Starting a Flexitarian Diet and Lifestyle
You know you need to lose weight when it is your mom who is already pushing you to work out. I guess I have been too “comfortable” with my own skin for the past months.
More than having a sculpted body, what I really aim for is to stay strong to do more things (or go places) and to stay healthy. I am full aware of how a regular exercise and eating healthy food can help me achieve the goals. I always love that feeling after having a really healthy meal. Then, there’s that feeling of guilt after indulging in (fast) food that is usually high in salt and sugar.
There are just some things that I cannot easily give up. So I decided to start the Flexitarian Diet and embracing Meatless Monday once again.
Flexitarian Diet was created by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner to help people reap the benefits of vegetarian eating while still enjoying animal products in moderation. The name is derived from two words – flexible and vegetarian.
To differentiate it from Vegetarians and Vegans:
Vegetarians eliminate meat and sometimes other animal foods.
Vegans completely restrict meat, fish, eggs, dairy and all animal-derived food products.
Flexitarians have no rules when it comes to recommended number of calorie intake or meat restrictions.
Some good vegetarian food we had during my
Bagan, Myanmar Travel with @anagon
Flexitarian Diet is all about:
Eating mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains.
Focus on protein from plants instead of animals.
Be flexible and incorporate meat and animal products from time to time.
Eat the least processed, most natural form of foods (I guess I can still eat my SPAM and chicken nuggets from time to time)
Limit added sugar and sweets (not really into sweets, but I still get my regular dose of Milk Tea!)
Back to Meatless Monday!
My mom is always supportive of my journey, so we started the week with Meatless Monday. Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and eliminate carbon footprint.
Just like any causes, simple steps can make a big difference. Reducing consumption of meat would mean lower risk of cancer, heart diseases and diabetes. This would also help in losing weight and making you look slimmer and glowing.
Consuming less meat will also help reduce your damage to Earth. Producing meat and farming result to climate change emissions, freshwater use, and water pollution and air pollution. I personally cannot give up my meat, so I am embracing Meatless Monday once again.
To get the protein that I need to function, I go for plant-based protein. These are lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, almonds, chia seeds, potatoes and beans. Maybe I can now join the Avengers Squad as 10 of the Avengers Cast Members are Vegan and go for plant-based protein diet.
Last Monday, my mom and I cooked Monggo (Mung Beans). I love eating Monggo as it is rich in protein and fiber (that helps me keep a good gut bacteria).
Pulses like mung beans also provide longer-lasting energ as it takes longer to break down compared to other carbohydrates we get from sweets (simple sugar). I also feel fuller easily which makes me decline another cup of rice.
Aside from protein, pulses are also a good source of fiber, iron, and potassium. They are also low in fat and sodium.
Today, we are cooking another vegetable meal. Truth is, cooking a vegetable meal is a lot more tedious (think of all the peeling, slicing and cutting), compared to cooking a meat meal, but I realized working in a kitchen is a good exercise too. The reward comes whenever we serve the vegetable meal in the table.
I am still currently following Intermittent Diet (starting to eat at 12 PM and taking my last meal at 8:00 PM). There are days when I just dismiss it especially when traveling and going out with friends. The most important thing is to find balance in enjoying life and choosing what is good.
What do you guys think of Flexitarian Diet?
Check out www.pulses.asia for more information and recipes using U.S. Pulses.
