On September 25, 2015, some of my work colleagues from
across varying business segments, within Barbados, accepted the Meatless Monday
and Friday Challenge. Of course before
they jumped on the bandwagon, they took me through minutes of grueling questioning
such as:
·
What prize will I get?
At the end of the challenge, the most consistent participants and those who
made the effort some of the weeks were awarded Certificates Of Participation. However, their greatest prize was taking
responsibility for improving their eating habits and focusing on “Your Health
and You”. Kudos to all of them!
·
Why Monday and Friday? That is
too hard!
Yes, I knew that going
meatless on Mondays and Fridays would be quite a challenge as Friday marks the
beginning of a weekend when most unhealthy eating habits prevail. Monday was
the supplementary day to replace the unhealthy weekend habits with healthier
dietary choices
·
Who not me, you can’t get me
to stop eating my meat!
The intent was not to convert vegans.
Going meatless twice weekly was one simple tool to help people
incorporate healthier alternatives to meat into their diets. And it did just that as per the following
feedback from one of the participants: “The Meatless Monday and Friday challenge was an
experience for me over the five week period. It is a good health initiative to
assist persons like me in using less meat with my meals on a weekly basis. The
challenge allows me to find other options to eat alternative healthy meals”
So after the whining and a simple explanation that
it was a small sacrifice in exchange for better dietary habits and improved
health, we eventually got off the mark. What
was intended to be a 4-week challenge became 5-weeks of incorporating new or
even overlooked foods back into their diets.
Most of the participants ate more vegetables, fruits, ground provisions and
peas and less processed and fast-foods. Planning
and preparing meals in advance was a simple demonstration of their
determination and commitment to eating well.
During the Meatless Challenge,
it was difficult not to notice the improvement in employee morale and the supportive
attitude one towards another. Laughter
was more prominent and it was refreshing to hear my colleagues engaging in
conversations other than work.
The majority of the average person’s protein comes from meat and
animal products, which provides additional saturated fat and often not the same
nutritional benefits as other plant-based proteins. I have observed many of colleagues eating
habits and in most cases consist of fried, processed meats or untrimmed fat
from the meat. This excess intake of fat and fatty foods is linked to
obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD’s) such as heart disease,
diabetes and certain cancers e.g colon cancer. Saturated fats and trans fats
are especially harmful because they can raise blood cholesterol levels, which
can cause heart attacks and strokes. In majority
of cases, these non-communicable diseases result from unhealthy eating, poor
lifestyle choices and even inadequate physical activity. In essence, most of these cases are
preventable. Let me say it again, our
population is being robbed of good health, and even life, by a handful of
diseases that can be prevented. If
nothing else worked before to motivate you to make positive dietary changes,
then the thought of increasing the risk of death should hopefully do the
trick.
We need to turn things around-to change poor dietary behaviors, to
exchange bad habits for good ones. The following
is a simple guide to help you in choosing healthier dietary options:
So go ahead, jump on the meatless
bandwagon…you too can take the ride for better dietary habits and a healthier you as my work colleagues did.
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