To jog your memory, I went vegetarian for the month of March. I wanted to update daily, talk about my struggles, my victories…but I wanted to finish editing my work-in-progress more. I became so involved in the world I’m building I didn’t want to leave. So here’s how the month went:

I started strong. Two whole weeks of no sugar, no white flour, no meat of any kind for any reason. Week three I went out to Macaroni Grill and had a dish containing chicken. I tried to pick it out but decided it was too much trouble and ran with it.

Then I got a little weak around week 3. I figured my diet change was for meat only, right? Why was I adding in the no white flour thing for good measure? That was a little extreme. So I started eating white flour again…and heavily smothered garlic-butter bread. (Not the brightest move.) I went to the movies and had the first soda of the month around this time. Who could resist movie theatre popcorn and a big ole drink? Not this girl. But the soda tasted funny–like Dr. Pepper which I detest. I had 3 sips and put it aside. (And wasted like $5 bucks. Ugh.)

As March came to a close, I still hadn’t touched any other soda besides my few sips. I hadn’t eaten any other meat except the Macaroni Grill that one time…Oh! And clam chowder at the Santa Cruz wharf–twice–but those teeny-tiny bites of clam don’t count, do they? Don’t tell me they do, I don’t wanna hear it.

Overall, to be completely honest with myself, I failed. Miserably. I couldn’t last 30 days with no meat. If I were stronger I would’ve sent the dish back and asked for something else. I should’ve passed on the clam chowder (but it’s so darn good). I don’t think I can be too hard on myself, though. I skipped over a lot of logs I’d usually trip over. I passed up birthday cake three times, baby shower desserts, anniversary cake, tri-tip BBQ, rib BBQ, and Texas roadhouse. I think those things are a victory all their own now-a-days.

As for carryover into April…I’m not drinking soda anymore. I’ve lost 3 pounds this month from eliminating it and I feel better without it. I’m down to my skinny jeans again (Hooray!) I will be eating meat again, but not like I used to. It lugs me down, makes me feel heavy, and I want to be feeling the opposite. I wanna keep these skinny-jeans fitting right y’all! Yesterday excluded, I’ve learned some about portion control and what being full really feels like, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here!