I became a pescatarian my junior year of high school, and it wasn’t really for any good reason. One weekend I visited an older friend of mine at her college a couple of towns over. We got into all kinds of fun trouble including eating several heavy meals out that left my stomach in knots. I decided I didn’t really want to feel that way again and took it easy food-wise for a week or so after going home.
How it Started…
After a few days, I realized I hadn’t had meat since the weekend. A few days turned into several weeks, several weeks turned into a couple of months. I wondered if maybe a key to never feeling gross from food again would be to cut out meat. After all, I never really liked meat that much, and it seemed to come to me pretty easily. I started asking my Mom if she would set aside food for me before adding meat to the dinners she prepared, so I could see if this was something I wanted to do long term.
I worried about bothering her with the extra work, but she was fine with it, and pretty soon she started giving me a little bowl of marinara on spaghetti nights set aside from the regular meat sauce we’d eat. Then I started to feel the changes. Though I was still eating fish, my body felt cleaner, and my energy levels and mood were higher and more consistent than I was used to. Everything that went into my body felt good and lighter. Nothing weighed uncomfortably in my stomach ever again.
(Me 4 months into pescatarianism slurping cantaloupe next to my Grandma.)
The Really Good and The Kinda Bad…
I think the hardest thing about being a pescatarian for me was and always has been the social aspect. My family and friends support me, so my people have always been really wonderful about making sure there are options for me wherever we go. Luckily, that’s pretty easy for my diet. Pretty much every restaurant and social event at least have fish options. Except for most Wendy’s locations. I hate that place.
But the self-consciousness is real. I still don’t really like telling people I don’t eat meat (she says as she writes a public blog post about it). I don’t love telling people because…
- It’s often in situations where I feel I’m inconveniencing a host (and I usually am).
- Sometimes people make jokes about things being vegetarian that don’t need to be pointed out as vegetarian. Like chocolate chip cookies. I get it. They don’t have meat in them…and I don’t eat meat. Ha ha haaaa…
- Nobody seems to think they can tell me they’re enjoying their food if it has meat in it anymore. That’s super sweet of them, but that doesn’t bother me at all. Tell me your burger tastes good!
- I feel like people’s expectations for my physique instantly change when they find out I’m pescatarian. And I’m always going to let them down because unfortunately, I’m not athletic and I still sometimes eat a block of cheese like it’s a banana. So, despite not eating meat, everything stays pretty soft. It’s better for hugs.
(An Asian dish I made with tofu substituted for chicken)
These Days…
Despite the mild negatives, six years later, I’m still pescatarian, and it feels very good and normal to me now. Though I do love cheese, my biggest cravings are for plant-based foods, and it’s such a relief to actually want to eat well most of the time. Here’s to accidentally feeling good for six years and to being too lazy to go back to meat, probably ever.
What are some of your experiences with diets? Have you considered cutting back on meat? Check out our posts on how to make my favorite vegan taco salad and some tasty salt and vinegar kale chips!
