Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to think flexitarian. You can set discipline
Speaker 1: defaults for yourself and reserve the right to take a
Speaker 1: freer approach when you decide to. When this is your
Speaker 1: conscious choice. Different behaviors aren't about slipping or failing. They
Speaker 1: are about recognizing that all or nothing isn't the only option.
Speaker 1: So you may have heard the term flexitarian a person
Speaker 1: who is mostly vegetarian but not strictly so. Being a
Speaker 1: flexitarian might mean usually eating vegetarian, but eating turkey on
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving or lobster well in Maine, or burgers at a cookout.
Speaker 1: Or it could mean being a weekday vegetarian who eats
Speaker 1: meat on Saturdays and Sundays. Or it could mean that
Speaker 1: you don't actively buy meat or order it in restaurants,
Speaker 1: but you eat it when it is served to you
Speaker 1: at a friend's home. Vegetarianism becomes your default, but you
Speaker 1: choose to deviate from it when you want to, either
Speaker 1: based on specific exceptions or based on your feelings at
Speaker 1: the time. I am not trying to reduce my meat intake,
Speaker 1: but I am trying to consume less dairy because it
Speaker 1: causes me congestion. No more cream in my coffee. I
Speaker 1: go for the non dairy ice cream, even at my
Speaker 1: favorite ice cream parlor at the beach. But when my
Speaker 1: husband and I were at an amazing restaurant and they
Speaker 1: had ice cream as the dessert on their prefixed menu,
Speaker 1: I had a few bites. Was I congested the next day? Yes,
Speaker 1: I was, but I decided it was worth it. It
Speaker 1: is the flexitarian mindset. The flexitarian mindset works with other
Speaker 1: choices too. You can be flexitarian with alcohol, which might
Speaker 1: mean not drinking alcohol except champagne on New Year's Eve
Speaker 1: and at weddings, and fine wine when it's offered to
Speaker 1: you it's something celebratory. Or maybe it means no alcohol
Speaker 1: and work nights, but you and your spouse have an
Speaker 1: interesting cocktail on Saturdays. You could make dining at home
Speaker 1: or packing a lunch the default and only go out
Speaker 1: to eat when you have a reservation or a calendar invitation,
Speaker 1: which means that you have planned ahead and get to
Speaker 1: anticipate that meal out. Or you could dine at home
Speaker 1: and pack lunches during the week and dine out on weekends,
Speaker 1: regardless of the sphere of life, when you think flexitary
Speaker 1: and you set a disciplined default and grant yourself permission
Speaker 1: to deviate from it at your discretion. Now, some folks
Speaker 1: with strict views of habits may think that this is
Speaker 1: really just about giving yourself excuses. And obviously, if you
Speaker 1: are dealing with an addiction such that permission to have
Speaker 1: one drink leads to having six drinks, that is an
Speaker 1: entirely different matter. But if you are not facing such
Speaker 1: a situation, being flexible really isn't about giving into cravings
Speaker 1: or being weak willed, whatever that means. It is about
Speaker 1: recognizing that you can get a lot of the benefits
Speaker 1: of a habit without doing it absolutely all the time.
Speaker 1: If your standard for yourself is that you only don't
Speaker 1: eat meat except on special occasions, you will in fact
Speaker 1: eat less meat. You are achieving the goal you are
Speaker 1: aiming for, but you will also feel free to loosen
Speaker 1: your guidelines when there is a good reason. You are
Speaker 1: not denying yourself or your loved ones or creating an
Speaker 1: awkward social situation. If you are concerned about that, you
Speaker 1: are just setting defaults that nudge you toward a behavior
Speaker 1: You want and leaving yourself a few wild cards for
Speaker 1: freeer moments in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the moves of our time. Hey everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
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Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.