I try to live a healthy lifestyle. I actually go to the gym at least 2 times a week if my work schedule allows it. I also read the labels on the things that I eat for snacks. I drink soda but mostly the diet kind (which is not good, yes, but it’s better than the sugary kind, right?). I do go to the supermarket and find fruits and vegetables I’d like to eat as a snack. I even go to great lengths to make sure I drink a lot of water throughout the entire day.

Sure, I’ll go out and “mistreat” my body once in a while. I do enjoy eating the KFC Double Down (which is just pure meat and fat combined into a delicious handy “sandwich”) and I do love eating burgers (which is why I plan to do a second entire month of reviews dedicated to the it). But once in a while, I wonder if all of the meat is going to be the death of me. I mean, no amount of exercise can really help if you eat crap.

Succulent and delicious crap, but crap nonetheless.

So, since it was Holy Week, I decided to try an experiment. I would not eat any kind of animal products for 3 days. Not only will I cut out all kinds of meat from my diet during this period (that’s beef, pork and chicken), I’ll also not be eating any kind of products that came from them (that’s eggs, cheese and milk). This, in turn, removes things that I normally eat. Thinks like cake (has milk and eggs) and most chocolates (usually have milk) were out of the question. Even most regular energy bars were eliminated because they have skim milk powder! I was going to make this an entire week but I was assigned to a heck of a work schedule for the same week so I had to limit to only 3 days, namely Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The first thing I did to prepare for the “experiment” was to, of course, get supplies! This isn’t my first time to actually try doing this (it’s my 2nd time trying the vegan lifestyle). But when I tried it the first time, it was very difficult. I only bought a limited number of things I could eat so I didn’t have any variety. I just ate vegan hamburger patties from Healthy Options (which I bought in preparation) and spaghetti noodles. But I only had a limited amount of “supplies” then so I was pretty hungry throughout those 3 days. This year, I planned to be ready!

Nice “clean” place to get food.

I went out to the same place where I purchased the vegan burgers last year, Healthy Options. Unfortunately, they were all out. And that got me worried! There were no other meat substitute items I could think of. There was a vegetable soup mix, vegetable broth and spaghetti noodles. But the idea of no “meat” wasn’t really clicking for me. I had to find some place that could carry it! And, luckily, I did! A whole lot of it!

I vaguely remembered a huge 16-pack the Boca Vegan Burger patties available in S&R, a huge supermarket chain much Costco or Wal-Mart. The problem is I had to buy this in bulk! I had to buy 16 patties just so I had some sort of meat substitute for 3 days? Well, I did want to make sure I’d not get hungry. Anyway, I was ready for the 3-day stretch!

They don’t really taste like meat… but they are “meat-like”

The diet itself wasn’t a problem; it was kind of enjoyable actually. I was calm in the notion that I could eat pretty much anything I wanted based on the guidelines I set and not gain weight (more specifically, weight from fat). It also felt good to think I could eat at anytime and not starve myself, waiting for the next meal. I was also fairly confident with my protein intake; I even did a little resistance training with some tubing throughout the three days.

No, the problem was the limited range of choices I had since I live in a 3rd world country. On Thursday, I had to go to work for the entire day on a graveyard shift. When I had to find something to eat for “lunch” break, the pickings were pretty slim! I guess meat is much cheaper since most places serve it, so I understand. But they should apply for some form of alternative! I even had a difficult time looking for a salad that didn’t have cheese! I did find something: soba noodles from Family Mart (which were pretty good, I’m not gonna lie).

I would recommend this stronger if it weren’t kind of expensive.

So, while my “experiment” was a success; I did go the three days without eating any form of animal-based products and I actually lost 3 pounds during those 3 days (which was not the plan). But I don’t think I’ll even be living as a vegan for the rest of my life, especially if I’m living here. Even if I wanted to adapt to the lifestyle, It’s just too much of a hassle.

And, meat… I do love meat.

Are you a vegan? Ever consider of becoming one? Or do you think veganism is stupid? Whatever your thoughts, please leave them in the comments section below!