3 Things I Wish I Had Known Going Pescatarian

With Thanksgiving coming up, it’s hit me that this will be the first Thanksgiving that I will not be partaking of the turkey. Earlier this year, I decided to eat healthy. I wasn’t eating poorly up until that point, mind you – not much fast food, rarely any red meat, and my fluid consumption consisted of water and hot tea. But my diet consisted of a lot of rice, bread, chicken, and sweets. And, because exercise isn’t really my thing, my weight kept fluctuating in an upwards trajectory. I wanted to manage my weight, create a healthier diet for myself, and overall feel better, so I decided to go vegetarian. (Side note: I didn’t stop eating meat because of animal rights or religious reasons, so I’m still very okay with others partaking of meat and poultry). My friend was also changing her diet at the time, switching to vegetarian (and then going full vegan later on), so it seemed like a good time to make a change and support each other.

In keeping with the holiday spirit of giving, I want to share a little bit of what I learned during my switch (to being a vegetarian and then to pescatarian) that I wish I had bothered to Google prior to changing my entire diet.

1. Know your body

The first week, I was so excited to start my new diet. I had all kinds of great recipes lined up and went on a hunt to buy all kinds of great veggies (more on that later). I was definitely prepared to ace this whole vegetarian thing. And my dishes were really delicious and wholesome. But something really strange kept happening that first week. I kept losing energy. I was hungry a lot, so I was buying more snacks. At first, I thought perhaps I wasn’t eating enough – I had also chosen this time to cut down on my portion sizes, so maybe my body was trying to get used to less food. It took me two weeks to realize I was missing something crucial in my diet – protein. I tried subbing in tofu and putting more beans in my dishes, but that wasn’t doing it for me. That’s when I started adding fish to my mostly vegetarian diet, and my body rebounded almost immediately. Had I done the research ahead of time about what the body needs when coming off of eating meat, I probably would have saved myself the headache. 

Also, your body will eventually get used to your diet. If it’s acting up at first, that’s just because our bodies are used to certain things and it’s going to take a little bit of time to become used to no red mean or poultry. But trust me, when you’ve been at it for a while, if you eat even the smallest bit of meat, you’re going to know 🙁

2. Know your grocery store

Going vegetarian seemed like an easy enough change in terms of grocery shopping. Leave off the chicken, add more spinach, broccoli, chickpeas, etc. The local neighborhood store was still providing for all my basic needs. Until I realized there were no good fish options available and, while the basic vegetables were available, I was not finding a more diverse variety of fruits and veggies like good eggplant, zucchini, squash, or bok choy. I hadn’t considered that I would have to alter my shopping experience (and my shopping expenses) for my diet. I had to start planning meals in advance so I knew where I needed to go after work to shop as well as how much it was going to cost me (spoiler alert – eating healthy can be a little more expensive, depending on where you’re shopping and if you’re buying organic/grass-fed/non-GMO/etc., so plan for that). Not life altering (I soon learned to find my groceries for the same or less as what I was used to), but having to price out new stores, learn new store plans, and drive out of my way for groceries did take some getting used to.

3. Know what you won’t be able to eat (and be okay with others asking why)

This seems like a no brainer. If I’m going vegetarian/pescatarian, then of course I won’t be eating meat and poultry. But this has more to do with types of dishes. I live in Texas, and part of my family is from the South, the other part is Caribbean, so meat is an ever-present part of family dishes as well as eating out. So when I first let everyone know that I don’t eat meat except seafood and, “No, it’s not for religious/animal rights/medical reasons,” it was kind of a pain because everyone one kept asking why. But I had to remind myself that of course everyone was going to be curious – the last time they saw me, I was wolfing down chicken and pork, no problem. Just get used to the fact that it might take a while for it to sink in with others (my dad still sometimes hands me chicken dishes).

The other thing is that barbecue and Mexican/Tex-Mex are staples here in Texas like air is, with even side dishes containing bacon or beef in it. And while I was never much of a barbecue person, it was awfully tempting to backslide when my dad would cook out or someone would order barbecue for a work function. And of course, at the beginning of the switch, everyone forgets you don’t eat meat, so you get handed plates of delicious-smelling meats that you have to then grudgingly hand back. It gets easier to turn down meals, and obviously there are great seafood or veggie alternatives for most of these dishes. But I certainly wish I had done a better job of preparing myself for the types of food I would have to say no to. Lucky for me there are so many great options!