Remember that iconic commercial? “Where’s the beef?” Brilliant marketing on the part of Wendy’s Hamburgers.
And then there was the whole “Oprah – vs – The Beef People” debacle of 1998. Not so brilliant for the beef industry.
Apparently, I’m in the mood to talk about beef, but in a much different context. I am taking the leap (and dragging Abi along with me) and I am saying good-bye to beef – and pork. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good T-bone steak or a juicy cheeseburger, it makes me drool just to think about it, but I’ve been talking about eliminating red meat from my diet for quite a while now, but never stick to it. I’m actually a big believer in the – all things in moderation philosophy – but this …. this has me thinking along different lines and it probably doesn’t help that I recently watched a short video that was buzzin around Facebook about the processing of animals. Anyway…
Couldn’t resist! photo credit: ocdeals.ocregister.com
I’ve made some pretty big decisions in the past 2 1/2 years and now I think I’m ready to make a couple of more. Since moving to Oregon I have lost 40+ pounds, weaned myself off of caffeine and I can’t remember the last time I ordered a diet coke and just so you know, I love diet coke. Seriously. I do. Losing the weight was a good thing, but it’s a mixed bag for me because I should have never gained the weight in the first place. Sometimes though, life gets the better of us and we (and by we I mean me) turn to food for comfort to get through the mind numbing days of whatever is making us unhappy, which in my case was the downward spiral of a career I once loved. But, that’s another story. How did I lose the weight you might ask? I call it the Innkeeper Diet.
So I’m starting a 30-day challenge, no moo or oink for the month of October. Seriously, I don’t think it will be that hard except for… wait for it… bacon.
photo credit: www.ethicalocean.com
Yes, this means I will have to give up bacon and trust me when I say just how difficult that will be – more than anything else. Keep in mind we own a B&B and I cook copious amounts of breakfast foods everyday. I may have to eliminate bacon from my repertoire. I’m not sure I could stand to have sizzling hot bacon sitting on a plate and not eat a piece. The guests will never know, right?!
Abi asked me, “What happens after 30 days?” to which I replied, after 30 days of not eating moo and oink it will become ordinary and we will no longer crave it – we’ll be done with it. Abi doesn’t eat pork anyway so that’s not an issue for him. And we’re keeping chicken and turkey in our diet – sometimes ya just gotta have a piece of meat. A hot steaming bowl of chicken soup on a cold winter day goes a long way, ya know?
I’ve always been a reasonably healthy girl, a few more than my share of surgical procedures, but health wise I’ve been good. I currently find myself living in a chapter of change though; opening my eyes to the bigger picture. It’s the next step for me. I’m gearing up to…. oh, I don’t know what, just life I suppose, trying to age as gracefully as I can. You know – get smart, get healthy, get wise, get free – get on with it! Weight, caffeine, soda, moo and oink, I’m cutting you off … see ya!
So that’s my story and this time I’m stickin to it. What’s in your life that you know you should say, “See ya!” to, but haven’t quite mustered up the courage to take the leap? Pick one thing and join me in the 30-day challenge; our bodies will thank us!
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Maybe I’ll try giving up diet soft drinks. Have you tried turkey bacon?
Suzanne Fluhr (Just One Boomer) recently posted…Five Historic Churches in Rome
Soft drinks are so cold, bubbly and refreshing, but they are SO bad for the body. I have eaten turkey bacon on occasion. Let’s face it, it’s not bacon, it’s thin slabs of processed turkey and it doesn’t fry up the same because it is so lean, okay, well that’s the good thing about it. It’s okay, but it doesn’t float my boat and that’s probably a good thing because I really have no desire to switch over from oink to gobble bacon!
That is absolutely awesome on the 40 pounds loss, Patti…woo hoo! Wow, that would be hard to “swear off” beef and pork when you work around in the meals served at the B & B. But, I love your will and determination. I’m not a fan of fad diets as I always preach that just eating healthy, small portions and exercising will accomplish the task. I also give total credit that each person’s body works better with/without certain foods. Great post! 🙂
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Yes, that’s so true! What works for me, may not work for the next person. All these changes I’ve made have made me feel so much better and I really believe cutting out the moo and oink will add to that overall feeling of being healthy. The other change I made is that I’ve had long hair my entire life – well, since I was about 10-years-old. And for many years my hair was waist length. When we bought the Inn I didn’t want to deal with my long hair (hair is the scurge of innkeeping) and being in the kitchen cooking every day so I had it cut super short. It felt so freeing I couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t done it years ago. Everything has its time though!
Wow! Congratulations for getting rid of all that you don’t want!
And congratulations for welcoming all the fresh and new you want!
With that strong mind of yours, those new habits will be rock-solid in 30 days.
Where we going for the wardrobe makeover? I want to come too.
Ha! Ha! That’s actually the one thing I really don’t care about. I’ve never been a fashionista but I’m even less so now – in this current lifestyle. A couple of pairs of pants, a few shirts, a couple of sundresses and I’m good to go!
Before we left to travel, we were pretty much eating vegetarian. However now that we are traveling, we are eating more meat. Part of the me feels bad about this. But then the meat tastes so much better in Europe and I know that most of the meat is not pumped full of antibiotics and not treated so cruelly.
Kerri recently posted…RTW Budget: One Month in Poland
Yes, Kerri, that’s another reason we are saying good-bye to moo and oink – what’s pumped into them. Chickens too, I’m sure. Abi has high cholesterol in his DNA so that’s another reason. We have just reached the point where there are more reasons to leave it than keep it. Thanks for reading!
Lay off the Diet Coke, too. Current research says that it actually makes you hungrier, and fatter. You can look it up. And, don’t forget, the other stuff that’s in there is really bad for you, too. Drink tea.
Tom Bartel recently posted…Visiting the A-Bomb Memorials in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Thanks Tom! Yes, I have read the research about diet soda, which is why I no longer drink diet coke, but still seriously love it! I do drink copious amounts of Decaf tea during the hot summer months. My favorite is Good Earth, which I brew in the sun. Thanks for reading!
I used to love it too until I realized that the Coca Cola company, and the rest of them, too, are blithely poisoning us for profit. When I read all the stories about what goes into food in the US compared to what additives are allowed in other countries, it just makes me want to never go back.
Tom Bartel recently posted…Seven Things I’ll Never Get Used to in Japan
I’ll keep eating them for both of us (or all three). I’m Blood Type O and when I give up beef, I feel it. The answer to “Where’s the beef?” is on my plate.
That’s so funny, Billie. I don’t know how I’m going to feel after giving up moo and oink – I’m hoping for the better! Thanks so much for reading!