Flexitarian is a marriage of two words: Flexible and vegetarian. The term was coined more than a decade ago, and in her 2009 book, "The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life," registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner says you don’t have to eliminate meat completely to reap the health benefits associated with vegetarianism – you can be a vegetarian most of the time, but still you can eat burger or steak when you want it.
Instead of meat for the protein source, flexitarian diet heavy on beans, tofu and quinoa. The emphasis is on fresh, rather than processed food. As a rule, flexitarian diet includes about 1,500 calories a day.
What I can eat and how often?
These are: the “new meat” (tofu, beans, lentils, peas, nuts and seeds, and eggs); fruits and veggies; whole grains; dairy; and sugar and spice (everything from dried herbs to salad dressing to agave nectar sweetener). A five-week meal plan provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack recipes. You can follow the plan as it’s outlined, or swap recipes from different weeks to meet your preferences. It’s a 3-4-5 regimen: Breakfast choices are around 300 calories, lunches 400 and dinners 500. Snacks are about 150 calories each; add two, and your daily total clocks in at 1,500 calories. Depending on your activity level, gender, height and weight, you can tweak the plan to allow for slightly greater or fewer calories.
Exercise:
You will need to be active for 30 minutes most days just for good health. Shift to 90 minutes most days if you want to slim down.
