Andrew is getting fit

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I’ve been a vegetarian for 580 days now (Not that I’m counting or anything).

I had gone through periods of vegetarianism when I was a kid but never voluntarily. It was more because my parents went through bouts of it and as a child I didn’t have much say as to what was served up.

I made the decision to be a vegetarian of my own free will (contrary to popular opinion). My wife is a vegetarian and so some of my friends believe that she forced me into it. To tell the truth I think my wife was more shocked than anyone that I became a vegetarian. I had read something on zen habits (I think) about how you can make anything a habit if you just stick to it for 30 days. So I thought I would surprise my wife and be vegetarian for 30 days. (I’d been going through a hard time at work (we were going through some restructuring) and I was looking for something that I could control I guess.)

And what do you know, it does become a habit after 30 days. At the end of 30 days I thought I would do 30 more. Then another 30. Then I wanted to reach 100 and so on and so forth. Now I’m aiming for 600.

Most people thought I was joking when I told them about my decision. One of my friends was particularly shocked when she found out. “But you’re Mr Meat!?” she spluttered at me. That description was rather apt. One of my favourite dishes was the traditional South African boerewors roll. Basically, it’s a big meaty South African sausage in a hotdog bun as pictured below.

Definitely food of the gods. I used to eat meat and lots of it. I did enjoy meat but I’ve decided that it is better for me if I avoid it.Originally I thought that being a vegetarian would help me lose weight. But ice cream, cake, cookies and chips are all solidly vegetarian. Which turned out to be a bit of a problem. I think I’m one of the few people who actually gained about 20 kilos (44 pounds) within a year of turning vegetarian. I was one of those vegetarians that didn’t really eat many vegetables. Not really something I’m proud of but hey it happened.

I’ve since revised my eating habits and now eat mainly fresh vegetables with the odd treat thrown in for good behaviour.

Most days I eat the following:

Breakfast (6am) is some bran cereal with blueberries and a glass of protein drink.

Morning tea (9am) is normally 2 hardboiled eggs.

Lunch (12pm) is normally some concoction of vegetables all mixed up (my last concoction had 13 different vegetables in it). I normally make my lunches for the week in bulk on Sunday afternoons.

Afternoon tea (3pm) is normally another glass of protein drink and some fruit.

Dinner (6pm) is normally a fresh garden salad and some fruit.

Occasionally I’ll vary from this (normally on the weekend) if the circumstances warrant but it’s a pretty good indication of what I eat. On the days I do weights I’ll have more protein.

I feel better than ever so I think I’ll give this vegetarian lifestyle a few more days yet.

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