There have been quite a few changes in my lifestyle over the past few years. Not just in the way I think and live my life, but also in the products I choose to put into my body.
One of the major changes came back in 2017, when I quit smoking. At the time, it wasn’t really for health reasons. I was simply fed up with the smell and, more importantly, the cost of smoking. That said, I still vape to this day.
Another major change happened in February 2025, when I decided to take a complete break from alcohol for a month. Well, that one month turned into two, then three, and here I am, 19 months later, still completely teetotal.
My most recent lifestyle change is something I’ve kept pretty quiet about.
After taking enough flak from some of my old drinking friends when I packed up alcohol, I can imagine what they’d say about this one. I had comments like, “You won’t last,” and “Go on, have a drink!” The funny thing is, I never actually said I would last. I wasn’t on some sort of crusade to give up alcohol forever. I simply decided to stop drinking, and it stuck.
But this one might raise a few more eyebrows.
I am now a vegetarian.
Although I should probably add that I’m a vegetarian with L plates.
It’s only been a few weeks, and it’s been a pretty steep learning curve trying to replace the meat products I would normally reach for without even thinking about it. There’s been quite a bit of experimenting, some successes, and probably a few things that won’t be making a return appearance on the shopping list!
For the past few years, the only meat I’ve really eaten has been chicken and ham, with the occasional burger or sausage thrown into the mix. I’ve never been a fish eater, so that was never really an issue.
But, just as I eventually got fed up with drinking alcohol, I’ve also become fed up with treating food simply as fuel.
I now have more time on my hands, and that has given me the opportunity to think a bit more about what I’m actually putting into my body, rather than just grabbing whatever is convenient because I’m hungry.
There’s also been a change in the way I think about animals bred specifically for slaughter. I’m finding myself increasingly uncomfortable with that whole side of food production, and it’s becoming harder to simply ignore those thoughts.
So, I suppose becoming vegetarian is a combination of a few things. It’s about what I eat, how I think about food, and increasingly, how I feel about where that food comes from.
I’m still very much learning. I’m not claiming to have all the answers, and I’m certainly not about to start telling everyone else what they should or shouldn’t eat.
For now, I’m simply making a change in my own life and seeing where it takes me.
As for whether I’ll still be vegetarian in a few months’ time… well, we’ll see.
