Eating healthy is extremely important for your overall good health, but which type of healthy diet should you choose? There’s a lot of them out there and just a few are carb, rawist and vegetarian. Some have strict rules to follow, while others are a lot easier. One of the easiest is a flexitarian diet. A flexitarian diet isn’t specific. It’s based on a healthy menu that limits processed foods, but doesn’t eliminate any healthy food, like animal products.
The diet was created by Dawn Jackson Blatner, but has been modified by others.
What’s the best type of diet to follow? The best type is one that you’ll stick with and follow. Eating animal protein like meat, dairy, poultry, eggs and fish in moderation makes a flexitarian far easier to follow. It’s adding more fruits and vegetables to the diet and limiting animal-derived foods. Think meatless Monday, Thursday and Friday or Chili con carne with very little carne.
Just like other healthy diets, a flexitarian diet provides variety.
You don’t have to give up that occasional burger, just don’t eat a burger every meal. A flexitarian way of eating uses plant sources for most of the protein. It follows many of the dictates of other healthy diets, like focusing on eating more whole foods or limiting food with added sugar. Think flexible when you think of a flexitarian diet.
If you have allergies or a food intolerance, you can still use a flexitarian diet.
There’s no one set meal plan and few basic rules. If you can’t drink milk or use milk products, don’t drink or eat them. Eat beans, an egg or meat instead. Just throw extra servings of veggies on the plate and have some fruit for dessert. Highly processed food, like luncheon meat, white bread, snack foods or hot dogs should be avoided. It’s very similar to a Mediterranean diet, but with fewer restrictions.
- There are few studies on the benefits of a flexitarian diet, since there’s no one meal plan. However, the increased focus on fruits and vegetables means more phytonutrients, fiber and nutrients, which helps weight loss, prevents heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
- Since there’s no strict meal plan, you’ll have days you ate less healthy and those that get a gold star. You won’t be as tempted to give it up if you had a less healthy day, as you would if you cheated on a diet.
- Eating less meat and animal products can help in other ways. It can cut the cost of groceries dramatically. The cost of a bag of beans is far less than the cost of a pound of meat.
- A flexitarian diet could be a perfect match for almost anyone. For those trying to build muscle tissue, then special attention must be paid to plant-based protein and amounts of total protein. People with B12, iron, zinc or calcium deficiencies also need to be more focused on finding plant alternatives.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness