Runs on plants!
I was curious about this book, and what Matt had to say because I was a pescatarian (eating seafood only) from ages 20 to 35. But here's the thing - I don't really cook. So, when I say "pescatarian," I really mean I survived on cereal, pasta, potatoes, salads, peanut butter/jelly and rice. I didn't create "meals" - I just foraged for whatever was in my pantry, which generally wasn't much. (A friend opened my refrigerator one time and found only condiments - true story.) Obviously, I didn't exactly eat a balanced diet. Fortunately, I worked for an awesome restaurant (still do) and I would order salmon or shrimp every once in a while. I only started eating poultry again because a nutritionist told me I wasn't eating as much protein I needed to maintain the workouts that I do. Shocker, right? And being that I don't really cook, it was much easier to just start eating chicken then learn how to cook more varied pescatarian meals that added more protein.
You might be wondering, if I'm eating poultry and seafood, why did go to a vegan book-signing? Well, let me back up a bit - back to when I was a kid. I was that weird kid that actually LIKED eating fruits and vegetables - it was the meat that I didn't want to eat. My mom would always have to get on me for not finishing my chicken / steak / whatever. It wasn't an ethical or health issue - I was too young to know about those things. It's just that my system didn't crave meat. This continued as I got older, and as I started "cooking" more for myself, I ate meat less and less. Finally, when I was in college, my band mates (yes, I was in a rock band - but that's for another blog post) all thought it would be cool if we all became vegetarian. (Well, pescatarian...we didn't know that there were different levels of vegetarianism at the time.) So, that's what we did. For everyone else, this dietary change lasted anywhere from a weekend to a month. For me - it lasted until I met with that nutritionist.
But now, I'm thinking about going back to pescatarian again, if not vegetarian. (I don't think I could ever be vegan - I love cheese too much.) There are several reasons for this. The first one is, as previously stated, I just don't crave meat. It's become more and more of a chore to eat chicken or turkey. It's like I'm a kid again - I know I should eat it, but I just don't want to. I can almost hear my mother saying, "Just take one more bite of chicken and then you can leave the table." I'd like to actually enjoy my meals, rather then forcing myself to eat them.
And the other reason is ethical. Not meaning to be preachy, but I'm a huge animal lover and it's hard for me to wrap my head around eating something that was once walking/swimming around. That's probably why eating meat is such a chore. Am I a GIANT hypocrite because I own and love leather shoes and purses? Yes, yes I am. Don't judge me. I'm working on it.
So, that's why I went to the book signing. I wanted to hear Matt's story and learn a little bit more about his lifestyle. It was interesting because he's not a nutritionist. He's just a regular guy who incorporated this diet into his life and it worked for him. He actually has a pretty funny story. Like many people, Matt starting running with a few friends who decided to run a marathon. Not knowing anything about marathons, they decided to sign up for Boston. They quickly realized that you just can't sign up for Boston - that you have to qualify. And that began Matt's four-year quest to qualify for Boston, which he finally did after committing to a vegan lifestyle. It would have been nice for him to have some science behind his success, but he didn't. It might be in the book, I don't know. Unfortunately, his book shipment didn't arrive in time for the signing, and he only had 10 books to sell. I didn't get one, but I'm planning on ordering it online. I'll give a review after I finish!
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