day. I just want this pain to pass.

Got on the scale tonight, and lost over 2 lbs in 2 days. I'm not really eating much of anything... so I guess I should fix that. Under 128 now.

Lina · 08-21-2012 01:17 PM

(08-21-2012 11:35 AM)Kimberly Wrote: Unfortunately things have deteriorated at home lately, something I can't really talk about but I can't seem to stop crying. I can't sleep at night and then I am exhausted all day. I just want this pain to pass.

Got on the scale tonight, and lost over 2 lbs in 2 days. I'm not really eating much of anything... so I guess I should fix that. Under 128 now.

I'm sorry to hear that, Kim!

I hope you'll overcome all the hardships you're currently facing and that things will get better for you.

Nevertheless, don't forget to take care of yourself. Your health will take you a long way, helping you to face difficult situations with much more strength of both mind and body. :hug:

zingfairy · 08-23-2012 05:13 AM

Sorry to hear that things are tough at home at the moment Kimberley, it sounds rotten, especially if you aren't getting your sleep on top of everything. I hope that you get through this soon and that the pain goes away :hug:

As Lina says, please look after yourself and try to eat if you can xx

Kimberly · 08-25-2012 10:33 PM

Day 30

Thanks Lina and Zingfairy, it was pretty tough around here for a couple days but things seem to be getting back on track.

Wow, can't believe it's the last day of my vegetarian challenge. I've still got a long way to go but I am proud of myself for coming this far as I wanted to try vegetarianism for a long time.

I feel more connected to what I eat now, and more appreciative of it as well. I have no interest in eating any beef, pork, chicken or anything like that, which I find most interesting. I assumed that once I wasn't eating meat anymore that I would miss it, but I feel relieved that I don't have to eat it anymore. Whenever I cook meat for my husband now, it just doesn't look appetizing to me at all. I am grateful for this - I think it would have been much harder to cope if I was craving it. I guess what worked for me is I never said to myself, "I am not allowed to eat this", and I always gave myself the option to back out if I needed to.

I think I might take a break from doing challenges for a little while. I've got some major things to sort out, both at work and at home, and I need to focus on that.

So thank you to everyone who helped me along the way, and good luck with all of your challenges!!

Simith · 01-16-2013 01:21 PM

This 30 days vegetarian challenge is superb. I am so impressed with you all and happy that you got something positive with this diet. I will also try to follow this challenge. Thank you all for sharing your posts.
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Alvin · 01-18-2013 02:09 AM

This is quit impressive challenge that will help you in burning many unwanted calories and fats.
And all the wastage of body will get burnt, you should try this and other people should also go for it.
It is a very good challenge for yourself avoiding so much stuff which is unhealthy and being on vegetables will be really helpful.

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