re: What is meaning behind no meat Fridays during Lent?

When I was a kid growing up a Catholic we couldn’t eat meat any Friday all year long.If you did it was a mortal sin and if you died without going to confession you went to hell.
A time or two I forgot and was scared shitless I was going to die before I could get to confession.
Later on they changed it to only Fridays during Lent.I always wondered if those that went to hell for eating meat got out when they changed the rules.( I don’t really believe anyone went to hell for eating meat on Friday)

One of the things that turned me away from Catholicism.Keep changing the rules.