To reduce meat to twice per week and stay healthy?

[StarlingSpark]

I haven't eaten red meat much at all in decades because I don't like it, although will eat bacon or a steak a few times per year. I mostly eat poultry and fish, with eggs and dairy, about 5 times per week.

Due to costs, and having found so many delicious plant based recipes that I love, I feel that meat is getting in the way a bit now and would really like to narrow it down to only twice per week. So that would be either two chicken breasts or varied with fatty fish.

I eat a lot of legumes and veg, and love cooking, so happy to try anything new.

What I want to ask is, is this amount of meat enough to fulfil nutritional needs? I am obviously ok for iron as never really eat red meat to start with, but can't find anything on google. It presumes i am asking about red meat, not meat in general.

Just to add: I know vegetarians and vegans will say they're great and have done this for years, but we are all different, and I am not interested in becoming vegan, with all due respect.

Are you saying you don't want vegetarians or vegans to respond?

Indeed. I have over 35 years of not eating meat of any kind and being healthy. But I’m vegetarian, so I guess that invalidates my comment? I would not dream of suggesting you should become a vegan either.

You probably could with ease! You could perhaps pay for some private blood tests to see and really test your health, or perhaps talk to a nutritionist?

I keep meat in my diet as legumes are a no go, same for quite a few types of leafy greens so it gives me a better balance. One of my besties is vegan and she’s very healthy, eats a really varied diet and is probably more imaginative with food than most! She does take a lot of supplements too (so do I tbh) which is always an easy option to add in anything you think you might be missing.

Eat what you like but make it varied and not UPF.
I eat vegan and vegetarian meals most of the time.
A lot of beans and lentils are easy to cook with, it doesn't have to be red lentils or chickpeas. Today I had black eyed beans and they were good.

If you don't want to be a vegan, you can use something like bacon or cheese to perk up a dish, you don't need much.

You will be fine if you are eating lots of legumes instead. They are a great source of protein. Keep the eggs in the diet too. Also nuts will be good for healthy fats.

I have no interest in being a vegetarian, and I'm also trying to cut out red meat (can't quite give up 'nduja though!), and since starting to eat legumes a lot more, I find I don't want meat or fish every day. I am also trying to eliminate as many UPFs as possible. I know I won't be able to 100%, but pretty confident I can be mostly free of it.

We don't eat a lot of meat in the family as partner is vegetarian. We have started buying a bit more because in anaemic. I don't enjoy it really but I'm eating mince again. We eat a lot of iron rich veggie foods but its obvs not enough for me.(I have horrendous periods). I also recently read that the older you get a meat eating diet is actually preferable to stay healthy and prevent bone breakages and loss of muscle mass etc. I'm going for a bit more balance with my diet as my body is obviously telling me it needs it.

You’re not finding results on Google because “meat” means red meat and game. Poultry and fish aren’t “meat”, even if they are the flesh of living creatures.

They again just inputting legumes and dairy and vegetables and fruit and carbs and chicken and fish - there’s soooooo much information available. (You will be fine, ask the hundreds of millions, if not billions of vegetarians and vegans all over the world)

Thanks everyone. It seems we are all different, but I am looking for a sort of NHS guideline sort of thing, and they don't really offer advice for how 'little' is advisable. They only seem interested in advising people to reduce processed meat.

By veg/vegan, I meant that I already know they are happy with their diet, so it won't apply to me as an omnivore. I am interested in responses from people who reduced meat generally to only a few days worth. No offence meant at all.

Of course it is. It’s how many healthy diets in the world are composed. You’ll be absolutely fine. Loads off plants, a bit of animal protein, not much processed crap.

Our family eats red meat once a week and chicken once or twice a week, fish once a week. We have a varied, home cooked diet with loads of fruit and veg, whole grains, pulses and protein from a range of sources (although it’s pretty rare not to eat enough protein in developed countries, whatever they say on instagram). This keeps four very active teens pretty energetic and strapping and as far as I know no one has ever been remotely malnourished.

yeh, I think that's what it presumes.
I have no idea how to search for minimum animal meat (of any type). It literally bypasses poultry and fish and advises me to eat it 5 times per week

I think I was pondering whether any meat twice per week would deliver enough zinc, b12 stuff like that.

I know there's b12 in dairy, which I eat a good amount of, but just need that extra push to reduce!

If I am honest I would prefer to eat it once per week, but am pacing myself, lol.

Well, given vegetarians have a 12% reduced risk of premature death, the logical guideline for how little meat is advisable is none 🤷‍♀️ If you have a healthy diet otherwise, you can’t underconsume meat (said as an omnivore with a fondness for rare venison.)

Logically if vegetarians are healthy eating no meat at all, then you eating it a couple of times a week will not be an issue or problematic in any way. There won’t be an NHS advised minimum amount of meat in a healthy diet as it isn’t necessary to eat meat in order to have a healthy diet.

I eat meat and fish about once a week but no more. I think it has improved my health. I do have plenty of eggs and cheese.

as long as your diet is varied you will be fine.

I wouldn't have thought you'd even need to think terribly hard about it, so long as you already eat fairly healthily. I eat red meat once in a while and probably eat vegetarian about 4/5 days a week; it wasn't a conscious choice, I just realised at some point that was what I was doing. Combination of prices going up and just gravitating more towards those things. I can always tell when I need a protein hit or I'm low iron, but it's not different from when I used to eat more meat, really.

I bet chat gpt would answer that. And give you a meal plan to boot!

I eat like this, some chicken, some fish, very occasional meat which I don’t really like. I personally think it’s better for the planet, my wallet and my health. I prefer a mainly vegetarian diet but am not veggie.

So are you interested in NHS advice, or the personal experiences of omnivores? I'm confused.

I eat a mostly pescatarian diet - vegetables/dairy/legumes/seafood are my main sources of protein. I don't eat much other meat at all, maybe once every couple of weeks while out and even then it won't be a steak or chicken breast or anything 'meaty' I have to cut through as I dislike it.

I'm lean, active, lift weights, super healthy really. 54yo on no medication with no health concerns. If that helps at all?

I find one meat dinner a week and a couple of portions of fish and I feel fine

meat only monthly and I struggle / get cravings

so somewhere in between is my tipping point

If you want to see what the nhs says

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/the-vegetarian-diet/

as you can see a whole veggie diet if it’s diverse is totally healthy and I don’t think adding some meat willmake it worse

The NHS won't tell you this because meat is not necessary for a healthy diet.

Look for a guide for which foods are rich in each vitamin and mineral, @StarlingSpark .

vitamins-and-minerals-in-our-food-pdf.pdf

I've had to Google as I thought legumes was just the French word for vegetables.

Sigh....there is so much information out there. Be informed. Listen to BBC R4 The Food Progamme - esp today's episode.
@SilenceInside that is not 'logic' 🫣
I haven't eaten meat in over 40 years and I do not think I have a ring fenced area of the Amazon with a plaque on it. The more you eat meat, the more you destroy the environment. Simples.

@Aintgointogoa huh? I meant problematic for the OPs health and nutrition which is what she was asking about. Not sure what point you think I was trying to make.