Flex-a-tarian?

ashleyb18_maye69

Im thinking of becoming what i can a flex-a-tarian which is vegetarian that eats chicken and fish once a week but that is it as far as meat goes .. any one tried this before any encouraging words all are welcome
and of course im gonna talk to my dr about this first but wanna see what you all think about it :flowerforyou:

LittleMissDover

You wouldn't be vegetarian at all, just someone who has cut down their meat consumption.....

sjohnny

Didn't the last one of these get locked?

Chief_Rocka

What's the underlying logic?

sjohnny

I think I'm going to become a homosexual but I'm only going to have sex with women.

FitBeto

Yeah I am going to move out of Texas, but I still want to ride horses.

Or I want to join a womens Yoga class, and just keep my eyes closed.

castlerobber

Im thinking of becoming what i can a flex-a-tarian which is vegetarian that eats chicken and fish once a week but that is it as far as meat goes .. any one tried this before any encouraging words all are welcome
and of course im gonna talk to my dr about this first but wanna see what you all think about it :flowerforyou:

OK, why? What specifically do you want to accomplish, and why do you think that's the best way to do it? Seriously, not being snarky.

Sarauk2sf

Why?

now_or_never12

You wouldn't be vegetarian at all, just someone who has cut down their meat consumption.....

That's why the OP said Flexitarian.

To the OP, why do you want to do it? Are you concerned with eating meat? Don't like red meats? Or think that it will help you lose weight?

Taking meat out of your diet causes some other things you need to pay attention to. You need to ensure you are getting enough protein and other nutrients that come from meat.

auzziecawth66

In the spirit of giving a serious answer I have eaten like that before and didn't have any problems nutrition wise, but I do agree that it shouldn't be compared with being a vegetarian. It's just a matter of eating a diet with reduced meat consumption lol...

(The underlying logic? I know for me it was just to eat less meat lol)

Chief_Rocka

I think I'm going to become a homosexual but I'm only going to have sex with women.

Color me disappointed.

hiker359

Too many labels!

Why be any kind of -arian? If somebody offers you something you don't want, a simple, "No, thank you," should suffice.

Trechechus

I am a semi-vegetarian. I'm leaning toward becoming a vegetarian, but I've been eating meat so long, its hard to just go (forgive the term) cold turkey. It's a moral thing, but I love the taste of meat.

AnneC77

A Flexatarian is a person that eats mostly like a Vegetarian but chooses to eat meat occasionally, I think that means less than once a week though. I don't think they compare themselves to vegetarians, just another label to pin on someone.

sarahisme18

I'll weigh in with a serious comment, too...

I became a vegetarian a year ago, to try to lose weight. It doesn't help, FYI, so I'll save you the trouble there. But what it did do was spur me to learn more about nutrition and macros, and to get creative with my meals by focusing on veggies. Now I'm no longer a vegetarian, as I eat fish on a regular basis. But the majority of my meals are 'vegetarian', and I appreciate the benefits of a balanced diet with a moderate intake of meat.

Basically, do some research first. Figure out the basics of nutrition and how to get your daily requirements and from where. Make a plan. Experiment with vegetarian recipes. Use it as a tool for becoming more educated and learning about a balanced diet, not to jump on a bandwagon or to lose weight. Hope that helps!

LittleMissDover

I am a semi-vegetarian. I'm leaning toward becoming a vegetarian, but I've been eating meat so long, its hard to just go (forgive the term) cold turkey. It's a moral thing, but I love the taste of meat.

*Sigh*

You're either vegetarian or not, there is no 'semi' about it.

For the OP, if you want to eat less meat, then fine, why label it though? A lot of people eat 'vegetarian' meals and meat based meals and just call it a normal diet!

maricash

Im thinking of becoming what i can a flex-a-tarian which is vegetarian that eats chicken and fish once a week but that is it as far as meat goes .. any one tried this before any encouraging words all are welcome
and of course im gonna talk to my dr about this first but wanna see what you all think about it :flowerforyou:

I guess I am a flexatarian, although I usually just say that I don't eat a lot of meat. I was a vegetarian for about 12 years and then became a meat eater again, but only in a limited way.

I think being a flexatarian or a temporary vegetarian can be a great way to bring more variety into your diet, but only if you really work at it. That is, it's just as easy to eat processed foods or to eat the same foods every day on that kind of diet. But, if you are someone who is used to the idea that a proper meal has meat at the center and everything else to the side, and you start thinking about meals that feature things other than meat as the main course, it can really widen your horizons as far as cooking is concerned and introduce you to ingredients you might not have known existed or ever thought you would like.

I recommend the cookbook "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bittman. It's written by a non-vegetarian with new vegetarians (or flexatarians) in mind. It's expensive, but your library might have it.

And be prepared for lots of meat-eaters asking you "why, why, why!" you don't want to eat meat every day. Despite the stereotypes about vegetarians "pushing" their diet on you, I found it was the opposite. When I was a vegetarian, I was constantly questioned about my diet by meat-eaters. Since I started eating some meat again, I have never been bothered about it by a single vegetarian. If you do anything outside the norm, it tends to bring out some jerkish behavior by those within the norm.

wellbert

I'm a strict bovi-lacto-ovo-fowli-pesci-porci-vegetarian. It works extremely well for me.

MoreBean13

I support flexitarians. Mostly because people flexitarian diets have dramatically increased the target population for vegetarian products and restaurant choices, so it benefits ME.

However, I don't think there's any health benefits of choosing a flexitarian diet over a well balanced omnivorous diet- it's just going to make it harder to get protein and maybe certain vitamins. There may be some benefit in that it forces you to be more creative and open to new foods and products, but you don't actually HAVE to limit meat to get creative with vegetables and beans!

If you have ethical reasons for it, I totally support that. It can be a very healthy and balanced diet (as can vegetarian, omniverous, pescatarian, or any other variety).

My tip to you would be to concentrate on hitting your protein and fat macros first, or you can easily end up hitting your calorie target with runaway carbs and not enough protein. Beans and quinoa are great, but bring a lot of carbs with the protein, so balancing your macros is just different than if you have meat to fall back on.

PS. There's no rule about how many times a week a flexitarian can eat meat. It's up to the individual to decide what's right for them. Some people do totally vegetarian when they're alone, but eat meat because of social or cultural reasons around others, some do it when it's convenient, some have a weekly limit...whatever. It's a grey area and it's up to you.

BurtHuttz

Without whining about terminology, I'll say that sounds like a fairly healthy lifestyle, although chicken and fish protein is so high quality it seems a shame to limit yourself. Regardless, more vegetables in a diet is always a good thing! I'm curious how it works out for you.

sarahharmintx

I think I'm going to become a homosexual but I'm only going to have sex with women.

Color me disappointed.

WIN