Flex-a-tarian?

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Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    Enough with this "I am a special snowflake and need a special label" mentality. Eating meat, even if once a week, is called being an omnivore. You aren't a Flexi-whatever, Lacto-Ovo-Meato blah blah blah. You eat like the good majority of the human race does- you are a plain ol' omnivore.
  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member
    Enough with this "I am a special snowflake and need a special label" mentality. Eating meat, even if once a week, is called being an omnivore. You aren't a Flexi-whatever, Lacto-Ovo-Meato blah blah blah. You eat like the good majority of the human race does- you are a plain ol' omnivore.

    I :heart: you.
  • justkeepswimng
    justkeepswimng Posts: 506
    Isn't it great how helpful this thread has actually been towards the original quest for knowledge about a certain way of eating. I'm pretty sure all she wanted to do was find out the health pros and cons of eating mostly vegetables with a few days of white meat thrown in there. Call it what you will or don't call it anything. Who the frick cares?

    As for your original question, cutting red meats out of your diet is great. Otherwise, whether you eat white meat or no meat or a mostly vegetable diet with a little white meat, what you really have to look at is your protein intake. So you should eat lots of brocolli, beans, nuts, etc with proteins that you aren't getting from the meat that you are cutting out.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    Everybody's been so encouraging thus far! :huh:

    Unless you have some sort of metabolic or malabsorption problem, I can't imagine why a doctor would say no simply to reducing meat consumption. Okay, there are some pretty jerky and uninformed doctors out there, but what you're doing is not drastic or dangerous.

    I would suggest that if you are doing this for the perceived health benefits, that you watch your dairy intake on your meat-free days. No point in simply replacing one animal protein with another.

    There are many vegan and vegetarian recipes, books, blogs, and websites around, lots of resources to draw on. Way back when I went veg, I picked up a lot of recipes from usenet groups!


    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:
  • BradHallFitness
    BradHallFitness Posts: 152 Member
    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:

    You would actually be a pesce-pollotarian then.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-vegetarianism

    If you want to try it, go for it. For me it would not be a difficult thing to do. My question is: is there an underlying health reason you want to do it? Either way, I say try it out and if it works for you to meet your goals.....DO IT!
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    Catholics aren't supposed to eat chicken on Fridays during Lent. Only fish.

    Hrm. Apparently we were bad Catholics when I was growing up then...

    Oh well. Whaddayagonnado?
  • justkeepswimng
    justkeepswimng Posts: 506
    Everybody's been so encouraging thus far! :huh:

    Unless you have some sort of metabolic or malabsorption problem, I can't imagine why a doctor would say no simply to reducing meat consumption. Okay, there are some pretty jerky and uninformed doctors out there, but what you're doing is not drastic or dangerous.

    I would suggest that if you are doing this for the perceived health benefits, that you watch your dairy intake on your meat-free days. No point in simply replacing one animal protein with another.

    There are many vegan and vegetarian recipes, books, blogs, and websites around, lots of resources to draw on. Way back when I went veg, I picked up a lot of recipes from usenet groups!


    While I agree with cutting down on dairy as well, you definitely DO want to replace one protein with another.

    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:
  • justkeepswimng
    justkeepswimng Posts: 506
    Nevermind, I just noticed that you said "animal protein," not protein.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    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.

    I don't really see why it sounds like a fairly healthy lifestyle. If you don't have ethical/moral reasons for avoiding meat, then you're just doing yourself a disservice by arbitrarily limiting your food choices, and especially your sources of high quality protein. Sure more veggies is usually a good thing, but veggies are a sub-optimal source of protein. And there is really no reason that you have to avoid meat to get tons of veggies in your diet.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I became a vegetarian when I was 13 and was a vegetarian until I was 28 (with one brief break at age 16 because I weighed 89 pounds and my knees were purple). I started eating meat again at 28, during my second pregnancy because I had severe vomiting the whole nine months (for both pregnancies) and anemia (basically it got to the point of eat meat or get a blood transfusion).

    I was a vegetarian because I didn't want animals to be killed or harmed. But, I didn't want people to think I was judging them, so I told people it was for other reasons. You know how it is, when you are young and you tell people you are a vegetarian, they enjoy talking about killing animals to you. So, I think most people become vegetarian or reduce the amount of meat they eat for the internal conflict they feel about the moral reasons and it's personal (even if they don't say that's the reason because they don't want to deal with the follow up conversation).

    I just realized I should explain that the reason I experienced that anemia during the second pregnancy was because I started hemorrhaging during the pregnancy. And it happened again after the birth.
  • Calantorntain
    Calantorntain Posts: 172 Member
    I'm an unintentional flexitarian.

    As far as I understand it, there's three main camps (and of course, it's possible to span all categories). I'm mostly in the last one!

    - The ethicist. They don't believe meat is murder, but they do believe in the ethical treatment of livestock. They believe it's more ethical to have a free range, grass fed, hormone free steak once a week, than it is to have a McBurger every day.

    - The health conscious. They think that a diet that focuses on plant matter is the healthiest way to go, but recognize that there's health benefits to eating meat, poultry, and fish. So they cut back, rather than abstain altogether. They are arch enemies of Keto dieters.

    - The cheapskate. They realize that, pound for pound, meat is expensive. So, rather than wasting their money on the luxury of meat main courses, they use it as a flavoring, or a side, or have completely vegetarian meals, rather than having meat, poultry, and fish be the stars of their meals.

    Flexitarian, as I understand it, isn't really a term like vegetarian or vegan. Rather, it is a term used to describe the cultural phenomenon of the younger generations shying away from the "meat and potato" meals of their fore-bearers.
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    Wow, very nicely broken down!
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    I don't really see why it sounds like a fairly healthy lifestyle. If you don't have ethical/moral reasons for avoiding meat, then you're just doing yourself a disservice by arbitrarily limiting your food choices, and especially your sources of high quality protein. Sure more veggies is usually a good thing, but veggies are a sub-optimal source of protein. And there is really no reason that you have to avoid meat to get tons of veggies in your diet.

    Compared to a fastfoodatarian, it's fairly healthy.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    Why the need to label yourself? Just don't eat the stuff you don't want to.
    I'm a nonsardinearian.
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    A flexible vegetarian who doesn't include bacon.

    What's the point of living anymore?!
  • wakeup_skinandbones
    wakeup_skinandbones Posts: 3
    Vegan in the house.
    And quality protein can come from many other sources. You're eliminating a majority of what you are used to, sure, but it opens up a whole new world of foods, tastes, and textures when eating less animal products.
    You can be a vegetarian and get great results in terms of weight loss (unless you're eating cheese fries everyday)
    Saying you are vegetarian and still eating fish or chicken, or any other animal, does not make you a vegetarian, it makes you uneducated. And should just give up eating animals, because frankly, you don't need to eat them and then you can say you're a vegetarian and an animal can live, win and win.
    Eating less animal products is awesome and I hope one day you can become a vegetarian or even a vegan.
  • katy84o
    katy84o Posts: 744 Member
    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.

    This is exactly what happened for me when I was vegetarian for almost 4 years. I didn't become vegetarian to lose weight, but more for environmental reasons. At the same time, I quit eating a lot of junk and dropped almost 30lbs. Once my body regulated to my new style, I gained most of that back. I started eating meat again because organic/local meat is by far healthier for myself and the environment than a chemical filled morning star or light life "meat" product.

    Anyway, if you are planning on cutting out pork and red meat I dont' see anything wrong with that. I also don't think you will have a problem nutritionally because you'll still be getting protein. But if you are planning on only have meat once/ week or something like that, make sure you watch your protein and B vitamins, specifically B12.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    I'm a nonsardinearian.

    Me too! Small world.
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
    I slowly transitioned from being a meat eater to being a vegetarian over about 5 years. It started by eating and cooking w/veggie friends quite a bit. I stopped preparing meat at home, but I still ordered it out on occasion and I cheerfully consumed whatever I was served as a guest in someone's home.

    Eventually I started making fewer and fewer choices to eat any meat. I had never been a big fan as a child and I think my natural preferences just started leaning away from it. At one point I realized it had been a full year since I'd eaten chicken so I decided to make it official and cut it out completely. A few months later I decided I'd cut it all out but fish and seafood. A few months after that I realized I wasn't eating much of that either, so I went lacto-ovo vegetarian and I haven't looked back.

    Nothing wrong with cutting down on meat consumption. Enjoy.
    With me it was exactly the other way around.

    I grew up as a vegetarian. Just one of those things you don't question because it is all around you. When I was in my 20s I started eating an occasional fish or chicken with my friends. For the first few years I did not dare to eat beef or pork. I thought lightning would come down and struck me dead!

    Eventually I started making more and more choices to eat meat. A year later I realized that my fear of eating beef and port were completely irrational and I tried both, secretly at first. It felt all wrong, for all the wrong reasons. Finally, a few months later I made it "official" and I started eating all of the meats and I never looked back.

    Now I eat all of the varieties of meat. It is a great source of protein and it is delicious. I do look back at the days when I was depriving myself of meat and I wish I could go back and change it!

    Nothing wrong with eating meat. It's good--and it's good for you!
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
    The person I was quoting hadn't mention 'flexitarian' (which to me is a stupid term for omnivore).
    I understand how it may seem stupid to some people. But it's important to realize that grey color is not just a stupid term for black color.

    Life is a lot more nuanced than black and white!
  • ashleyb18_maye69
    ashleyb18_maye69 Posts: 19
    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.

    im told that it is better for you to cut out as much read meat as possible as long as i get my protien some other way than i should be fine
  • Shock_Wave
    Shock_Wave Posts: 1,573 Member
    I am a Vagatarian and I just love it!! :laugh:
  • ashleyb18_maye69
    ashleyb18_maye69 Posts: 19
    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.

    was told the more red meat you cutt out the better as long as i get my protein somewhere than i should be fine i dont really like red meat anyways i eat it not as much as everyone else i know but i do eat but i have to mix it in something my big thing i eat is chicken so only eating that once a week will be a challenge

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