The new year piqued my interest to join many others in setting goals that would benefit me to become a healthier and more confident version of myself. More specifically, I wanted to change up my diet in order to accomplish my goal. I limited myself on sugars and high-carb foods, but I also completely cut out one thing that I feel as though has definitely helped me for the better: meat…except for seafood.

The word that is used when someone eliminates meat from their diet except seafood is called a pescatarian, so that’s what I choose to label myself as. 

Becoming a pescatarian was a scary thought at first because I didn’t know how other people would react, specifically my parents, when I would eventually bring it up to them. Since I’ve made the switch in my diet, occasionally, comments are said to me about why cutting out meat was a bad idea and I am ruining my body. However, I have felt more confident in myself than ever before. After about two weeks of not eating any poultry, pork or beef, my skin began to glow more and my hair softened up a bit. Throughout the time that I’ve been a pescatarian — I started around the end of December — my hair grew two more inches, which is faster than it’s ever grown before.

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is how do I maintain a good source of protein and iron? A misconception that I hear all of the time is that meat is the only way to get protein and iron, but after some digging and researching, I noticed that there is a plethora of foods that still contain a high amount of protein that aren’t meat products. Of course being a pescatarian still gives you the option to eat any kind of seafood, which helps with keeping my protein intake high. But when talking about whole foods, beans, nuts, eggs and tofu are a few foods that contain a great amount of protein. Based on a study which was recorded on health.clevelandclinic.org, half a cup of cooked black beans has around seven grams of protein, which is equivalent to about one ounce of meat. And if we’re talking about beans and as a whole, legumes, they are much higher in antioxidants and contain more fiber than meat products. Eggs also have a great amount of protein as well while also having a low amount of calories. 

At first, I didn’t think I was going to last without meat. I figured that I would give up after about a week. Yet, here I am still surviving without meat, again except for seafood. One of my favorite things to do now is meal prep for the week and come up with amazing recipes. It’s become not only a hobby, but a way to help myself maintain a healthy and efficient diet that has many positive, long-term effects.