Week Without Meat

This week’s progress:  -3.4 pounds

Total loss:  -90 pounds

So I lost nearly all I gained last week, save for 2.2 pounds.  Eh, you win some and you lose some.

I decided a while back that I wanted to try a week without meat.  A friend of mine went the entire month of February last year without mammalian flesh on his menu, with great success.  I decided that I’d give total meatlessness a try, rather than go without mammals since that meant I would not be eating cow or pig–two things I don’t eat a heck of a lot of anyway. I decided I’d do this the week that Lent begins, as Christians all over the world get ready to celebrate the sacrifice that Jesus made by giving his life for them by sacrificing something for the approximately 40 days the season lasts.  Mind you, I’m not a devout Catholic (I was raised as such), but I decided that this year I would actually give up something (Coke Zero, may God help us all) and be meatless on Fridays (like I’m supposed to during Lent).

To get ready for my week of meatlessness, I pinned a ton of vegetarian recipes to my Pinterest board set aside for such things, and cut back my beef consumption to two meals last week in total that had beef in them.   I also cut back my Coke Zero consumption to 3 whole sodas all week long.  Not bad compared to my usual consumption of the drink.

I did the shopping today, and filled the cart with all sorts of fruits and veggies in preparation for my week of vegetarianism.  I’m actually a little excited by the proposition, because it will shake up my eating a bit, and maybe, just maybe give my metabolism the boot it needs to get me off this damned plateau I seem to be on.  So here’s the menu for this week:

Today:

Brunch:  huevos con papas y refritos (eggs and potatoes with refried beans), flour tortillas, chips and salsa, spoonful of guacamole, rice

Dinner:  Big green leafy salad with shredded carrots, a bit of cheddar cheese and a few croutons, whole wheat bread slice with teaspoon of Nutella for dessert

Monday breakfast:  steel-cut oats with pecans, vanilla extract, Splenda and a handful of chocolate chips, milk to drink

Mid-morning Snack:  baby-cut carrots, pistachio kernels

Lunch:  it is a workday at school so I will likely go out to Chipotle and get a vegetarian burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, grilled peppers and onions, corn salsa, guacamole, cheese and a ton of lettuce.

Dinner:  summer veggie stir-fry with zucchini, corn, cherry tomatoes and caramelized onions over rice, strawberries with a bit of nutella for dessert.

Tuesday breakfast:  same as Monday, since I’ll be eating on the oatmeal a couple of days, as I’m making it in the Crock-Pot

Tuesday mid-morning snack:  pretzel sticks with almond butter

Lunch:  leftover veggie stir-fry, strawberries dipped in sugar-free Jello pudding

Afternoon snack:  94% ff microwave popcorn

Tuesday dinner:  bean burritos, leafy green salad, calabacitas (zucchini sauteed with onions, corn and a bit of garlic topped with a little cheese)

Wednesday breakfast:  egg and cheese breakfast tacos on whole wheat tortillas

Wednesday mid-morning snack:  carrot sticks with bean dip

Wednesday lunch:  bean burritos and green salad

Wednesday afternoon snack:  pistachio kernels, clementines

Wednesday dinner:  broccoli-lemon soup, grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread, broiled grapefruit sections with honey for dessert

Thursday breakfast:  egg and cheese breakfast tacos on whole wheat tortillas

Thursday mid-morning snack:  pistachio kernels, clementines

Thursday lunch:  cheese sandwich, orange slices, carrot sticks

Thursday afternoon snack:  pretzels and bean dip

Thursday dinner:  baked potato with marinara and broiled mozzarella, green salad

Friday breakfast:  egg and cheese omelet, milk

Friday mid-morning snack:  almond milk, pretzel sticks with nutella

Friday lunch:  clementines, bean burritos, carrot sticks

Friday dinner:  Spanish tortilla (egg and potato omelet), quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla, green salad

Saturday breakfast:  broiled grapefruit, egg and cheese burrito, milk

Saturday lunch:  trip to Genghis Grill, where I’ll make a vegetarian bowl with zucchini, onions and roasted tomatoes over Udon noodles

Saturday dinner:  zucchini-spinach pizza and salad

Sunday:  celebrate the fact I made it an entire week without meat!