I have been taking up a new habit challenge every month this year. As part of this habit series, I tried 21 days of the No-meat challenge last month. Here I dive straight into my experience from it.

Reduced Bloating:

The main goal of this challenge was to feel lighter. Weight is not always the best measure of health and fitness. Though I managed to maintain my weight during the lockdown, I did end up eating a lot of nick-nacks during work breaks at home. That’s what easy access to the kitchen can do to you. Fruits, ice cream, baked items have become my constant companions. I try to be conscious about sugar but just the quantity of food had increased overall. And not having meat for these 21 days made me feel so much better. I was digesting food better (veggies are soooo fiber-rich) and I was certainly not feeling full all the time.

Reduced Stress:

You are what you eat. It is arguable that meat makes you aggressive. But many scriptures in Indian Ayurveda mention that meat falls in “Tamsik” category of foods. Tamsik refers to aggression. Vegetables fall in “Satvik” category which means clean eating. I was following a group called “Art of living” for some time. They suggested having Satvik food for 4 days straight, perform yoga, and random acts of kindness as well. A combination of these actions made me feel beautiful and happier during those 4 days. No wonder its called the happiness program. So, these 21 days of Satvik food were my way of de-stressing and feeling happy again.

Detoxification:

A plant-based diet leads to a cleaner gut. The improved gut helps you absorb nutrients and glucose better. The fiber in vegetables helps digestion and better bowel movement. This is the reason most dieticians recommend including some kind of raw vegetable or fiber-rich fruit with each meal. The detoxification from cleaner bowel movement helps with metabolism as well.

No Weight Loss:

Sorry to break your dreams, but I did not see any weight loss post my 21-day No-meat challenge. This is probably because I was not following calorie-deficit anyway. I did not decrease my food intake with increased exercise. All I did was substitute meat with vegetables. Though veggies have fewer calories than meat, I never felt hungry. The weird thing is, I did not feel any withdrawal symptoms. I never missed meat, even if someone ate it in front of me. I was determined to be serious about the challenge. And hey, I did see a small weight loss 1 week after the challenge completion.

Does this make you try a no-meat challenge too? Please leave a comment below and don’t forget to subscribe for more habit experiments with me.