The Cat That Pushed Me

#1: Why I decided to go pescetarian and why this blog came about

By day, I'm a makeup artist. By night, I'm a pole dancer and recent yoga practitioner. I'm a proud animal lover and pet owner. I loved eating vegetables ever since I was a little girl. As most little kids gag at the taste or sight of spinach or broccoli, I was one of the rare few who loved it. I thought of broccoli as "tiny trees" and carrots were alluded most of the time to me as Bugs Bunny's favorite food. It wasn't hard for me to eat vegetables. I've had my share of meat too, like steak (I used to devour a huge porterhouse steak all by myself), burger, fried chicken, and pork chop. They were tasty, and just like any child, this became part of my daily diet.

 I've tried going veggie years ago and have been on and off with it. I'd be in a lucky streak then Wagyu would find me back. I'd still find myself eating vegetables more than my meat consumption, but I've been wanting to stop eating meat permanently, first for health reasons as I know my once speed-of-light metabolism will soon decline once I get older. Also, since I live in a country that thrives on a purely-meat diet, it was difficult in eating out or going to parties. 

What made me start to do this seriously? It took one little kitty to help me push me to do this permanently.

That little kitty is now my pet, who happens to be a rescue cat. This cat was once a victim of animal cruelty that my other kitty friend found in the corridor of  our building. On the night of his rescue, when we took him to the vet, my body just couldn't bear to eat meat when we decided to have dinner while waiting for his results. Seeing an innocent animal suffer was just too much to bear. And taking in the rescue kitty as my own little boy, I promised him and his animal friends that they will never hurt again. 

My cat was just the beginning of it all for me to finally cut meat out for good. Whenever I travel, I would see trucks carrying pigs and cattle for slaughter. The pens that held the pigs were too cramped for them to move. What appalled me too was when I saw that the pigs had slash marks on their skin. It was the final straw. 

I do recognize that going strict vegetarian would be hard. For one thing, our diet is composed mainly of meats. Also, I do a lot of sports, and I needed a lot of protein for muscle repair. I decided to just cut beef, pork, and chicken from my diet. I still eat fish but only very occasionally, around four times a week. So you could say that I'm a pescetarian. It is still hard, but I'm not saying that it is impossible. It's hard to find a place to eat out when before, I could just grab a burger or a shawarma at a food stall and go. I have to be picky and selective on where I eat and how I plan my meals. As I've started just 2 months ago, I am not allowing myself "cheat" days because once I start, it would be all back to square one. Trust me, it happened so many times. 

The first month was tough. I was masungit a lot of times and I found myself craving for tapsilog and I'd be the butt of all heckle and jeckle (any vegetarians here who have been told na , "ang arte-arte mo naman!" or "ang KJ mo kasama! ang sarap ng hotdog at liempo!" can relate) Thankfully, I found solace in a lot of people - some cut out red meat from their diet. Some are very strict vegetarians and vegans. Some are ovo-lacto vegetarians. Some are like me, who still consume fish and seafood. I get inspired reading about people -athletes, artists, and celebrities, who went vegetarian and never went back. Just yesterday, I met an awesome lady who has been a vegetarian for 10 years and encouraged me to go on. Yes. I'm doing this cold turkey. Yes, I'm still in that difficult phase, but since I already am aware of why I am doing this, that is, my love for animals and animal welfare, it would be a great way for me to go on.

Thats why I started this blog. Just like in my makeup blog, I wanted to see my progress. It also helps me as I write about this to learn new recipes, by trying them out and posting them as well as to push me to finally make this lifestyle permanent. Notice that I'm not calling going vegetarian (or pescetarian, in my case), a diet. Diets mean that they will be over after the program, but I plan to make this my lifestyle. With the world (or okay, maybe a few people who are interested in reading) watching, I'll be very cautious about what I eat. Hopefully, this will also encourage people to do the same habit. Your body and the environment would thank you for it. I won't force. I'll inspire.

I'll be out discovering kitchen recipes, DIY kitchen experiments, vegan (or vegetarian) restaurants and food choices, and inserting animal welfare sites and announcements (as it is what inspired me) as well as tidbits on my fat baby cat, Candy (that's his name by the way). I'll make this lifestyle fun. Whether you are ovo-lacto vegetarian, pescetarian, vegan, or strict vegetarian, it's your choice. :) Just like my makeup blog, I will make this fun.