some vegetarian i am. confessions of a guilty dieter.

kanonxbou47

That would be fine, except chickens and fish aren't treated too nicely either, and if you're a vegetarian because of animal cruelty, which she is, that's not what you want.

littlewhirl

I guess I would be defined as a pescatarian....I don't eat fish often, maybe once or twice a month..if that, so I wil call myself a vegetarian for ease of explaining to others at a BBQ or something why I am not eating the chicken...etc. People understand vegetarian...most people need to have pescatarian explained to them. With that said, I am not a strict vegetarian in the sense that I will eat things prepared with Chicken broth and just not eat the hunks of chicken. For me it is a flavor, texture, ickiness factor though.

Sometimes "clean eaters" have an unclean day. Sometimes a vegetarian has a bite of meat...doesn't undo all the past decisions unless it does so in that person's mind. If the vegetarin had some tilipia and that person then decides to eat fish a few times a week and still wants to use the term vegetarian then maybe they are kidding themself but if from time to time a situation arises in which a meat product is consumed but that vegetarian is still living a committed lifestyle otherwise then give him/her a break.

Of course, it is much easier to say vegetarian when eating out or explaining to anyone why you don't want to eat meat. I was simply saying, for one's own peace of mind they can think of themselves as a pescetarian (or an omnivore if you eat chicken stock, etc.) so they don't have to beat themselves up if they feel like having fish once in a while. That's all.

The bottom line is, do what YOU feel is right for your particular situation. People go veg for lots of different reasons.

kayemme

The problem is, there are a few vegetarian restaurants near me, but getting calorie information is pretty impossible. At least if I go to a chain I have some idea what I'm eating. I could always horde 1k calories and hope for the best at dinner time hahah.

yah, but by going to a chain, you're also supporting part of a problem where they will often purchase from large corporations that don't have your morals in check. it betters your local economy to buy from locals, even if they sometimes purchase from large corporations, too, because these are our neighbors. and at least with them, you might be able to explain why you choose to support them and maybe they can use that information to better their business to a changing clientele.

it's worth a few extra /unpredictable calories to support something in which you truly believe.

JMun

I'm a long suffering pescetarian!

I eat seafood selectively and still consume eggs and some dairy.

Its hard to live on a restrictive diet sometimes. I've been a pescetarian for 6 years (maybe longer?) so its just normal for me to question everything.

Is there chicken stock in your mashed potatoes? Are there bacon bits on your ceasar salad? ETC ETC

I'm pescetarian for environmental and compassionate reasons. If I can't kill it I won't eat it. Often times I just tell people that I'm a vegetarian because its easier than explaining my abnormal pescetarian lifestyle

The only thing I miss is chicken fingers.. sometimes when I've been at the pub and I've got the munchies I really really want chicken fingers... haven't caved yet

kelsully

I guess I would be defined as a pescatarian....I don't eat fish often, maybe once or twice a month..if that, so I wil call myself a vegetarian for ease of explaining to others at a BBQ or something why I am not eating the chicken...etc. People understand vegetarian...most people need to have pescatarian explained to them. With that said, I am not a strict vegetarian in the sense that I will eat things prepared with Chicken broth and just not eat the hunks of chicken. For me it is a flavor, texture, ickiness factor though.

Sometimes "clean eaters" have an unclean day. Sometimes a vegetarian has a bite of meat...doesn't undo all the past decisions unless it does so in that person's mind. If the vegetarin had some tilipia and that person then decides to eat fish a few times a week and still wants to use the term vegetarian then maybe they are kidding themself but if from time to time a situation arises in which a meat product is consumed but that vegetarian is still living a committed lifestyle otherwise then give him/her a break.

Of course, it is much easier to say vegetarian when eating out or explaining to anyone why you don't want to eat meat. I was simply saying, for one's own peace of mind they can think of themselves as a pescetarian (or an omnivore if you eat chicken stock, etc.) so they don't have to beat themselves up if they feel like having fish once in a while. That's all.

The bottom line is, do what YOU feel is right for your particular situation. People go veg for lots of different reasons.

Oh you are right...I eat what I like to eat. I don't eat meat because I don't like to. I am not held to any arbitrary rules. There is no one out there that makes rules for your diet..except you...If anyone wants to eat all orange food and bacon on every third Tuesday when they also eat green food etc then good for them...they can follow any rules they want and call it anything they want...I will go with my own gut...guided by research about nutritional content etc. In the very broad sense of the word I consider myself a vegetarian...in a more specific sense...mostly I don't eat meat. LOL
I think it may be helpful for some to have the correct label..ie pescatarian and that was a helpful addition to the thread

kdiamond

Let me fill you in.

I finally went vegetarian after many, many months of serious contemplation. Some of the **** I've seen is bad. Animals being skinned alive, cows being butchered in slaughterhouses. It finally took its toll, and after being a meat eateer most of my life, I made the switch cold turkey back in March.

Since then, I've probably caved 3 or 4 times. Always sushi - but tonight, it was tilapia.

Make no mistake - people who eat fish aren't vegetarian; tonight I was indeed a fakeatarian. The reason I tried it again was because looking at the calories for eating out, all the low calorie, super healthy dishes tend to be seafood. Or hell, any meat dish. Veggie dishes are always 6 cheese ziti, or some kind of over-calorie salad. As guilty as I feel, I am glad I did it. It wasn't that good. It didn't bring this feeling of "omg, look what I've been missing!" As my husband ate his veggie burger, I felt bummed. I don't think I'll be doing that again. I have officially got it out of my system and maybe one day I'll be on the verge of going Vegan if the fake by-products become any good.

Maybe I feel guiltier over the fact that although I wouldn't eat dolphin, I don't feel nearly as bad as eating shrimp or some other fish. (which probably explains why my ****-up foods have been seafood) It doesn't evoke the same anger and sadness in me as thinking about eating beef, pork, or chicken.

Feeling like a huge hypocrite, but from this point forward, I'll be doing the right thing and sticking to my guns. Until organic meat and animals treated more humanly are more accessible to me, I can't eat meat. I don't buy fur; I don't buy leather. It's an important topic to me, but it's hard when trying to lose weight. Conflicting interests at times. Oh well. No one said losing weight was easy!!

Well I think you hit the nail on the head - you feel guilty, and as others pointed out, they seem the skew the vegetarian movement at feeling guilty. Honestly, I can't think of one food item (besides protein/whey powder) that has enough protein to hit my protein goal that doesn't contain something from an animal. My brother in law who is an avid animal activist/lover and has been a vegetarian for 25 years eats shellfish, because it has been proven there is no feeling since there is no central nervous system. As for fish, who knows, but they are definitely pretty low on the food chain. He also eats dairy from good sources. If you can fit dairy and fish into your daily diet, IMO you'd be better off. You simply cannot get enough protein from non-animal sources.

kayemme

You simply cannot get enough protein from non-animal sources.

if that were true, there'd be a pile of dead vegans stinking up the streets. just sayin

dre63052

I love the fact that you are so self-aware that you know where your battle lines are and that you feel guilty about crossing them not based on anyone else but yourself! This is the core issue to me...we all have differing thoughts about what is good, right, just, humane, crime, etc. We alone should have the right to choose what we will or will not put in our bodies or use.

I have been vegan or veggie for 5 years now for several reasons. Animal rights and cruelty is one issue. The way that animals are treated in most facilities is just shameless. However, for me it goes past just mistreatment of animals, it is a spiritual reason as well. I am Buddhist and believe all live has value, from bugs to humans. Therefore I don't kill any life. So for myself, I could not be ok with knowing that an animal was free-range or treated kindly before they were slaughtered and I ingested them. I simply do not believe an animal should loss its life for me to eat. On a lighter note, you should see me chasing bugs and spiders around the house to catch them so I can let them go outside...it is rather comical and my girlfriend laughs at me! :-)

The key here is that these are MY beliefs and mine alone. I don't expect anyone else to life by them just because I do, nor do I judge anyone for what they choose in their own lives. That being said, no one has the right to judge her or anyone else for what they do or do not eat. Likewise, no one can tell her or anyone else what is ok to eat or what is or is not a "crime" to eat. These are HER convictions alone, and I think it is wonderful that she is open enough to feel them and share them.

Namaste!

kennedar

I definitly am in awe of all the veggies and vegans here. I would love to go veggie, but we are TTC and going through infertility treatments right now, so I dont want to put my body through anything else. I dont know where you live, but you might have access to a local farm in your area. I know we have 3 or 4 around us, but we are in cattle country (alberta canada) so YMMV. The farms here allow you to come visit whenever you like so you are certain that the animals are being treated fairly. It is a little (a lot!!) more expensive, but we are cutting back our meat consumption to maybe 2 or 3 times a week. We are replacing it with free range chicken eggs, meat substitutes and lots of fish. After we finally get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy, I want to switch to pescetarian.

niknok28

The key here is that these are MY beliefs and mine alone. I don't expect anyone else to life by them just because I do, nor do I judge anyone for what they choose in their own lives. That being said, no one has the right to judge her or anyone else for what they do or do not eat. Likewise, no one can tell her or anyone else what is ok to eat or what is or is not a "crime" to eat. These are HER convictions alone, and I think it is wonderful that she is open enough to feel them and share them.

Well said!!