[GirlMeetsPearls]

I'm debating on whether to become pescetarian or vegan. What do you consider to be to pros and cons of either?

[nelie]

If you currently aren't vegetarian, I'd work towards incorporating more plant based foods in your diet and decreasing the amount of meat you eat. If you want to become pescatarian or even pescatarian with vegan leanings, you can do that.

I personally love being a vegan myself. I'd recommend looking at some vegan cookbooks and learning how to create meals that are plant-based.

Also, it depends on your concerns. Are your concerns environmental? Then I'd look at trying to source whatever fish you do eat based on environmental factors. The fish industry has some horrible choices environmentally and some better choices. If your concerns are health, I'd look for similar information because many fish sources contain large amounts of heavy metals.

[Asherah]

You know I started out as pescetarian, which gave me the freedom of incorporating meat when I didn't know what to do with my vegetables. That was only 4 weeks ago. Now I'm really enjoying the challenge and the results from learning how to cook totally vegetarian meals (although I'm still somewhat transitioning).
I think though that if I had imposed limits on myself too early on I might have failed. And I think transition might be the key to your success too. Nelie is right about watching where your fish come from but this is not nearly such an impossible task. Also try eating local seafood if you can, to increase the likelihood you're getting something fresh and healthy.

[Jennifer 3FC]

Nelie, you're my vegan hero!

[girl81]

I'm currently pescatarian. PM me if you'd like.

[Recharge]

Disclaimer first: I do think veganism can be healthy, this is just my personal experience.

I was a strict dietary vegan for a year and a half. I was very diligent about maintaining myself healthfully; 3 squares a day, and I made sure I got all the nutrients I was missing by not eating animal products. I juiced, bought organic, took supplements, didn't overcook my food, did all the stuff that's recommended for healthy vegan eating.

2 things happened. The first and most obvious was that I gained weight. I gained about 20 pounds on a vegan diet. I think the reason was that I needed to increase my caloric intake in order to get the same amount of nutrients I was getting before.

The 2nd thing that happened was much more subtle. Around the 1.5 year mark, I took a good hard look at myself. My hair was dry, dull, and brittle. My nails were badly ridged and weak. My skin was sallow and I just looked tired. I was tired, all the time. I was catching colds more often. In short, my health had just slipped downhill, but I hadn't noticed because it was so gradual.

After analyzing all the things that could have caused this--I wasn't stressed, I wasn't ill, weight gain, etc--I realized it was my beloved vegan diet. I think that despite my best efforts (and I put A LOT of effort into being vegan), I just could not keep up with what I was missing. Maybe it's just my own chemistry, I don't know. Plus, there's all those times when you're just too busy to cook a full-blown vegan meal; and who has time to do that 3 times a day? So, at least for me, sometimes I ended up eating vegan mac&cheese or some other vegan equivalent to fast food.

I started eating dairy, eggs and honey again, and sometimes I'll eat seafood for the extra protein and Omegas. Within a month or so of giving up veganism, all those weird health things just faded away. Now I look healthy again, despite the weight gain. Now have that to contend with. Incidentally, I still love vegan food and often prefer it; vegan food can be really, really tasty.

I really do think veganism can work for some people, but I also think you have to be incredibly devoted to monitoring your diet to be healthy. Again, this was just my own experience.

[Quail]

I'm celebrating my third year as pescaveganatarian . One thing I've learned is to not commit myself to one particular group. I try to refrain from eating cheese, milk, chicken, pork, and beef. I am an avid fly fisher and do eat the fish that I catch. I also occasionally eat locally-caught sustainable seafood. I have friends who have hens, so the occasional egg is part of my diet, too.

I tried being vegan for awhile and found that I do not have the time, dedication, or energy to commit to getting all of the nutrients I need as a vegan. Because of that, I added fish back in and the occasional egg. This is also much, much easier for my husband. He does most of the evening cooking and it is really easy for him to throw a fish fillet on the grill and add some salsa. When I was a vegan he was really at a loss as to what to feed me and I ended up eating a lot (and I mean a lot) of grilled mushrooms.

I was eating cheese for awhile, but recently cut it out after visiting a veal ranch. Yuck.

I feel like I have a pretty good diet- if only I could stay away from the junk food and carbs, I'd be in pretty good shape.

[bensempress]

I'm a happy vegetarian, 95% vegan (I eat local, raw, organic honey and my own organic chicken eggs from my free roaming chicks once a month) and love it. I only eat the eggs because I LOVE them and I know exactly where they came from.

I love the vegan lifestyle. I feel so much better than I used to when I ate a bunch of dairy and meat a few years back!

Also, I saw something about needing to eat more calories in order to get the nutrients compared to the standard American diet and I have to disagree. Meat doesn't provide you with vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants in any significant form, especially compared to plant based foods.

I think it's really a matter of eating too many beans and grains, and processed foods... not enough veggies, fruits and other nutrient dense yet low calorie foods. Not saying this is true for everyone, but I found it to be true for me.

[Theyda]

I'm not vegan but I am vegetarian and I found the best way to 'get started' was to reduce the amount of meat I was eating (I hardly ate meat anyway), replace it with more lentils, chickpeas, etc..and see what worked.
So far I would say pros for me are that I get a much more balanced diet, my skin has never looked so good because of all the fresh veg I'm eating now and I'm losing weight and getting much more fibre.
It's also costing me less each week at the supermarket and there's nothing meat gives you that you can't get from something else.
Cons...hmm...I missed bacon for about a week but apart from that nothing.
Everyone's different though, go for it and see how it works for you

[Butterfly1]

After reading how a vegan gained weight made me realize it's not just me. I've been vegan for 8 months. I've gained weight! My blood work is better though but my weight gain is causing more problems. I think for me, my body is having a hard time processing the protein that I eat: beans, legumes, seeds etc.
I'm not used to eating so many carbohydrates. The only time I feel "light" is when I eat veggies and tofu. I really don't want to eat all that soy all the time. I'm just debating whether I want to incorporate fish... ugh... I'm a vegan because of animal rights. I'm struggling.

Originally Posted by Recharge

Disclaimer first: I do think veganism can be healthy, this is just my personal experience.

I was a strict dietary vegan for a year and a half. I was very diligent about maintaining myself healthfully; 3 squares a day, and I made sure I got all the nutrients I was missing by not eating animal products. I juiced, bought organic, took supplements, didn't overcook my food, did all the stuff that's recommended for healthy vegan eating.

2 things happened. The first and most obvious was that I gained weight. I gained about 20 pounds on a vegan diet. I think the reason was that I needed to increase my caloric intake in order to get the same amount of nutrients I was getting before.

The 2nd thing that happened was much more subtle. Around the 1.5 year mark, I took a good hard look at myself. My hair was dry, dull, and brittle. My nails were badly ridged and weak. My skin was sallow and I just looked tired. I was tired, all the time. I was catching colds more often. In short, my health had just slipped downhill, but I hadn't noticed because it was so gradual.

After analyzing all the things that could have caused this--I wasn't stressed, I wasn't ill, weight gain, etc--I realized it was my beloved vegan diet. I think that despite my best efforts (and I put A LOT of effort into being vegan), I just could not keep up with what I was missing. Maybe it's just my own chemistry, I don't know. Plus, there's all those times when you're just too busy to cook a full-blown vegan meal; and who has time to do that 3 times a day? So, at least for me, sometimes I ended up eating vegan mac&cheese or some other vegan equivalent to fast food.

I started eating dairy, eggs and honey again, and sometimes I'll eat seafood for the extra protein and Omegas. Within a month or so of giving up veganism, all those weird health things just faded away. Now I look healthy again, despite the weight gain. Now have that to contend with. Incidentally, I still love vegan food and often prefer it; vegan food can be really, really tasty.

I really do think veganism can work for some people, but I also think you have to be incredibly devoted to monitoring your diet to be healthy. Again, this was just my own experience.

[Pemberley]

I think it might be easier to gradually become vegan if you are interested in it. I am working on being pescatarian as my boyfriend is vegetarian. I only miss meat occasionally as there is plenty of fake meat available and I can still eat fish. I like using quorn, the only thing I that required some adjustment was the softer texture and a slight difference in cooking/storage e.g. making lasagne with meat was easier because it would keep longer and the juice from the meat was useful for the cooking process. I tried gluten free briefly but I absolutely hated gluten free breads, pastas etc.

I think you should consider why you would like to be vegan as Nelie said, then go from there. If you are used to eatin meat/really enjoy it you may find it easier to gradually cut down.

[pizzamonster]

Sometimes I eat fish, when I´m at the sea and there is free fish from the ocean. I think there is nothing wrong about that, because the fish had a good life.

[LilyxMorgan]

Pescetarian is less heavy at the beginning