Wrapping It Up: The Most Important Takeaways

Episode #10 of the course How to adopt a flexitarian lifestyle by Alyce Eyster

Welcome to our last lesson, my friends. I’ve enjoyed teaching you about the flexitarian lifestyle, and I hope you have picked up some useful information along the way.

Throughout the past nine lessons, you have discovered why it is so important to eat mostly plant-based with whole foods, broadened your nutrition education, assessed your diet, learned tools and tips to help along the way, and addressed challenges.

Eating a mostly plant-based diet is significant because not only will it help you maintain a healthy weight, it will get you eating more disease-fighting plants. Per WHO, worldwide obesity has doubled since 1980, and with it comes many related conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and higher medical costs. As a flexitarian, a part-time vegetarian, you can halve your obesity risk and tap into the disease-preventing properties of a healthier diet.

There’s just so much documented evidence that eating nutrient-dense, plant-based foods (some also call it eating “clean”) provides for favorable health in terms of less diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. When you grasp the beneficial health ramifications of becoming a flexitarian, it is hard not to get on board and embrace the flexibility of the mostly vegetarian lifestyle.

If I were to sum up the flexitarian lifestyle in a few words, it would be: eat more vegetarian meals. And give yourself a break when you can’t. More specifically, eat copious amounts of fruits and vegetables, consume whole grains and beans, indulge moderately in lean protein and dairy, eat minimal sugar, watch the sodium intake, eliminate processed foods, and enjoy alcohol like wine in moderation. Drink plenty of water. Partake in moderate splurges on occasion, and enjoy them fully when you do. Give yourself a break when you overindulge—hey, it happens—and get back on the program tomorrow.

I hope the knowledge you have gained has opened the doors of inspiration and motivation. I encourage you to honestly assess your diet and set some realistic goals. Remember that changing things up takes time and preparation. While making positive changes, there will be pitfalls and plateaus. But don’t abandon your new habits altogether. Just guide yourself back toward the flexitarian lifestyle. Are you ready to change your diet and improve your health for the better?

I challenge you to try this diet for 30 days and see how you feel. You have nothing to lose (except maybe some weight!). Here’s to flexible goals, forgiving yourself, and optimum health through diet. Best of luck in the journey!

Recommended book

Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes by Martha Stewart Living