5 Things That Changed When I Became a Vegetarian

SO...four months ago I decided to stop eating meat. When I made this choice I did not realize how large of an impact it would have on my life. If you are thinking about making the switch, here are 5 things that changed when i became a vegetarian. 

1.)  I didn't get bloated anymore. 

I'm going to start this one off with a disclaimer: I am not a scientist or a food expert or anything. I am only sharing my experience with what happened to my body. I used to have stomach aches every single night. I would feel so heavy right before I went to bed and I couldn't figure out why. When I stopped eating meat, I stopped having these stomach aches and bloating. Now, becoming a vegetarian has made me make healthier choices when choosing what I eat so I am not saying that eating meat made me bloat, but cutting out meat made me be more choosy on what I was eating and solved my stomach issue. 

2.) I lost weight. 

AGAIN, I'm not saying that meat is bad for you. You can be a vegetarian and eat very unhealthy but for me, cutting meat out made me be more choosy. Here is an example, lets say you go to McDonalds, you get there and you tell yourself  "well it's okay if I have chicken tenders and french fries because at least I am eating chicken and that's protein." (I know we have all done this) Now lets take the chicken out of the equation, are you really going to just eat french fries for dinner? Probably not because now the "healthy" protein in the meal is gone and you having nothing left to rationalize with yourself. I believe that this is why I lost weight, because I stopped rationalizing with myself about these things. I started eating more whole foods and less processed foods. Cutting out meat really brought the weaknesses in my diet to light. 

3.) I spend less money on groceries. 

This one is short and simple, meat is expensive. I save around $20 a week by not purchasing meat at the store. 

4.) I crave meat sometimes. 

I didn't say that all of these were going to be positive. Like I've stated, I used to eat meat and honestly I enjoyed the way it tasted. I love boneless wings and steak, but the reasons I chose this lifestyle were more important to me. Whenever I feel weakness I just remind myself of those reasons and why they are more important. 

5.) I am proud of myself. 

It is difficult to say you are going to do something and then actually follow through with it. This may be a small accomplishment but I feel extremely proud of myself for sticking to this lifestyle. This can apply to so much more than just a diet change. I challenge anyone reading this to set a goal for yourself, stick to it, and see what it does for you mentally. Any accomplishment, no matter how small, can change you for the better. 

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