Giana tries to go vegetarian

Each New Year I set the same New Years resolution and obviously, by setting the same resolution, each year I never actually follow through with it. Year after year, myself and many others set and fail the resolution of losing weight, exercising more and overall becoming healthier in the New Year. Since I set the same resolution and fail again and again, this year I decided to alter the resolution in hopes of actually achieving it.

This year I decided to become a vegetarian for my 20-day challenge, in hopes of losing weight and becoming healthier because I know people who have succeeded in it before. What I didn’t know, however, was exactly how hard it actually was to do this. One of my closest friends made the exact same resolution for the exact same reason three years ago, and has been vegetarian ever since. I figured if she could do it, so could I– I figured wrong.

I did not anticipate how difficult it would be to be vegetarian in an Italian household where meatballs and sausage are a staple at each meal, nor did I anticipate how unsupportive and unhelpful my Italian family would be in my new vegetarian lifestyle. Since there was no escaping the meatballs and sausage every night, I asked my parents if they would at least make the gravy without the meat. But ultimately, they would not, so I had to eat buttered noodles almost every night. Buttered noodles are not nearly as good as pasta with gravy and are also not a super healthy or nutritious option, so this did not help me in reaching my resolution.

Since buttered noodles were pretty much my only option at home, I ate out a lot while attempting to be vegetarian, not realizing that that was even more of a challenge. Twice, while eating out, I accidentally ate meat.

The first time was while I was working. I work at Friendly’s and most nights at work I eat dinner there, usually eating the same thing. The first shift eating there while trying to be vegetarian, I forgot that the Poppin’ Pizza Bites contained pepperoni, only realizing after eating the meal.

The second time I mistakenly ate meat was when going out for sushi. I associate sushi with fish and I do not associate fish with meat, but in the end, fish are animals too.

Despite my mistakes and my carb intake, I did still manage to reach my original resolution and lost eight pounds during my time as a vegetarian. Although I would love to lose more, I do not think being a vegetarian is the healthiest means for me and thus I stopped being vegetarian after 20 days. Although I lost the weight, I did not lose it in a way in which was feasible for a long period of time for me.