The bio-individuality of a sustainable diet! My story..
My flexitarian journey..
With 3.5 years of a pure plant based diet , it is just 6 months ago that I chose to incorporate fish into my diet. The reasons are varied but before that- just a bit of my back story. Past 3.5 years I have been heavily dependent on plant based foods – deriving most of my protein needs through whole foods, plant protein sources , nuts, seeds etc.. And it is exactly around the same time I started becoming more involved in weight/ strength training. So yes(no points for guessing;) there) – one of the reasons that I chose to become a Pescatarian( eating fish as animal source) came from the need to have animal source protein in my diet to sustain my protein needs for my gym workouts. The other important reason was me moving into the “glorious 40’s” which meant prioritising macros – specially protein and incorporating a strength routine to help support my hormones better during this peri menopausal phase.
What I want to emphasise here is that adapting to a diet / meal plan is bio – individual and of course dependent on which phase of the life we are in. Our lifestyle, work, exercise age, stress levels, physical health etc should be in line with a sustainable lifestyle and meal plan and vice – versa.
Personally, at this phase of my life building strength, muscle mass, agility, mobility, building bone health have been a priority coupled with a meal plan which allows me flexibility to adopt a flexitarian diet ( I find it much more easier to get protein from fish/ sea food specially when traveling ). Not saying that it is impossible to sustain a plant based diet – it just needs more awareness and research to get to the optimum macro levels.
A flexitarian approach is essentially a flexible alternative to me being a vegetarian. At this phase the goal for me is to get high quality sources of protein and omega 3 fatty acids to support my health goals.
This plan has so far worked wonders for me and has given me the freedom to enjoy my plant based lifestyle with the addition of fish to sustain and propel my current health goals. If you would like a personalised meal plan that would be ideal for your current health goals, reach out to me at wellnesswithswati@gmail.com.
To know more about my work – http://www.wellnesswithswati.com
Stay healthy,
Swati
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7956097/
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