By Vegetarian diets are fantastic because you still can consume some animal protein and the type that isn’t causing death (we hope it doesn’t!). It is better to become a vegan if you can, but that’s not always realistic for many people.
For instance, many of us are allergic to soy, or cannot tolerate beans and legumes. This is precisely my problem. Eating these sources of protein don’t work well with me.
For those of you who can, vegetarian diets are great. Today, people consume far too much animal protein, which isn’t essential for muscle maintenance. We can get ample amounts of protein with plant-based alternatives. We need to be a little more creative and a lot more resourceful.
Did you know an estimated 70 per cent of all diseases, including one-third of all cancers, are related to diet? Therefore, my most favourite saying is true – your health is most definitely your wealth! Vego diets drastically reduce the risk of chronic degenerative diseases such as obesity, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers.
You may choose that a semi-vegetarian or flexitarian diet is probably a better option. This still means that your primary food source is plant-based, but can include fish, eggs, poultry and maybe some leaner cuts of meat.
This is an excellent alternative for people like myself who cannot eat beans and legumes, yet prefer to eat lean cuts of seafood and sometimes chicken. My health is a lot better, adding in these two types of animal protein. There is no right or wrong, and here are a few different alternatives you can use.
- Lacto-vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish, poultry and eggs, as well as foods that contain them. Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter, are included.
- Ovo-vegetarian diets exclude meat, poultry, seafood and dairy products, but allow eggs.
- Lacto-Ovo vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish and poultry, but allow dairy products and eggs.
- Pescatarian diets exclude meat and poultry, dairy, and eggs, but allow fish.
- Vegan diets exclude meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products — and foods that contain these products.
When choosing what lifestyle plan you prefer, always keep in mind your own needs and consider any health and lifestyle challenges you have. If you are trying to lose weight or reverse any disease effects, plant-based living will work well for you. I opted for a vegetarian diet as a teenager, going through immune therapy. Doing this helped me so much in my recovery, and I believe my immune system became a lot stronger at a faster pace because I eliminated animal products.
Whatever the reason is for you becoming a vegetarian, or adapting some more plant-based meals into your diet, keep in mind that vegetables are the best source of nutrients for both children and adults. We definitely do not eat enough and aren’t in a short abundance of these foods. The choice is really to add more colour into your plate, during every meal, and encouraging your loved ones and children to do so as well.
A great alternative is to start with perhaps one or two vegetarian meals a week, and slowly cut down on your meat consumption. This is a promising strategy.
Whatever the case, pick something that works for you and keep learning and changing along the way. Make it a diet plan that you can stick to for life to allow you the abundance of health you deserve. I do hope this helps you.
If you would like more detail about staying lean for life, please contact me via the usual channels. I have a comprehensive cheat sheet that outlines the best fat loss strategy phases in more detail, including an option to download the ultimate fat burning menu pack, and structure with training and fat loss. You can also find me on social if you have any questions or would like to connect.
