How I Became A Pescatarian

The most common question I'm asked since becoming a pescatarian is, "Did you just wake up one day and decide to give up on meat?" I usually laugh, thinking, "If only you knew how much I loved eating meat until a few years ago"

I grew up in a family without any dietary requirements for health or religious reasons, and we loved eating meat more than fish. I didn't eat fish that much when I was younger, as I preferred meat and chicken. I was a nightmare in the kitchen when my mother was teaching me how to cook, as I almost ate all the meat before the food was ready. So it came as a shock to my family when I told them I had become a pescatarian.

It made no sense to them that someone who loved meat so much would give it up for no reason; even my daughters were confused. So I understand why people would ask if it was an overnight decision. The truth is, I started losing my appetite for meat after my second pregnancy. After giving birth to my youngest daughter, meat didn't taste the same anymore, and I kept eating it for a few years, but the taste was off.

Most people wouldn't give up on something they love without a good reason. It's certainly not a decision you can make overnight, and that's something most people don't seem to comprehend when I say I'm a pescatarian. It all started during my second pregnancy in 2013. It's no secret that a pregnancy changes a woman's appearance, mood and taste buds; mine also had some health complications. 

I didn't have cravings, but couldn't stand red meat, regardless of how I cooked it. It was bland and tasted like paper. I didn't think much of it, as a woman can love something she usually hates during a pregnancy and vice versa. I thought my taste buds would return to normal after the baby was born, but that didn't happen. If anything, red meat became tasteless, even though I still enjoyed eating chicken.

I loved eating chicken as much as red meat and didn't have to give it up, but I was on a self-discovery journey and wanted to see if I could improve my life and health with a new diet. I had no interest in becoming a vegan, so I chose to include fish and seafood in a vegetarian diet, and now I'm a pescatarian.

When I started my journey as a pescatarian, I had already stopped eating meat. However, I wanted to do it gradually with chicken, as I still loved it. The plan was to eat chicken once a week until I could fully include fish and seafood in my diet. I honestly thought it wouldn't be easy to become a pescatarian, but I had fully included fish in my diet by the second week and stopped eating poultry by the third.

It was so fast and easy for me to embrace a pescatarian lifestyle that I still cooked meat and poultry for my daughters without being bothered. The decision to become a pescatarian was mine, and I didn't want to impose my new diet on my daughters, so they kept eating their meat while I had fish. Living a pescatarian life isn't cheap, and when you add my daughters' love for meat, my food expenses went up.

 At first, I wasn't sure if I could do it, but it's been over 4 years, and I haven't looked back since becoming a pescatarian. I don't miss eating meat, and my health has improved. I still need to work harder on my weight loss, though. Overall, I'm happy with this lifestyle, and I don't regret giving up on meat and poultry!