Diet Update: Beyond Vegetarian

     Another time, another change; variety is the spice of life, right?  Speaking from a behaviorist standpoint it takes anywhere from 10 sessions to 7 weeks to "integrate" new patterns of behavior.  Be this diet or exercise, consequently this is also the approximate time it takes the body to get used to patterns (integration) and plateau (i.e.:  no longer a stimulating challenge).  I've finally hopped off the (semi)vegetarian train and found myself seeking an old ally.  But first, a recap of my mostly-vegetarian adventures.

• August 2013 - Begin Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Diet
• September 2013 - Eggs removed from diet
• October 2013 - All dairy except Whey Protein removed from diet
• Early November 2013 - Attempt to eat as little cooked and as much raw food as possible (within caloric limits)
• Late November 2013 - Stop supplement intake (other than Whey)
• December 2013 - Diet Soda (and artificial sweeteners) removed from diet

     Now, there are some finer points in here that I'll probably get into in later posts, but the bigger picture is that this was a good 5 - 6 month run and I was fairly satisfied with the results.  If I recall correctly, I lost a couple pounds in the early stages but gained them back.  My overall body composition (much to my surprise) stayed about the same was when I was eating meat.  What I did find exceptionally comfortable about this diet is that it evolved into a series of healthy preferences rather than stringent rule and lists of "thou shalt not..."  For example:

• AVOID artificial sweetners
• PREFER vegetables
• PREFER not to eat meat, eggs, or dairy
• but do on rare occasions, or social gatherings
• PREFER to eat a lot of fruits, nuts and vegetables
• but do eat some grains / starch (sweet potatoes, wild rice - not pasta / bread)
• PREFER to eat mostly raw foods - (or soaked rice / lentils / bean)
• but do cook own food on occasion or eat out
• some processed and semi-processed foods are still good (granola, whey, nuts, salsa, hummus)
• however there's something ironic about tofu (e.g.: super processed soy ... "stuff?")

     But all in all, I had to face the facts.  I make no attempt to hide the fact that I was a "lazy" vegetarian.  Meat still tastes(ed) good, but it was simply easier to dice some fresh vegetables than it was to scrub a George-Foreman Grill.
     My theory of small daily cheats was also a bust, but not totally.  I still had some cravings for junk food and the occasional bender but they were much fewer and far between.  When eating as described above I found that I did have garbage food cravings but they were much more mild, say a single candy bar or a single bag of chips rather than a whole pizza and a half gallon of ice cream or something ridiculous like that.  What seemed to work well was to not sweat the small stuff now and then; however, one has to be very judicious in deciding how frequent is too frequent and when "small" is no longer small.
     I also found that after I stopped drinking diet soda that I paid more attention to my physiological hunger rather than statistics and numbers.  Rather, I ate when I was hungry per the above guidelines; not when a prescribe plan said I could / couldn't.  That factor seemed to make things very sustainable.
     In case you have considered trying a vegetarian(ish) diet or even have a vendetta against them, there is some good information available here; titled "Beyond Vegetarian."


Ah yes, I mentioned an "old ally", stay tuned for Part 2.......