For a year and almost a month now, I have successfully
managed to eliminate pork, beef, chicken and other meats that are from
land-living animals, from my diet. I am
trying the pescetarian diet, with fish and other seafoods as my primary source
of protein.
I used to be a not-at-all-fussy eater. I had tried Calderetang Kambing from an
inumang barangay, fried frog legs in Estero, Binondo, garlicky insect in
Bangkok, ostrich tapa in CDO and many many others. G na G si ate basta inalok ng pagkain! Hindi choosy!
I still am a foodie, but now more conscious and cautious of the food I
eat. J The people closest to me would add another
word to describe how I eat now – conscious, cautious at super corny! I won’t disagree. Hehe
It actually was not the first time that I gave up meat for a
certain period. For two consecutive
years, I had given it up for Lent. Then
would revert to eating them fried chicken and liempo when Easter Sunday
came. I digest food poorly so every time
I would eat meat aplenty, I would have to endure diarrhea the following
day. June last year, after half a day of
frequent CR trips brought about by buto-buto, igado, dinuguan at iba pang handa
sa barangay fiesta, meat and I called it quits.
You have to know I’m not at all good with moderation. I figured that if I wanted to feel better,
the meat have to be totally out of my system.
I do like seafood so it wasn’t so hard for me to stay away
from meat. And there are also the vegetables,
which I came to love even more now that my food choices are fewer. What’s a bit of a struggle is every time I
find myself in awkward dining situations like when I’m seated in a table full
of meat dishes prepared or pre-ordered so graciously by the host. The last thing I want is to offend them and have
them go to all the trouble just so there’s something I can eat. I survived one occasion by successfully (and
discreetly) picking out all the veggies from a Nilagang Baka, fervently hoping that
the cook won’t be chastised for ‘forgetting’ to include the potatoes and the
repolyos in the dish. Hehe
I’m especially grateful to friends and family who have accepted
me as a corny eater. Some of my friends
would always make a joke out of it, “May sakit ka pa din? Kailan ka kaya gagaling?” or would frankly
tell me, “P*%^()^% kasi, kung kumakain
ka pa rin sana ng manok, eh di mas mura share natin sa bucket!”. Haha! They
are just foul-mouthed friends but they have not asked me yet to go finish my
no-meat meals at another table. So far. Haha!
I probably lasted this long because I also wanted to prove
myself that I can do it. It’s a diet
that I can stick to, without the feeling of deprivation or starvation. I am still far from my ideal weight but I’m
happy to know that I’ve maintained my weight even without the long distances I
used to run. I can count in one hand the
days I had diarrhea the past year. I
also have developed a greater appreciation for vegetables and fruits, and had
ditched a number of processed food like hotdogs, corned beef, luncheon meats
and sausages.
While I am far from being a healthy eater (I have yet to
learn how to say No to my poisons namely chips and chocolates, juskolord), I
feel better and happier with my choices. J While some would probably say I am missing
half of my life by giving up so much, I’d like to think I’m adding years to my
life by TRYING to keep a healthy lifestyle. J
