10 steps to getting healthy and losing weight. #10, eating less meat.

One of my readers asked for a list of 10 steps to good health. I provided it, but now I want to break each of these items down and give you more useful details. So here’s step 10, eating less meat.

Before I go into detail here, I will mention that I am a vegetarian. I did not choose this lifestyle due to moral or ethical issues, I have no problem with human beings consuming animal meat. Instead, I chose to limit my meat consumption first, due to health reasons and second, due to environmental concerns. However, I don’t recommend that people interested in just healthy lifestyle go veg. It’s actually easier in my opinion to get a healthy and complete diet with some meat in your diet than it is with no meat. So this post is not meant to an endorsement of the vegetarian lifestyle. However, I will say, and the medical community agrees with me, that people today consume too much meat, and specifically, too much highly processed beef, chicken and pork.

Meat in and of itself does not have to be unhealthy. It has many healthy nutrients that our bodies need. From protein to omega three fatty acids, meat can supply us with a variety of our daily necessities. Eaten in a healthy manner, meat can be a valuable part of a healthy diet. Eaten in an unhealthy manner, it can be a leading cause of obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Carbs vs. Protein

By the way, anytime I mention meat, there’s always an Atkins diet follower who adamantly insists that protein is good. So let me just say that I agree, protein is good, in moderation and from healthy sources. You’ll note that I’ve already mentioned in this series of articles that people should cut out the junk carbs in their diet from things like sodas and bad snacks. However, I also think people should cut out the junk protein from things like fast food. So if you want to follow a high protein diet, just get that protein from healthy sources like lean meats and plants, rather than the latest creation from burger king. And yes, that also means cutting down on the steaks at dinner and the bacon at breakfast.

Again, note that this is similar to some previous advice I gave about vegetables. Eating vegetables doesn’t necessarily have to be healthy. Twinkies and mashed potatoes are vegetarian but I wouldn’t recommend you eating them on a regular basis. The reason I say all this is because as soon as anyone mentions eating less meat, you hear a lot of negative feedback from people who assume you’re taking some kind of moral or political stance. So let me be very clear, I’m not. I believe that meat can be healthy. However, just like plant matter, there is healthy meat consumption and there is unhealthy meat consumption.

So what’s healthy meat?

Chicken, turkey, lean beef and fish are all excellent meats. There are also other red meat options like buffalo and venison which are much healthier than the factory raised beef we typically eat. If you can, try to get the organic varieties of all of these. They’re much healthier than the factory raised ones. Also, the less processed the meat the better. That means a chicken breast you bought fresh and cooked yourself is much better than chicken McNuggets which are 50% chicken and 50% god knows what.

Healthy meat consumption also means eating meat in moderation. Western culture promotes meat as the central item at every single meal, or at least as an addition to things like eggs. However, meat should only be eaten once a day at most and even then in moderation. Meat contains an enormous amount of calories for its volume and eating a lot of it will quickly lead you to exceed your daily caloric requirements. Yes, that means that 32oz steak you just ate was unhealthy.

Finally, healthy meat consumption also means healthy meat preparation. Forget about deep frying, go for grilling instead. No more breading which just adds calories and junk carbs. No more soaking the meat in heavy sauces like ranch or some types of BBQ sauce. Try seasoning with various spices instead. And stop pouring on the salt, meat is salty enough as is and you’re overloading your body with the amount of salt you eat.

Summary

Meat can definitely have a place in a healthy diet. However, like anything else, it should be eaten in moderation and obtained from healthy sources.

Series Navigation

«10 steps to getting healthy and losing weight. #9, smaller and more frequent meals.

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