pescatarian

I ate a turkey sandwich!

| cheriarmour

Hi!

What are you doing?

We’re doing a whole lot of nothing because I sort of forgot that it was a holiday weekend, so I’m taking advantage of the day by catching up on work, and blogging and all that fun stuff.

So where you last left me, I was really seriously considering eating a turkey sandwich.  Which to most, isn’t really a huge deal, but since I’ve been a pescatarian, sometimes vegetarian, and a full-on supporter of vegans, it’s sort of a weird thing to wake up craving.  But alas, I woke up on Monday of last week really craving a turkey sandwich.

I describe to you guys how it felt.  Really weird.  I posted on social media about it. Most people assumed that I was pregnant, which I’m pretty sure I’m not.  My husband, who has never seen me consume meat in my life, thought I was joking at first.  And a few of my friends theorized that my body may be craving protein, and since I’m normally super healthy, that turkey protein, being one of the leaner options, was what I was going for.

I went a few days craving this sandwich.  Talked it over with friends.  Called my sister and her husband.  And finally decided that I would set about getting this sandwich.

My first order of bidness, since I probably haven’t ordered a turkey sandwich in like 15 years, was to find a place where I could get a good sandwich.  I figured that a place like Subway or Jersey Mikes would be fine, but that the meat might be pumped full of sodium, and I wasn’t superbly interested in being bloated.  So I set my sights on a Boar’s Head meat that I spied when I was shopping for some snacks at Harris Teeter, and ordered a turkey sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and tomato.

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I ate it.  It was fine.  It wasn’t life-changing.  It tasted fine.  I felt fine when it went down, and didn’t experience any adverse side-effects as a result of eating meat for the first time in however long.  But it DID quell my desire for the sandwich, calmed the curiosity down, and I think I got whatever I needed from that sandwich that I’d been thinking about for a week when I ate it.

I’m curious though.   I pay pretty close attention to my diet, and get a ton of protein though beans, nuts, and nut butters.  So I’m trying to figure out what my body was telling me, and if the loudness of that little voice is indicative of any sort of deficiency.

“Food” for thought.  Haha.

What are you eating for dinner tonight?                     

I was weight-gain pescatarian girl :(

| cheriarmour

Shape magazine posted this article from POPSUGAR Fitness.  How I Gained Weight as a Vegan: Don’t Let It Happen to You!  Check it out.  And it’s so true.  Everything she says is hella true.  I was that girl.

And by the end of school, beginning of graduate school I’d gotten to here.

ME…and had to fix it to go to here

Me 2

A good, 40ish or so pound difference.

Now look.  I know, I’m not delusional.  I recognize that I’m no ‘Biggest Loser’ Contestant, but I had to take off some lbs.  It wasn’t going a good way. 

And it wasn’t completely about the way I looked, either.  I felt tired and sluggish all the time.  But I won’t front.  I totally wasn’t confident in the way I looked, in particular, I hated my stomach, but I think that more had to do with the fact that I never worked out, and I generally felt crappy.  That crappy feeling, from eating crappy food, will spill over and cloud your view of yourself, so it was just a nasty cycle.

Pescatarianism/Vegetarianism

I transitioned to a veg/pescatarian lifestyle my sophomore year when I was living with this girl.  The food at Elon at the time wasn’t my fave, and truthfully, I’d never really been a beef person.  Chicken was my friend (let’s perpetuate the stereotype, Cheri), and that was the one thing I’d have trouble giving up.  I’d switch back and forth between Pescatarianism (eating no animal products but fish) and Vegetarianism, and despite the fact that I wasn’t chowing down on Big Macs, I packed on a little bit of pudge without even really noticing until swimsuit season snuck up on me.  And that was always traumatic.

But the main reasons why my veg-ish lifestyle packed on a little pudge?  

    • I worked out sporadically, at best.  Once a week here.  A few weeks off.  Once there.  Off.  And I never gained a sense of why and how exercising was important to maintaining a healthy weight.  Plus, when you exercise more, you don’t necessarily want to eat all the crappy stuff that’s gonna make a workout miserable.  Now, I’ve changed it by doing something every day, with about one day off a week.  I run, run, run, cycle, yoga, and then I teach class on the side.
    • I didn’t realize how important diet was in how your body looked.  I literally remember one of the Real Housewives of Orange County, Alexis Bellino, saying how diet was like 80% of how your body looked, and feeling horrified in the knowledge that if I were ever to lose the bottom part of my belly that I didn’t like, that I’d have to stop drinking Cokes to stay awake in class.  Which brings me to this…
    • I drank my calories.  I had no sense of what percentage of my calories were liquid.  I drank Cokes to stay awake in class.  I drank fruity alcoholic beverages with whipped cream on top.  I just was doing too much.  I’ve since switched to waters, sparkling waters, Kombucha, and nonfat lattés with skim.  Obviously, I’ll treat myself, to a Gatorade or a fancy drink from Starbucks, but definitely, it’s more far and few between than it was.
    • I didn’t know how to read a label/what a calories was.  I had this abstract sense of labels and calories, but not really how it applied to me and what I was eating.  It really wasn’t until I consulted with a nutritionist at Camp Pocono Trails, where I was working, that it made sense.  And I kept track of everything that I put into my mouth until I had a firm grasp of what I was eating.
    • I was still eating fast food. I can’t even…okay.  I ate at the most disgusting places.  All vegetarian mind you, but all disgusting.  One of which included the Filet-o-Fish from McDonalds with the nasty piece of cheese and a glob of tartar sauce on top (who puts cheese on a piece of cod?!) and the Sampler Platter from Applebees, which included mozzarella sticks, spinach and artichoke dip, and cheese quesadillas.  All of these items were fried in some way, shape, or form.  I am so kind of ashamed when I tell people that.
    • I didn’t eat any “whole” foods.  I didn’t eat salads.  I didn’t read labels to see what ingredients (ingrediences, right Teresa Guidice?) foods included.  And I never packed my own lunch.  How can you maintain a healthy weight when you don’t even know who’s making your food, right?

So if you’re contemplating vegetarianism or veganism, bravo! However, if you’re doing it for weight loss, you’re barking up the wrong tree. You can just as well fall into a nasty trap and gain a ton.  Balance is absolutely key and without all the pieces of a healthy lifestyle, it’s just not gonna work.

Veg cooking isn’t all boring.

| cheriarmour

So, I’ve been technically pescatarian since my sophomore year of college.  How many years is that?  I’m kinda bad at counting.  Maybe like 6 years is a safe estimate?

Anyhoo, I’m not sure what brought me to that decision, except the food at the Harden Dining Hall tasted like garbage, and the meat was the worst of it all.  And I wasn’t a super meaty girl to begin with.  I never was much of a steak or a burger eater, so it was sort of easy.  I just magically sort of stopped eating it.

At first I think I fell into the trap of eating a lot of french fries and Diet Cokes.  It’s easy to do.  But as I moved further into veggie-land, started living in a more veg-friendly town, started working next to the Whole Foods, and got a few more veg/vegan friends, it became clear that vegetarian meals were very multi-layered.  So many flavors, proteins, and spices.  I started paying The Remedy Cafe, a local veg joint, a few more visits, and I began getting super creative at home with beans, salads, veggie broths, and the crock pot.  It’s been delicious.  I’ll share with you guys a few more recipes if you want!

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The Remedy Diner on Hargett Street.  Photo courtesy of Marty’s Flaying Vegan Review. 

So why am I ranting and raving about why Veg Cooking doesn’t blow?  Well I had an interesting interaction this week, and I’m hoping to convince a few of yous to at least try some veg things before you knock it (How do you get protein?! It just ain’t natural!  I cannot live without meat, it’s just too hard).

Well my mom’s been sick, and I headed home the beginning of last weekend to tend to the house and Mom while everyone was gone for a family event.  I cooked a few meatless wonders for her, and she loved  them.  Actually said some of the stuff (super easy spinach quiche, pan seared fish, nuts), was the best she’d tasted.  So I challenge you guys, even if you love love your meaty meaty steaky meat, to try something called Meatless Mondays.  I’m not trying to convert you so calm down.  (But I will say pescatarianism has helped me to look incredibly fly, so if you want to look whack…okay just joshin’…)   Or if you like love steak on Monday, do it Thursday or whenever.  The original purpose was to reduce folks’ consumption of saturated fats.  But I’m just telling you to do this like to broaden your horizons like Mom did.  Do it.  Commit.  Like get all flavorful with it.  Then tell me what you think.  I know you’re gonna love it, but just humor me.