Advantages + disadvantages of being a pescetarian.

What it is, why & how I've became a pescatarian. 

With 2018 being just around the corner I wanted to share more about one of the main changes/highlights of 2017 that have changed my life entirely (for the better, of course!). First off, I've been eating meat my entire life, I was pretty much raised on omelettes including bacon in the morning, chicken for lunch and something that included meat in the evening for dinner. Fast forward to the mid year of 2017 I've had the same eating habits and with that came feeling of being bloated because I was feeling full followed by the naps because meat is so fillllllling. Towards the end of 2017 (back in September) I started looking at life different way and decided to make a change because my levels of tolerating this feeling of being bloated were very low. 

What does being a "perscatarian" mean? To be honest with you I am still having a hard time pronouncing the word so most of the time I just say "I don't eat meat" lol. It's pretty much a diet where you do not consume any meat products and having seafood as the main source of protein.

ADVANTAGES 

• More energy. By completely taking the meat products out of your diet and only eating meals containing fish it will give you more energy as the meals itself will be lighter. I personally think fish also digests faster and keeps your metabolism more active vs. meat that is known to actually rot inside your body for a while after consuming it. A great example of this would be me and my husband Adam who eats both fish + meat. After a lunch/dinner meal that's heavier than breakfast he tends to go lay down and relax right after eating while I get a whole new flow of energy and am up and running around getting stuff done and being productive with my day. Let's be honest, meals consisting meat are heavier on the body, have you ever had a burger or a steak and felt "light" afterwards? 
• Great source of vitamins + protein. Eating seafood provides you vitamins like A, B and D, so if you're consuming about 10-35% of protein a day you can cut down your daily multivitamins. Because fish is such a great source of vitamins and protein it also helps your nails, hair, skin and bones. 

***Most Americans only consume 12-18% of protein a day. 

• Helps you maintain a healthy weight. By not eating meat you're naturally taking out ALL the bad meals such as burgers, hot dogs etc. that contain a lot of fat. Just by completely eliminating these guilty pleasures you're cutting back on not only fat but all the extra calories, sodium, sugar, preservatives etc. While my weight has been consistent all along (110 pounds)  I look leaner right now which I believe is caused by eating smaller, healthier meals and working out. 
• Does not contribute to animal cruelty. Even though I did not give up meat because of animal cruelty I think it's important to save all the wildlife + animals out there, I don't want someone's life taken away because I want to eat meat. I know what you're thinking -- then why am I eating fish as fishes are having their lives taken away... well this is a step closer for me to becoming vegan. I truly hope I can soon make a switch and become a vegetarian and have a plant based diet and never look back at meat and fish! 

***If you're a very visual person and want to make a switch and need an extra push I suggest you watch a show or look up what happens in slaughterhouses -- you'll never want to eat meat again! 

DISADVANTAGES 
(because let's be real here, it's not cheap to eat fish every day or is it?! )

• New grocery shopping habits. Over the past few months I have finally figured out new ways of shopping and said goodbye to some of my go-to grocery stores. Prior to switching to fish based meals I used to shop at Ralph's and Trader Joe's. If you're not familiar with them, Ralph's is your basic grocery store that has everything - frozen food, ready to eat food, meat, fish, dog food, home supplies etc. vs. Trader Joe's offers more selected items with NO ready to eat food as they promote a healthier lifestyle and are supporters of fresh fruits, vegetables etc. that come with a bit bigger of a price tag. Fast forward to now, we no longer shop at Ralph's. Our go-to places for groceries are Japanese market that happens to be a few blocks away from us which offers extremely fresh sih based products stocked daily and Trader Joe's for all things vegetables and fruit. 
• Price tag. Believe it or not Japanese market is legit! While sushi at Ralph's is $12+, Japanese market has it for $6+ and it's 100% fresh. You can literally taste the difference and options are endless. If you love fish look up Japanese markets around you, I am sure there is one somewhere around that you have simply driven by and didn't know it's there. The reason why I placed this under "disadvantages" is because depending on what kind of fish you like it can get expensive. 
• Guilty pleasures. Even when you try to eat healthy and no matter what diet you change to you'll always discover something in the section of the store that's a good & fattening guilty pleasure. Well my guilty pleasure that came with being pescetarian is spicy mayo! I try to only have a bit of it and only when I get bored of eating sushi for two days in a row. 
• Eating out. Not going to lie but going out to dinners to socialize with friends I've now become that person who orders a salad, unless we're going out for sushi - well then I am in heaven lol!  Paying for a salad to me is a waste of money so I have cut back on many social events involving dinners. While everyone is going all crazy on appetizers and heavy meals my dinner each time ends up being around $15-20, because you know bunny food aka salad is cheaper than a cow on your plate.  Instead of wasting money on a salad nowadays I'd rather go on a hike and catch up with my friends. 

***When eating out at a sushi restaurant I only get hand rolls as I try not to eat much rice as it's not that healthy for you and it offers no value to your diet. 

MY GO-TO FISH BASED MEALS AT HOME

• Salad. Spinach +  cucumber + salmon + walnuts + bread crumbs + vinaigrete + avocado.
• Sushi. Pretty much anything from salmon rolls/hand rolls to shrimp tempura etc. Whatever Japanese market sells. The one by me is pretty good and has a very minimal amount of rice so eating lots of sushi does not make me feel guilty & by the way there is nothing wrong with only eating the inside of the roll lol. 
• Salmon & vegetable croquettes. Trader Joe's sells them and they're amazing. It's these HERE. 
• Baked salmon. From time to time Adam will make some salmon at home and only add seasoning, it taste amazing and if you'd like I could ask what he uses exactly and share a recipe! 
• Lobster + shrimps. Ugh so priceyyyy but so damn good! Adam also makes this at home at least once a week. We get frozen shrimp from Trader Joe's as they have more of a red'ish look while the Japanese market one has really REAL ones looking that literally scare me haha so I tend to go with TJ for this. 

If you've recently changed your diet as well I'd love to know more about your journey!