I remember waking up to the smell of bacon on a Sunday morning, nothing could ever make me want to give that up, or so I thought. If someone were to ask me where I would be in five years I would have never guessed that I would become pesceterrian. I always ate meat whether it was in sandwiches or on pizza. Like the procrastinator I am, I decided to watch Netflix the night before finals. I took a look at the “Recommended Tab” and saw an interesting documentary. The cover had a cow with a bar code on it and I was intrigued. The description said it was about the meat and dairy industry which was something I never really looked into. I obviously had nothing important to do, so naturally two hours later I finished watching it and I was appalled at the meat and dairy industry. Despite the fact that I was thirteen years old and in 7th grade, I knew I had to make a change.
I had the idea of becoming a vegetarian in the back of my mind as I was researching everything on the lifestyle and the industry. There were so many branches of a vegetarian lifestyle. For example there is such thing as a “lacto vegetarian” which is someone who does not eat meat or use animal by products, but they consume dairy. There is also such thing as a “pescatarian” which is someone who does not eat any meat but eats fish and dairy. I was contemplating whether or not to go the pescatarian way or the vegetarian way. When I made up my mind about becoming a vegetarian I had told my family and friends about my decision. Mostly people were supportive, but others were so confused and shocked.
“But don’t you miss the taste of a nice juicy steak or crisp bacon?” some asked. As a matter of fact I did not. Personally, I had felt that this animal nonconsensually died and that is murder.
I am not going to lie, being vegetarian was such a huge change and it was hard for me at first. I remember the lack of protein in my diet was horrifying. My family was on board with my decision, but they did not know what to cook for me for dinner. There was always an ample supply of meat in the house and both of my parents worked full time so there was no convenient time to go to the store and buy food. So I would be left with the side dish of rice and vegetables. However, with my kind of appetite this did not hold up so well. With an unsubstantial diet, my body started to react in a negative way. My skin tone went form a brown shade a pale and unhealthy shade of grey. In addition, there would be times where I would nearly pass out and I lost a lot of weight. This was bad because the normal weight for a person that was 4’11’’ was supposed to weigh about ninety to hundred pounds, but I weighed about eighty at the time.
I always felt so sick all the time, so I had to add a type of protein into my diet. My parents realized this too made me choose my second option which was to become pescatarian. I was sad because I thought I could have handled being a vegetarian, but going the pescatarian route meant I was going to have a stable source of protein. Since then I have been a pescatarian for the past three years and I have never felt better. Of course, being a pescatarian does have some cons. I vividly remember right when I became a pescatarian, I had gone to a friend’s birthday party where they had only meat options. I told the mother that I was a pescatarian and I wanted to order a salad. I made the mistake of assuming that she knew what I meant, but she had thought that I had joined a cult of some sort. Of course, there are other cons such as not being able to eat a lot of food, but I did have more options that when I was a vegetarian. After three years I have found my way around ordering food. Most restaurants have a bean substitution option or fries, so I never leave hungry. Although sometimes it was a tough journey to get where I am today, there has never been a moment when I considered this to be a “diet” but rather a lifestyle.
Being a pescatarian for these past couple of years has made me into a better person because I am constantly happy and I never feel sluggish like I did when I ate meat. It is also cool to be able to influence other people around you to try a lifestyle such as vegetarianism. I have bonded with many people who are also a vegetarian of some sort. As of now, I am starting a vegetarian club on campus along with my vegan friend. The club is called the “Veg Club” and it is a way to promote healthy lifestyles and reach out to fellow vegetarians. It is also a way to encourage healthy living or anything along those lines. I never really think about my transition into my pescatarian lifestyle but if I had told 7th grade me, then I would be extremely proud of present day me.
I had the idea of becoming a vegetarian in the back of my mind as I was researching everything on the lifestyle and the industry. There were so many branches of a vegetarian lifestyle. For example there is such thing as a “lacto vegetarian” which is someone who does not eat meat or use animal by products, but they consume dairy. There is also such thing as a “pescatarian” which is someone who does not eat any meat but eats fish and dairy. I was contemplating whether or not to go the pescatarian way or the vegetarian way. When I made up my mind about becoming a vegetarian I had told my family and friends about my decision. Mostly people were supportive, but others were so confused and shocked.
“But don’t you miss the taste of a nice juicy steak or crisp bacon?” some asked. As a matter of fact I did not. Personally, I had felt that this animal nonconsensually died and that is murder.
I am not going to lie, being vegetarian was such a huge change and it was hard for me at first. I remember the lack of protein in my diet was horrifying. My family was on board with my decision, but they did not know what to cook for me for dinner. There was always an ample supply of meat in the house and both of my parents worked full time so there was no convenient time to go to the store and buy food. So I would be left with the side dish of rice and vegetables. However, with my kind of appetite this did not hold up so well. With an unsubstantial diet, my body started to react in a negative way. My skin tone went form a brown shade a pale and unhealthy shade of grey. In addition, there would be times where I would nearly pass out and I lost a lot of weight. This was bad because the normal weight for a person that was 4’11’’ was supposed to weigh about ninety to hundred pounds, but I weighed about eighty at the time.
I always felt so sick all the time, so I had to add a type of protein into my diet. My parents realized this too made me choose my second option which was to become pescatarian. I was sad because I thought I could have handled being a vegetarian, but going the pescatarian route meant I was going to have a stable source of protein. Since then I have been a pescatarian for the past three years and I have never felt better. Of course, being a pescatarian does have some cons. I vividly remember right when I became a pescatarian, I had gone to a friend’s birthday party where they had only meat options. I told the mother that I was a pescatarian and I wanted to order a salad. I made the mistake of assuming that she knew what I meant, but she had thought that I had joined a cult of some sort. Of course, there are other cons such as not being able to eat a lot of food, but I did have more options that when I was a vegetarian. After three years I have found my way around ordering food. Most restaurants have a bean substitution option or fries, so I never leave hungry. Although sometimes it was a tough journey to get where I am today, there has never been a moment when I considered this to be a “diet” but rather a lifestyle.
Being a pescatarian for these past couple of years has made me into a better person because I am constantly happy and I never feel sluggish like I did when I ate meat. It is also cool to be able to influence other people around you to try a lifestyle such as vegetarianism. I have bonded with many people who are also a vegetarian of some sort. As of now, I am starting a vegetarian club on campus along with my vegan friend. The club is called the “Veg Club” and it is a way to promote healthy lifestyles and reach out to fellow vegetarians. It is also a way to encourage healthy living or anything along those lines. I never really think about my transition into my pescatarian lifestyle but if I had told 7th grade me, then I would be extremely proud of present day me.