For those who don’t know, a pescatarian is a vegetarian who also eats fish. Here’s my 1-month journey from why I did it to why I won’t do it again.
Why I did it
Photo by Jonathan Hsu
Now, I had never planned to become a pescatarian because, well, diets suck. You don’t have the freedom to eat what you want, when you want, or as much as you want. So naturally, I had never planned to try this dietary practice, until I found myself adding chicken to pretty much everything.
Why chicken? Because it’s freaking delicious, it’s high in protein, and I felt meals wouldn’t be complete without it. But while my logic may be reasonable to some, I began to realize that I was going a bit overboard. So I adopted pescatarianism for a month mainly to limit my intake of meat, but also to possibly discover new eating habits.
Why I don’t regret it
Photo by Jonathan Hsu
Not gonna lie, there wasn’t much change. I didn’t lose weight. I didn’t have a significant boost of energy throughout the day. My skin didn’t magically become clear and smooth.
But what I did find was that I became a lot more conscious of what I ate. Being a pescatarian forced me to be aware not only of what I wasn’t having, but also of what I was having. I found myself eating more salads, fruits, and nutritious snacks, which made me feel a lot healthier.
I also found that after the first week, I no longer craved meat; I was not tempted to eat a burger, steak, or any other meat dish for that matter. And to my surprise, I was perfectly content with having meatless salads and sandwiches (huge shout-out to avocados). I can now honestly say that I don’t need to add meat to enhance a dish because it’s already delicious on its own.
Perhaps the most helpful thing I found was that there are many vegetarian options wherever you go, making my 1 month trial exponentially easier. Whether I was eating at the dining halls or at a restaurant, I always had an extensive range of vegetarian dishes that were just as delicious as the ones that contained meat.
Why I won’t do it again
Photo by Jonathan Hsu
Despite all the positive and enlightening lessons I learned throughout this 1-month journey, I am no longer a pescatarian. I find solace in simply having the option of eating meat, and I just love food too much to have a restriction that limits me from possible delicacies I could be experiencing.
Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that what worked (or didn’t) for me might be different for you. So I encourage you to at least try pescatarianism, because you might learn a lot more about yourself and food than you initially intended. And who knows, maybe it could lead you to vegetarianism. Or even, dare I say it — veganism.