The Flexitarian Diet

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The Flexitarian Diet

The flexitarian diet is one that’s all about options. It’s a mix in the way that you eat by combining a vegetarian eating plan with the flexibility of eating meat if you want to add that to your meals.

It’s a way of choosing to eat as healthy as a vegetarian does, but being able to give in to meat cravings or schedule meat meals whenever you want. This way of eating offers a lot of health benefits.

Choosing this diet means you’ll be eating meals that are good for your heart. Studies have shown that people who eat a flexitarian diet have less of a risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

They also lower their risk of having a stroke as well as lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The diet works in a way that’s easy to fit into any lifestyle. You have to remember one important feature about the diet - and that’s to choose plant based foods as much as possible, preferably over meat dishes.

When someone hears diet, they automatically assume that means they’re going to lose a food group or two, but that’s only something that happens in fad diets. In healthy diets like this one, you actually add items to your eating list.

You’ll eat things like tofu - which can take the place of meat and give you protein. You’ll also eat things like nuts, beans, lentils, eggs, and peas. The diet focuses on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

You are allowed to have diary. The eating plan is broken down by meals with recipes for each meal - including snacks. You can choose to stick strictly to the plan or you can mix different recipes.

The diet is based on a count of 3, 4, and 5 when figuring your meal calories. At breakfast, you’ll limit the calories you consume to about 300. At lunch it should be 400 and dinner should be 500.

This diet also includes two snacks a day using the calories in the diet plan. You’ll get a total of 1,500 calories and can divide those up between the meals and the snacks. You will have to keep in mind that if you’re someone who is more active or someone who exercises heavily, you’ll need to add more calories than someone who is on the diet plan but is not active.

The changes in your eating style are minimal with this diet. You’re mainly switching out meat based products for plant based ones such as having vegetable dishes where the protein in the plant takes the place of the protein that you’d normally get in the meat.

You’ll need to know flexitarian recipes and what tools you’ll need to have on hand in your kitchen to ensure your success with this diet. So for that reason, you may want to purchase flexitarian cookbooks or get an online recipe subscription. By planning ahead with things like shopping lists and recipes, you can easily create meals that are quick, nutritious and helpful - especially for those who don’t like rigid diet plans.