30 for 30 List: No Red Meat for 30 Days


So many things happened the last few months of my life, with my career switch and lifestyle changes that go with it that I barely have time to check my 30 for 30 list. Good thing I decided to take it slow, so I still have three years and six months to complete it. And while my 30 for 30 list can afford to have it's sweet time, my life and career on the other hand is having a fast, crazy twist. It deserves a totally separate post.

It's a beautiful Monday when I complained about feeling extraordinarily dull and lacking energy. I'm usually hyperactive, lives with five hours of sleep and works ten hours a day. I rarely stay home idle on weekends because I abide by the "life is too short" mantra. But the answer to my strange dullness struck me like a lighting in an open field. Pinned on my office corkboard are piles upon piles of fastfood delivery receipts. Garbage in, garbage out, it's crystal clear. I'm eating too much processed food, meat and sugar. Which reminded me that it's time for the 30th item on my 30 for 30 list.


from Google images


30. Don’t touch red meat for 30 days. Please, spare me the vegetarian vow. (Hello, Dea!) I’m not as tough as Dea, she’s one amazing girl! And so I’ll be honest and realistic, I’ll ditch red, but occasionally eat fish and chicken. I just can’t survive on leaves and fruits, not with my schedule, I will definitely faint on the 3rd day.



Red meat is hard to digest, and stays in your system for five days! It's gross if you think of it. So it's high time to revamp my diet. Refusing to let anothey day pass, I banned red meat that very same day. It was a struggle for the first few days, trying very hard to replace my usual chunks of red meat with greens and meat substitutes like tofu. The toughest day was when I had to turn down a fat, juicy cheese hungarian sausage in onions and chillies. I wanted to die that moment. I was so tempted that I refrained from looking at the dish at all, just like a kid who is sure to fail a marshmallow test. 

My mom on the other hand, was very happy about it and started stocking fish, prawns and squid for me. Towards the end of my 30 days, I felt lighter and my restroom visits were a breeze. I lost four pounds, that can be due to waterloss or such, but losing weight is not my motivator to avoid red meat in the first place, so it's really just a plus point. Incidentally, I was also introduced to Bodivance at this time, which doubled the pace of my shift to a healthier lifestyle. Another friend, C, was doing his no pork diet during that time, too. The universe made it all happen! 

After completing the challenge, I happily munched on some giant hotdogs, self reward of some sort, but knew that I didn't miss it as much as I thought. I occasionally eat red meat now, and go for seafood and chicken more often. And I started enjoying greens beyond the usual appretizer salad.

What's most important is not the weightloss, nor the bragging rights of completing a challenge, but the realization that I'm in control and that I can chose to live heathy. To quote my former boss:

 "It's not always about the number of years, but the quality of life you lived."

With that, I can move on to conquer the next thing on my list. :)


From the Nook,
Dang


Comments

  1. Good luck with this one, Dang! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with you ""It's not always about the number of years, but the quality of life you lived."

    so goodluck for this!

    ReplyDelete

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