I was, for a year and a half. I was serious about it from an ethical perspective (climate change, factory farming, you can feed more hungry people with an acre of grain than an acre of pasture). I wasn’t a sanctimonious asshole about it, but I felt it was the least I could do – and it was so easy! It was easy to eat, and it was easy to lift, and I never missed meat.
But I couldn’t diet. I was trying to lose weight (nothing enormous, 10 pounds, 6.5 of which are gone) and I couldn’t eat “clean” to save my life. I was undereating and then being an idiot and having dessert as really my only substantial “meal” of the day. Way too many carbs. And some fatigue.
Part of it is my shitty willpower, but I really think I’ve improved on that. I don’t really have food cravings. I just crave having enough to eat.
I was cheating with meat, and today I just decided that “vegetarian except when nobody’s looking” isn’t really vegetarian, and I may as well admit it to everyone that I’m giving up. And now that I actually can, I’m going to try sticking to an actual diet.
Just thinking out loud:
Breakfast: cheerios or protein powder (when I don’t have time to go to the dining hall) egg white omelet with veggies when I do, or sometimes whole wheat bread and peanut butter
Workout
Lunch: vegetables (salad and whatever else is on offer) and lean meat (usually grilled chicken breast) and fruit and/or eggs if I’m hungry
Dinner: same, except there’s more often cooked vegetables and different kinds of meat; sometimes fish.
If I can get tofu, I will, because I love it. Sometimes there’s also cottage cheese. Beans when they have them. Eat enough at dinner that I don’t need dessert out of simple hunger.
I’ve largely managed to do without bread & pasta already, except in the mornings (I’m hungriest before noon.) Pizza has happened all too frequently this month, but those were nights when there was nothing substantial to eat: just salad and pizza, so I had a piece of pizza.
In practice I need snacks, but I haven’t yet figured this out: I like Greek yogurt, milky coffee/tea, beef jerky, nuts (to excess, though) and fruit. Often I have protein powder. But I have to buy my own (meals are served three times a day) so I feel guilty about the expense, since it’s my parents’ dime.
Can I do this? Is it sustainable? Do you think it will be easier not to cheat?
Relevant info:
20yo female, 130 pounds, 5’6’’, lift three times a week, run three times a week, fairly sedentary otherwise except that I walk everywhere.
Sorry for the long post – just looking for feedback if you’ve got it.