My Least Favorite 4 Letter Word

Day 284

A few weeks back I got this in my inbox from my cousin Amanda,

A question for the meatless man...
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:41 PM
From: "Amanda"
To: "Jason"

"Hey,

I have a question for you. I've recently started a new diet: The Paleo Diet, but it relies heavily on animal protein because legumes and dairy aren't allowed. Having been vegetarian in the past, I'm not fond of eating meat more than once a day now. Do you have any suggestions of good vegetarian protein replacements, preferably those that don't rely on soy (or other beans) or dairy?

Thanks,
Amanda"

And, here is a brief definition of the Peleo Diet from Wikipedia:

“The modern dietary regimen known as the Paleolithic diet (abbreviated paleo diet or paleodiet), also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various human species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic—a period of about 2.5 million years duration that ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. In common usage, such terms as the "Paleolithic diet" also refer to the actual ancestral human diet Centered on commonly available modern foods, the "contemporary" Paleolithic diet consists mainly of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts; and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.”

If something sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Never has that famous adage been as true as when it comes to dieting.

Diet is a four letter word, both in the literal and figurative senses. All diets are fad diets because they are temporary fixes. I have done my fair share of diets and they are short term solutions at best. Once you go off one then the pounds start coming back fairly quick.

You may think going meatless is actually a diet but it is actually an eating lifestyle choice. I did not choose to go meatless solely to lose weight and I now plan on being meat free for good. My overall health was a concern and some other things also had to change such as getting regular exercise and looking at the food I was eating that wasn’t meat. Many people have asked if I lost all the weight from just going meatless. Of course not, it was a combination of the exercise and eating better but it certainly wasn’t dieting when it came to the food part.

My advice to my cousin Amanda and others out there looking to lose weight is to see a nutritionist and your primary care physician. Consult with them and let them know that you want to eat healthier. Do not rely on mythical diets. Instead I urge you to go for a realistic way of eating that allows you to get your regular portions from all food groups.

Healthier eating habits as opposed to diets generally:

- Give you all or most of the essential vitamins and minerals you need to carry out your daily life.
- Help speed up your metabolism.
- Give you a steadier stream of natural energy.
- Won’t make you feel starved or ravenous.
- Make you feel overall better.

Don’t simply take my word for it. See your doctor and have him/her refer you to a nutritionist. If you take the time to do so and actually listen to what they have to say you can change the way you eat for the better. All it takes is the initiative to make an appointment with them. Hope this helps Amanda.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Now is a good time…

Day 283

--for some blog reminders.

You can be a fan of A Man Finally Eats his Veggies: A Meatless Year Blog on Facebook. Just click here and check it out!

And do you like to Twitter? The Meatless Year Blog does. Sign up to get the blog's tweets here.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

So What’s Next?

Days 279 - 282

First off, I thank you all very much for the extremely kind words and congratulations on my reaching my weight loss goal last week. I could not have done this without the advice and support of the blog’s many readers. Once again, thank you all.

Aside from the congratulations and compliments on my trimmer frame, many people have been asking me what is next—some even wondering if this is the end of the blog.

Why would it be? I started going meatless on November 2nd of last year and fully intend to continue chronicling this meatless year which has now become what I hope to be my first meatless year of a meatless life. Much like on that first day last autumn when I started giving up beef, chicken, pork, fish/poultry and whole (unprocessed) eggs, meeting the weight loss goal is a new beginning of sorts. I have now taken off the excess weight I don’t need so what do I do with what is there?

Keep reading the blog people. Weight loss is just one aspect of this whole meatless matter but it is not everything by far. Still, it is nice to be fit and trim!

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Weight Update: The Big One

Day 278

Well, it looks like good things come in threes.

Earlier this week I passed the 9 months meatless mark, then the meatless blog reached over 5,000 visits to and now it is time for a weight update. A very important weight update.

What makes this one so much more important compared to past weight updates?

Look at the following pictures and see...

That is right. As of yesterday, August 5th, 2010, I reached my weight loss goal of 147 lbs—actually, just below it at 146! That's a loss of 66 lbs since 11/2/10 which was just over 9 months ago!

The BMI range for my age, height and gender is 147 – 162 lbs. Like a kid who encounters a new swimming pool for the first time I just had to touch the bottom of the deep end just once—even if just for a day, even if just for five minutes!

I have done many diets over the years but never reached a weight loss goal. Now, by changing my eating habits (not doing dieting) and exercising I have made my weight loss goal a reality at long last!

And, once again, I want to thank you all for your support! To my blog readers for all the info and well wishes, Facebook friends who have positively commented on pictures of my weight loss results and friends and family who I see in person everyday and have seen the difference in how I look and let me know that I am on the right track for better health. Thank you all. It means so much to me.

Now enjoy some more pictures:

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Over 5000 Visits!

Day 277

Dear Meatless Blog,

How have you been? I know our relationship has been suffering lately, as I have only been able to see you mostly on Mondays for the last month. Yes, just once a week I have been updating you and it is true that you deserve more of my attention and—not to change the subject, but did you see the pretty flowers I bought you?

No! No! I am not cheating on you with another blog! How could you even think that?! No, no—I got them for you because I love you and I wanted to do something special for you.

Okay...the truth.

I really got them for you because I felt guilty about not remembering our 9 months meatless anniversary until the day after—but it doesn’t mean I love you any less—it is just that I have been very busy lately! Now I have free time again and I can spend it with YOU baby!

Don’t fold your arms and look away! Not today! We have reached over 5,000 blog visits as of yesterday! It is true! Happy 5,000 Visits!

Sigh, yes, I know we could have gotten here much sooner if I updated more in the past month but wait until you see what the next entry will be! You will not be able to keep your hands off of me after that!

Now let’s go off to the bedroom and type…

Love,
Jason

P.S. I will REALLY make it up to you tomorrow! It is a Friday after all…

meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
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All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

9 Months of Being Meatless!

Days 275 & 276

On Monday, August 2nd, I reached 9 months of being meatless! I totally didn't remember until early yesterday morning that I had reached that point in my meatless year!

So...

- I have now been meatless for 3/4 of a year.

- My eating habits in general have improved!

- I have shed many pounds!

- I have even built up some muscle!

- My energy levels are generally higher and more consistent too!

- I have reached a better understanding of how the food we eat in our western culture is raised and processed. Believe me, it makes it a bit easier to make better eating choices when you know exactly what is in your food and how (and why) it gets put in there.

Besides the great taste of it, I really don't miss meat—and I don't even miss that aspect all that much! There are plenty of other tasty foods out there that are not cow, pig, chicken, turkey or fish. One just has to look and they can discover them for themselves.

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.

Weekly BMI Numbers for 8/2/10

Days 268 - 274

I have been inadvertently switching my BMI and fat numbers for the last few weeks in the entries. That is what one gets for writing before their first cup of coffee of the day. Here are the corrected numbers for those weeks:

7/19/10
FAT 15.1
BMI 22.2
Waist 33"

7/26/10
FAT 18.0
BMI 22.6
Waist 33"

And now, my BMI numbers for 8/2/10 are:

FAT 15.6
BMI 22.3
Waist 33.5"

Looks like my fat and BMI numbers have gone down while my waist has gone up half an inch! How can that be? Well, more exercise is needed. I have begun to slack in that area lately. Now where is that cup of coffee?

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
Meatless Man on Twitter
Meatless Man Channel on YouTube
All writing, videos and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted or, if really darn obvious.