Another Flexitarian

He doesn't call himself a flexitarian, but that is the diet he's now following: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-daniel-harris/why-im-almost-vegetarian_b_210472.html.

As I wrote here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/06/flexitarians.html, a flexitarian is someone who's mostly vegetarian but still eats meat and fish on occasion.

As I've previously written, I eat mostly vegetarian, primarily for health and diet reasons. Essentially, I aim for 60-70% of my weekly diet to be raw vegan (maybe I should call myself a flexivegan?).

But the other 30-40% of my weekly diet does include cooked vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs and fish. I find this percentage breakdown easy to follow in that it allows me the flexibility to eat out, go to parties, and cater to my family's preference for non-vegetarian meals.

Although I did transition to my mostly raw vegan diet, it was not all that difficult for me.

I really never ate fast food hamburgers, because I never really liked them. I grew up in an Italian household were most meals were vegetarian or had little meat in them. Growing up, meat was never the centerpiece at our dinner table. The only dessert we had (unless it was a party or holiday) was fresh fruit. My Dad would bring a large bowl of fruit to the table every night after the dishes were cleared away, then peel and slice the fruit for us. Needless to say, I never had a weight problem through my teens and 20's.

But I got married in my 30's to a man who thinks every meal should have meat in it (and fish doesn't count). I found myself making meals I never ate as a child, things like roasts or pasta with large quantities of meat in it. I saw the results of the meat-based diet in my expanding waistline.

Two years ago, I threw down the gauntlet and gradually began reducing the meat we ate. My husband had been diagnosed with a heart condition, and I wanted to lose 40 pounds.

Despite my husband's protests, I reduced the quantities of meat I cooked. If I used 1 pound of sausage in a meal, I reduced it to 3/4 of a pound initially, then 1/2 pound, then 1/4 of a pound. I replaced the reduced meat with vegetables. Roasts became occasional treats rather than weekly meals.

And, I began serving more vegetarian meals and one meal a week of fish.
My husband gripes but he's adjusted, and my weight dropped from 155 pounds to 128 pounds.