What is the flexitarian diet about?

So what exactly does flexitarian mean? The word flexitarian is a combination of the words vegetarian and being flexible. So this diet offers some level of flexibility, whilst predominantly consisting of non-meat foods.

Registered dietitian and author of The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life, Dawn Jackson Blatner, says that being a flexitarian does not require you to be a strict vegetarian 100 percent of the time. You can indulge in a piece of meat, a burger, etc. when you experience a craving, so you don’t have to give up eating meat completely.

Benefits of flexitarianism

Apart from weight loss, flexitarians tend to have a reduced rate of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, they may live an average of 3,6 years longer.

More about the diet

This diet involves including the following to your meals: the “new meat” (e.g. beans, lentils, peas, nuts and seeds, and eggs); fruits and vegetables; whole grains; dairy products; and sugar and spice.

Meal plans should include breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as snacks. Breakfast choices should add up to around 300 calories, lunches 400 calories, and dinners 500 calories. Snacks should be about 150 calories each. If you have two snacks daily, then your total daily calories adds up to 1 500 calories.

Remember that you may need to adjust this plan if you need to take in more or fewer calories.

Research tends to show that ‘vegetarians tend to eat fewer calories, weigh less, and have a lower body mass index’ as compared to meat-eaters. Vegetables, whole grains and fruits help us to feel full without consuming many calories. Thus this a simple way to promote weight loss.

Consult your doctor

Always chat with your doctor before making major dietary changes, especially if you suffer from any health conditions. Yes, you can make your diet conform to halal guidelines.

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