I stopped being a vegetarian and started eating meat six months ago - it’s changed my life
8 April 2024, 07:42
Before October, I hadn’t eaten meat in nearly 10 years. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was a teen and a vegan before that. Now I’ve entered the real world.
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Towards the end of last year, I started getting pretty bored with the food I was eating. A diet of tofu, fake meat and endless chickpeas can get pretty dull.
While still at school, I stopped eating meat and became a vegan. Suddenly I lost weight, my face became pale and I was always hungry.
I was doing the right thing - I made the switch to cut my carbon emissions and do my bit for the planet. It felt good.
Being vegan is unbelievably difficult, especially when you are eating on the road. While I enjoyed the idea of a plant-based lifestyle, it soon became too tough to maintain.
Truly fed up with slimy vegan food, I decided to begin my slow journey back to normality. For the subsequent eight years, I became vegetarian.
A veggie lifestyle is so much easier than a vegan one. I had at least one option in every restaurant I visited and I could pick between multiple variations of a cheese sandwich when buying my meal deal.
As vegetarianism grew in popularity, eating out became more exciting. I even found myself ordering falafel and enjoying it.
But there’s only so much fake meat you can take.
Last year, my attitude to a meat-free diet started to shift. I became bored of eating the same old food over and over again.
I was increasingly distant from my teenage climate-focused morals. It was time for a change.
Having run a half marathon in Oxford in October, I visited a fast-food chain for a bite to eat. Looking at the menu on the plasma screen, I realised just how little choice I had.
Minutes later, I had eaten all six chicken nuggets and I felt fine. I felt good. I felt normal.
The following evening, I had my first proper beef bolognese in years - it was amazing. I finally got to try the chicken katsu curry in the Global canteen - it’s since become a firm favourite.
Now when I visit restaurants or shops for food, I feel as though I’ve unlocked a whole new world.
In the last six months, not only have I become obsessed with tuna sandwiches, I have realised how it feels to be full. It’s a sensation you can’t really achieve with salad.
Eating a salt-beef bagel for the first time last week, I realised how happy I’ve become since changing my diet. My life has become so much easier and so much tastier.
It’s not a bad thing to try and cut down on eating meat, but if you’re considering becoming vegetarian, be prepared for boredom!
