A flexitarian is someone who sticks mostly to a vegetarian diet, but will occasionally indulge in meat or animal products. Flexitarianism makes it easier to dine out or to participate in social engagements without calling attention to your eating style. This diet plan would not work for a person who has moral reasons for a commitment to a vegetarian diet, but if you are a vegetarian for health, taste preference or eco-conscious reasons, flexitarianism may be for you.
Meat Allowances
Very simply, a flexitarian is a sometimes vegetarian. Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of "The Flexitarian Diet," describes three levels of flexitarianism in an October 2, 2008 article in "USA Today": the beginner who enjoys two meatless days per week, the advanced who has three or four meatless days per week or an expert who eats meatless meals five days of the week. A beginner consumes about 26 oz. of meat weekly, while an expert enjoys just 9.
Features
A flexitarian diet features food that is high in fiber and low in saturated and trans fats. Most meals are made with fresh, whole ingredients rather than highly processed refined grains and meat substitutes. According to Jackson Blatner, the most important foods are beans, nuts, whole grains and produce.
Benefits
A flexitarian diet plan tends to be more nutritious than the typical meat-based diet. You are more likely to take in the recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables, says Milton Stokes, M.P.H., R.D. and chief dietitian at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City. You can support local farmers by eating their produce for most of your meals. Vegetarians, on average, weigh less than meat-eaters, and are at a lower risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, reports MayoClinic.com.
Considerations
A flexitarian diet very clearly outlines healthy guidelines and does not advocate eating just any vegetarian foods. Cookies, cakes and chips may be meatless, but they do not offer the health and nutrition of fresh vegetables, beans and grains. Highly processed soy-based foods should also be avoided on a flexitarian plan, as high-pressure industrial processes actually remove many of the positive nutritional attributes of soy, notes a July 1996 article in "Vegetarian Times." When you do eat meat, stick to lean varieties like fish, poultry and extra lean ground beef.
Weight Management
A flexitarian diet can help you manage your weight, but it does not have to be low calorie. If you include significant amounts of avocados, seeds and nuts, your diet will be high in calorie and fat, and you might gain weight. The flexitarian diet plan outlined by Jackson Blatner recommends taking in about 1,500 calories per day which is intended to help people lose weight, but it can easily be modified to include more calories for maintenance.
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