pescetarianism

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  • futuresize8
    futuresize8 Posts: 476 Member
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    I've been a pescetarian for 21 years. I don't know that it's "healthier," but for many reasons, I am happy with my choice. Clearly, a person can still be overweight as a pescetarian - me! - so I don't think it's a "magic bullet" for health. But do I suppose that lean fish as an entree is a better choice than a fatty piece of meat? Probably...
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    Just wanted to say I agree w/ those saying this is not an automatic path to weight loss or even health. My fiance has been pescetarian for 13 years and had an unhealthy diet for about 4-5 of those years. Basically he ate salad and bagels and donuts when he was in college, and nothing else. Not a good idea.

    We do have a friend who gave up beef, poultry & pork for 1 year and lost around 60 lb from that alone. However, this guy was a big meat eater before...the type of guy to regularly hit up Buffalo Wild Wings and steakhouses.
  • LovelyVegetarian
    LovelyVegetarian Posts: 117 Member
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    I've been a pescatarian for 20 years now. I just don't like meat that isn't fish. No other reasons - it's a texture thing with me (for example I can't eat very meaty fish like sword fish or mahi mahi). One of my main sources of protein is sardines. I know people think they are gross but they are low carb, high protein and low mercury (and deeelish IMHO). I limit the tofu stuff due to the estrogen and the processed nature of these meat substitutes. I eat cheese and eggs.

    I am very healthy and a few lbs away from my goal. It's easy to be pescatarian and overweight as most non-meat dishes are often carb-centric (the vegetarian meal is almost always pasta or involves bread of some sort).
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    I was a vegetarian for 15 years. then a pescetarian for 5 years. I turned omnivorian this past year.

    I didn't become one for heath reasons. I did get fat being a vegetarian, and pescetarian didn't change that. Although eating fish gives you more options at restaurants. Personally I think cutting out something like that to get healthy maybe the wrong way of looking at it. Eating good food that is in your macros might be a better way to go. I can eat a TON of pizza and Filet-O-Fish. Not that those are things to restrict, just that I have no moderation on them.
  • Flixie00
    Flixie00 Posts: 1,195 Member
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    I've been a pescatarian for 20 years now. I just don't like meat that isn't fish. No other reasons - it's a texture thing with me (for example I can't eat very meaty fish like sword fish or mahi mahi). One of my main sources of protein is sardines. I know people think they are gross but they are low carb, high protein and low mercury (and deeelish IMHO). I limit the tofu stuff due to the estrogen and the processed nature of these meat substitutes. I eat cheese and eggs.

    I am very healthy and a few lbs away from my goal. It's easy to be pescatarian and overweight as most non-meat dishes are often carb-centric (the vegetarian meal is almost always pasta or involves bread of some sort).

    Snap! another 20 year pescatarian here. Made the choice partly due to the fact that I used to go fishing and was not a big fan of meat. I lift weights, so am always trying to eat high protein levels, and I get most of it from fish and dairy.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
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    I tried this for about 2 years. I gained about 60 lbs and developed a few major health problems. I've since lost the weight and reversed/lessened those health problems by adding meat back into my diet.

    :laugh:

    yeah, I laugh about it too. it seemed like a great idea at the time.
    You must have been doing it wrong. There are plenty of very healthy people who eat that diet. Adding or removing meat on its own doesn't cause health problems or weight gain unless you've replaced meat with something high in calories and haven't made up for the protein and B12, among other things.

    I gave up all animal flesh five years ago and I'm perfectly healthy and it hasn't made a difference one way or the other in my weight.

    I did it correctly. I worked with a nutritionist and my doctor. my balance was 60% fruits and veggies and about 40% protein sources - like nuts, beans, fish. I was lifting 2 days a week and doing cardio 3 days a week. I burned more than I consumed and always had a calorie deficit.

    I am sure that you and many other pescetarians are very healthy. Diet is not a one size fits all thing. Anyone who tells you otherwise is fooling you.

    The OP wanted honest answers from people who had tried and tested this diet and I am one of them. I'm sorry if my opinion offends those who are successful with this diet.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    I do fine health wise on a similar diet.

    It's just that I don't eat any sea kittens at all! (http://features.peta.org/PETASeaKittens/) instead I only land-fish.

    :P

    (I'll often annoy people that claim that they are but eat fish by pointing out I'm vegetarain too because I don't eat fish - infact, generally only eat about 5 animals (most of the time just three), which is a tiny proportion of the number out there!)

    Only real health benefit may be it's harder to eat lots of fat, so you can make it easier to eat less calories?
    It's not what I'd focus on if I wanted to be healthier - generally to me it seems the best bet is to get plenty of exercise as a start, so your body works better generally.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    it's harder to eat lots of fat

    Nuts, peanut butter, avocados, cheese ...

    I'm way over my fat "limit" by lunchtime every day and I eat no animals at all. I don't really worry about fat in general, but since I follow the old Weight Watchers system, I need to know fat grams to figure the points. I'm always in the red.

    Fat, though, does not make you fat,
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Trying to have a healthier lifestyle

    It's not always a healthier lifestyle. You can be a very unhealthy meat eat, pescetarian, vegan or vegetarian... you can also be very healthy with any diet.
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I tried this for about 2 years. I gained about 60 lbs and developed a few major health problems. I've since lost the weight and reversed/lessened those health problems by adding meat back into my diet.

    :laugh:

    yeah, I laugh about it too. it seemed like a great idea at the time.
    You must have been doing it wrong. There are plenty of very healthy people who eat that diet. Adding or removing meat on its own doesn't cause health problems or weight gain unless you've replaced meat with something high in calories and haven't made up for the protein and B12, among other things.

    I gave up all animal flesh five years ago and I'm perfectly healthy and it hasn't made a difference one way or the other in my weight.

    I did it correctly. I worked with a nutritionist and my doctor. my balance was 60% fruits and veggies and about 40% protein sources - like nuts, beans, fish. I was lifting 2 days a week and doing cardio 3 days a week. I burned more than I consumed and always had a calorie deficit.

    I am sure that you and many other pescetarians are very healthy. Diet is not a one size fits all thing. Anyone who tells you otherwise is fooling you.

    The OP wanted honest answers from people who had tried and tested this diet and I am one of them. I'm sorry if my opinion offends those who are successful with this diet.

    But you didn't respond to the vitamin b12 issue. Were you taking supps? Cause that is a huge issue many people don't know about. I am almost pescatarian and after a few months started feeling really tired and drained and not well. I insisted on a blood test and was very low in b12 and d vitamins. I later found out how common it is for this to happen when you are not eating enough meat. (b12 issue). Wish someone would have told me. I can at least happily say the problem was quickly corrected withb12 supps and sun exposure.
  • ewrob
    ewrob Posts: 136 Member
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    I tried this for about 2 years. I gained about 60 lbs and developed a few major health problems. I've since lost the weight and reversed/lessened those health problems by adding meat back into my diet.
    I did it correctly. I worked with a nutritionist and my doctor. my balance was 60% fruits and veggies and about 40% protein sources - like nuts, beans, fish. I was lifting 2 days a week and doing cardio 3 days a week. I burned more than I consumed and always had a calorie deficit.

    I am sure that you and many other pescetarians are very healthy. Diet is not a one size fits all thing. Anyone who tells you otherwise is fooling you.

    The OP wanted honest answers from people who had tried and tested this diet and I am one of them. I'm sorry if my opinion offends those who are successful with this diet.

    As a counter example, I have lost over 100 lbs in under 6 months by following a vegan diet, additionally avoiding food with added fat and sugar.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    I could do this. I am marinating salmon for dinner, and I am psyched about it! I love seafood more than anything. But I would have to have a good steak once per month. I have no desire to give up that occasional indulgence.
  • KingNitty
    KingNitty Posts: 40 Member
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    I am pescetarian and eat fish about 2-3 times a week. The rest of the time, I eat vegetarian. I stick to fish that are sustainable and low in mercury. My cholesterol levels are excellent. If you have problems with cholesterol, then this is the way to go.

    On the other hand, I don't credit my good cholesterol just to being pescetarian. I also cook most of my meals at home, eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits, limit sweets and junk food, and am very physically active. It is definitely possible to be an unhealthy pescetarian or vegetarian.

    In moderation, though, red meat can be part of a healthy diet. If you don't have any ethical reasons to give up red meat, why not just cut back your intake to 1-2 servings per week and eat more fish? I think you would see the same benefits without feeling deprived.

    I actually dont eat a lot of red meat I eat mostly chicken and turkey
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
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    I've been seriously considering becoming a pescetarian( vegatarian who eats seafood) has anyone else fone this successfully?

    I thought about it as I love seafood, but for primarily health (and ethical) reasons, adopted a wholefoods plant-based diet instead.
    kind regards,

    Ben
  • ewrob
    ewrob Posts: 136 Member
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    I've been seriously considering becoming a pescetarian( vegatarian who eats seafood) has anyone else fone this successfully?

    I thought about it as I love seafood, but for primarily health (and ethical) reasons, adopted a wholefoods plant-based diet instead.
    kind regards,

    Ben

    That's awesome, I have adopted a plant-based (sometimes but not always whole foods) diet myself, and you can see by my ticker that I have had incredible results in only 6 months. Keep it up! It has worked very well for me.

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