For the last two and a half weeks, Jeanie and I have been living the pescetarian lifestyle...
It all started on Thursday, April 23. That was the night that Jeanie and I were both hammered by some sort of intestinal malady. We didn't ever exhibit any respiratory symptoms, so we don't think it was the swine flu, but we both ran high fevers and had symptoms for days, so we don't think it was food poisoning. Without getting too graphic, let's just say that it was good that we have two bathrooms in our house, and that we have reasonably sized plastic garbage cans that can be held (and used) while seated. After the first day or so, we were able to tolerate crackers or toast. For the first few days, for me at least, my diet was limited to toast and cream of wheat cereal. The thought of eating any sort of meat was distasteful. We have often talked about the morality of eating meat - both from the perspective of the individual animal and of the inefficiency as it relates to the food chain. We have also discussed the health impact of eating meat. Jamie has been a pescetarian for years. So, Jeanie and I decided to give it a try.
The first week was easy, as neither of us was still feeling too great, and I was not traveling. I was concerned about the second week, after I had started to regain my appetite, and was back on the road. Long story short, I found it pretty easy to avoid eating any mammals or fowl, even though I was eating all of my meals at restaurants. Jeanie often goes meatless for days when I am away, so it was simple for her. For many of the days, I ate no flesh, and on those days when I did, it was usually only one meal. Saying it that way: "eating flesh" is a little nauseating, isn't it?
Surprisingly to me, I have not sorely missed eating meat. What I have found is that if all I eat for a meal is cooked American style vegetables, I do not feel satisfied. However, if they are prepared in an Asian or Mexican style, especially if they are spicy, I am quite happy. During the past two weeks, I have also tried to limit the amount of cookies, cakes and candy that I consume. Not surprisingly, between eating very little the first few days that I was sick, and eating as I have described above since then, I have lost six pounds in the last two weeks.
I know for sure that I could not go pure vegan; at a minimum I'd have to continue to eat eggs and dairy. I'll probably also continue to eat some seafood. At some point, I'll probably tire of the whole experiment and go back to eating meat. But, for the time being, I'm somewhat tickled to be following this new eating lifestyle.
Digg It!
Bookmark it!
Posted by David at May 10, 2009 04:56 PM | Categorized under: A day in the life