Life As A Pescatarian

So I am a pescatarian now ..

What started out as a 4-month challenge turned into a lifestyle by accident…

After completing my 365 days of gratitude I was determined to keep the momentum going of challenging myself in 2020. I guess you can say I become addicted to challenges.

I still have so much to prove to myself.

I already had cut cheese, red meats, and pork out of my diet about 3 years ago. I battle with a hormonal imbalance, and eating foods that have hormones was incohesive with my imbalance. Hormones fighting against hormones cause more damage, and all meats have hormones in them. There’s no way of preventing them from passing through the meat since they are already embedded from the animal. Eating meat also caused me to break out with cystic acne. Cystic acne is painful hormonal acne that usually appears on along the jawline. It appears when your oil glands become blocked. You can’t just pop this type of acne either, they don’t come to a head for popping.

For so long I continued to eat chicken, turkey, and fish because I lived in denial about my health. I’m young and I love food. I wasn’t mentally prepared to give it all up, even for my health. That was until I realized that I was overindulging in chicken. I would have chicken for lunch and dinner EVERY SINGLE DAY. Chicken, chicken, and more chicken! Given chicken is the easiest and cheapest entrée to get, but I was overdoing it.

The smell of chicken started to turn my stomach, literally. My body subconsciously was trying to tell me that I needed to eat something else. I started to feel sluggish, acne was out of control, and I was getting easily agitated. I never felt this way before. I’ve been living off chicken all my life. How and why was this happening now?

For about 2 weeks I craved salads, but that was short-lived. No one can survive off salads. Let alone want to eat one every day. So I went on a stir fry veggie diet. It was the only thing I could eat without feeling like I needed to throw up. My routine was oatmeal, vegetables, and more vegetables every day, which in return detoxed me. If you need a quick detox I suggest a 2-week veggie diet. It will cause you to use the bathroom frequently, but how else do you expect toxins to leave your body?

After my vegetable diet, I realized that I could easily go longer, another challenge I was ready to conquer. So on January 6th, 2020 I made the decision to challenge myself to 4 months of not eating meat. Only fish, vegetables, fruits, and tofu. Let me be the first to tell you, that it was an expensive decision, but I’ve ever felt more alert in my life! So far I’ve lost 10 pounds! I’ve always had a problem losing my gut-weight so this was an accomplishment. My energy levels also heightened. I was able to cut down on my Zeal intake. (Zeal is an all-natural energy drink, AKA my crack.) My face improved dramatically! I can confidently say that my cystic acne is almost gone. I always knew meat and cheese that had a huge part in why I was breaking out so badly.

After 2 months I was able to see noticeable changes in my physical and mental health. Face started slimming, sleep improved, attitude adjusted, and I just felt healthier. Feeling healthy makes you feel clean as if you’re pure in a sense. Given, I was doing extra routines that probably aided in my weight loss and improved wellbeing. I also stopped eating sweets, well I cut down on them. I only ate sweets when I had a sweet tooth and even then it was minimum. Being that I cut out dairy I had to be mindful of having sweets. Since that’s the only time I consumed milk. I’ve been drinking almond milk all my life, literally.

Going pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan is all about discipline. Do you have the willpower to help yourself become healthier? Yes, you will have to cook more and there will be a lot of repeated dishes. But you can get creative with your meals, cook a brunch of sides if you have too. It will fill you up. Yes, you can still go out to eat at restaurants. Every restaurant has some sort of fish or vegan option nowadays. So you won’t have to pass up any lunch or dinner dates.

Some of the vegan foods I live by are;

If I have a sweet tooth my go-to now is a yam. Just pop it in the oven, and load it with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little butter. I know it doesn’t sound too appealing but it will satisfy you. I promise you.

Going completely pescatarian was never my plan. I just wanted to reset my body and heal it from the inside, so that I could get my hormones in balance again. I never thought a healthy lifestyle would impact my life so greatly. They say after doing something for 21 days straight it becomes a habit, and that couldn’t be more accurate. Once you cut meat out of your diet you most likely won’t go back. I know a couple of people that tried to eat chicken after they stopped, and they became very sick. If chicken is healthy for you why would it make you sick? I’m not saying that our meats are being injected with anything, but “natural” foods do not make you sick. The toxins inside of them do.

If you ever thought about cutting meat out of your life, even just for a few weeks. I recommend that you do it for your well-being. Reset, restart, and get those toxins out your body. You’ll be surprised at the healthier you that comes out of it. It will change your outlook on life. It helped me develop more discipline and clarity on what I needed to accomplish.

Remember doubt is all in your mind.

Now please pray for me as I enter month 5 of being a pescatarian. While I pray that the meat factories don’t go out of business for you all.

Health is wealth. Just believe in yourself.

xox Black Daria