One of my goals before I turn 26 was to eat vegetarian for a week. I’ve never gone without meat for that long, and I thought it would be an interesting challenge. I figured if I could go without Facebook for a week and drink only water for a week, I could do this! For about two and a half years, I stopped eating red meat, but I still ate the crap out of chicken and turkey.

I knew I wanted to do this challenge in October, as it’s Vegetarian Month! I started the day I got back from Utah, and it wasn’t hard at all. As long as I can eat cheese, I still have lots of options. My dad bought me a grilled cheese sandwich, and they chopped up bacon and put it in the cheese. I didn’t realize at first, so that was a slip up. I also went to Taco Bell (one of the only fast food places you can go when you don’t want only fries on a vegetarian diet), but they put meat on everything. I was really sad because I was starving, but I was proud of myself for not eating it!

Lots of people close to me have been vegetarian and vegan for large portions of time, so I’m used to the challenges that these kinds of dietary restrictions place. This is going to come in handy, because, get this: Meat Is Gross To Me Now. I’ve tried four different types of meats since my week long restrictions were lifted, and each one was awful. I couldn’t get through any of the food and the idea of meat is really unappealing right now. It’s so weird! I didn’t think that a week would change my lifestyle, but apparently it has. At least for now.

Have you ever eaten vegetarian? Did you face any challenges?