Vegan, Keto, Paleo…Flexitarian?

A little information and clarification on the “diet” I practice and preach, and why //

Last week I hosted an Instagram live session on my feed. It was my first one ever and I admit I was a little nervous. BUT, those who joined the live (shoutout if you’re reading this!) were so spectacular in bringing so much support and a lot of wonderful juicy questions. One question I got (and not for the first time) was this question about if I subscribe to a particular diet trend such as one of the ones listed in the title. I love getting asked this because I think it’s an important thing to talk about. There are so many conflicting opinions out there regarding what’s the best diet for your health. Vegans will die on the hill of animal products being the root of all evil. Ketos will shove butter and bacon fat down your throat and give you a spanking for eating a carb.

My personal and professional take?

RULES RULES AND MORE RULES. I don’t subscribe to any of these diets because they feel so rulesy. And rules equal restrictions. And restrictions are not my jam.

For the longest time, as a nutritionist, I felt a weird pressure to choose which niche diet trend I was going to preach. Am I a vegetarian or vegan with a squeaky clean plants-only policy that does some yoga and is in touch with my spiritual side? Or would I go the cross-fit paleo/keto route and wear a lot of gym clothes and put egg whites in my oatmeal?

You know the types.

It really made me question whether or not I was a nutritionist at all. How could I be a nutritionist that doesn’t tell people what foods to cut out, put a label to their diet, and constantly preach weight loss?

Then I stumbled across one very freeing diet/lifestyle term that I bet you’ve never heard of — “flexitarian”.

Dietitian Lizzie Streit described the term this way in a Healthline publication: “the Flexitarian Diet is a style of eating that encourages mostly plant-based foods while allowing meat and other animal products in moderation”. She goes on to explain that it’s not really a diet at all, but a lifestyle. The goal is basically to get the benefits that vegetarians get from adding in tons of veggies and plant-based products into their diets without having to impose harsh restrictions against animal products. In short — everything is allowed. Some things should be consumed more than other things because some things are more nutrient dense than others. That’s. It.

I was giddy. I finally knew what to consider myself since I had been doing exactly what this “diet” stands by for years. And more importantly, I knew what I wanted to preach as my nutritionist’s message to the world — to all of you, to my family, to anyone who will listen.

I want to be a part of the “diet” that aims to add foods in instead of eliminate them. I want to be a part of a “diet” that teaches me how to integrate more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients into my life in whatever ways I can. I want to be a part of a “diet” that promotes throwing the rule book out the window. I want to be part of a “diet” that wants you to be present at gatherings and enjoy whatever food gets presented in front of you, be it “healthy” or not.

Now, please do not confuse what I’m saying about restrictive diets with medical diets. There are cases where individuals are advised to restrict certain foods due to medical reasons. For instance, a person with Celiac disease will absolutely want to avoid gluten like the plague and adhere to a pretty strict gluten-free diet. A diabetic person will want to restrict their sugar intake, thus making a lower carb diet a good option for them. A person with high blood pressure may benefit from cutting out the sodium and saturated fats often found in animal products, thus making a vegan diet a good option for them. These diets can work beautifully as a way of healing or managing other more prevalent health concerns. Think of them more as prescriptions rather than trendy new diets to try for weight loss.

Outside of the exception for medically-based dietary restrictions, I’ve found it all too common for people to try mask their lack of control around food with a trendy diet label that allows them to mark their “temptation foods” as simply off-limits. It usually goes something like this — “Carbs are my weakness. I eat a whole bag of chips at a time, I order myself a small fry but then order my boyfriend a large fry knowing I’ll also eat most of his, and I could definitely take down an entire pizza. If I do the keto diet, I won’t be allowed any of those things, I’ll be forced to ignore them, and I’ll drop so much weight!”

Or have you ever heard this one? — “I eat so well all day but am ravenous at night. I dig through the cupboards and find any junkie foods I can after dinner. If I stay up late I always have to snack and it’s pretty much always chips or ice-cream. If I try intermittent fasting, I won’t be allowed to eat after a certain hour, I’ll be forced to ignore my late-night cravings, and I’ll drop so much weight!”

These labels are oftentimes band-aids for issues that need surgery. There is more to the story than any of these surface level narratives that you might be telling yourself. Such as, “carbs are my weakness”, “I am ravenous at night”, “I have such a bad sweet tooth”, or “I’m addicted to sugar”.

Flexitarian encourages you to find food freedom so that you can exist in peace with all those foods you try to avoid. It’s the only label I will give myself because it really isn’t a label at all. It is a lifestyle that happens to be completely aligned with my Sobremesa philosophy. Sign me up for that!

Read more about my Sobremesa philosophy and story in my previous blog post or in the About section of my site. Or, go to my offerings page to learn about the ways we can work together. For 1:1 virtual nutrition counseling, take the free intro survey so I can learn more about you and what you’re looking for!

I’d love to know if this message resonates with you in any way: do you agree? Disagree? Feel understood or misunderstood? I want to hear it all. Comment on this post or contact me on my contact page!

Thanks for reading!

XOXO,

Kaitlyn, Sobremesa Nutrition