7 Things I Learned From 7 Days as a Vegetarian

On a whim and spurred by curiosity, I decided to forgo meat for a week and get in touch with my herbivorous side. I had no particular agenda, I just wanted to experience life without meat for a period of time to see if it was something I could realistically do in the long-term.

After savoring my  last greaseburger for the next seven days on Saturday night, I went in completely blind. I read no help guides, consulted no dietary resources and simply decided not to buy or consume meat for a week – just like any regular manchild would.

I learned a lot about life without meat in such a short space of time and there were very few negatives to report, which came as a bit of a surprise. Here are just seven of the things I learned during the seven days after I loaded up on Iron supplements and greenery.

It’s worth noting that it is unlikely to be the same experience for everyone so take everything recorded here with a pinch of salt!

1. Nobody cares anymore

Rewind to about ten years ago and my announcement of going vegetarian would have raised a few eyebrows and doubtlessly one or two chastising words from friends. Nothing of the sort happened when I told people, all I received was a few nods and nonplussed shrugs. Maybe it’s a sign of just how common vegetarianism is, surely only a good thing for “The Big Society”.

2. No takeaway temptation

Let’s be honest, nobody’s ever called a kebab shop up at 11pm and demanded a salad with light mayonnaise. Without any meat, there is very little desire to succumb to the deadliest of desires and wind up in your pants slithering kebab drown your throat like one of the worst Roman emperors.

3. Your appetite becomes insatiable (initially)

I can’t even count how many yoghurts, crisps, and biscuits I made my way through during the first three days of my new meat-free diet. Luckily, I had just started at the gym so I quickly burned it off; first-time vegetarians should expect to put on a few pounds when leaving meat behind.  My new appetite abated relatively quickly and I feel much the better for it.

4. Your body will feel cleaner and clearer

I am not going to go into details of how exactly my body feels cleaner (this is Cultured Vultures, not Death and Taxes), but let’s just say that I feel a lot “lighter”. Meat is one of the stodgiest foods you can have and considering we aren’t organically designed to consume and digest it, it’s no surprise.

5. You will never have a better chance to broaden your palate

It might not be a huge leap to say that we as a society depend on meat a little too heavily in our diets. Staple meals of meat and vegetables are the norm (in the Western world at least) and a little bit too safe. This is obviously not going to be feasible for developing countries, but stepping away from meat for a while gives you the opportunity to try something you normally wouldn’t. I never had risotto until the past week and I can confirm that it is a gloopy godsend.

6. You will have more energy

I don’t know if this is applicable to everyone, but I certainly felt much more energetic without eating meat on an almost daily basis. I was able to roll my way out of bed instead of crawling and simultaneously crying as usual and had much more “vim” than I typically would when faced with the 9-5. This extra energy was put to good work in the gym and also impacted my writing and gave me a boost to actually do house chores for once.

7. A lot of startling statistics about meat consumption

Over the week, I tentatively dipped my toe into the vegetarian community and found myself in a few interesting subreddits and forums. Whilst there, I discovered some of the following:

• Poultry production in the UK totals 158 thousand tonnes a year.
• Meat production equates to 52.2 billion pounds in the United States.
• We eat an average of 105.2 pounds of meat a year.
• Americans eat almost twice that.
• Eating meat hardens blood vessels.
• Our livestock are actually playing a huge role in global warming.
• The risk of diabetes increases for meat eaters.
• So too does the risk of brain and heart disease.
• The level of cruelty to animals is unbelievable.

It’s been over seven days since I started the challenge and I still haven’t gone back to meat – I even subconsciously didn’t pick any up when I went on my weekly food shopping trip. Who knows if I will go back to eating meat (the smart money is that I will give in at some point), but for the time being, I am enjoying my new lifestyle. If it’s realistic for you, I would recommend doing it at least for a short while if only to see how you feel at the end of it.