The Truth About Vegetarian Diets and Weight Loss
There are millions of overweight vegetarians in this world, so just because someone eats a vegetarian diet doesn’t mean they will automatically be thin.
Calories are still calories whether they come from carbs, fats, or proteins and eating a vegetarian diet is NOT a free ticket to eat
whatever you want whenever you want even within the vegetarian parameters.
With that said, research shows that most vegetarians weigh LESS than their meat eating counter parts.
That is good news for the Vegetarian Lifestyle!
After all, vegetarians typically eat low calorie, high fiber foods with less saturated fat and cholesterol.
Vegetarians that are lean and healthy tend to eat more fruits and vegetables on a daily basis and smaller portions.
The weight loss benefits of fruits and vegetables are amazing.
Fruits and vegetables have the ability to carry toxins and fat out of the digestive system because of their absorbing qualities. As well, fiber is naturally found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds and the average American probably needs fiber more than any other nutrient in their diet – even protein!
Fiber:
Not only do people lack enough fiber in their diet, but most folks don’t know the difference between the various TYPES of fiber.
Insoluble fiber is fiber that will not breakdown and stays intact all the way through the intestines and has no calorie effect on the body. Soluble fiber is known for its fat binding capabilities and will bind with excess unwanted fatty acids to carry it out of the body through the intestines helping you drop inches from your waist, belly and thighs.
Fiber also slows down the absorption of sugar instead of dramatically increasing your blood sugar. That’s what happens when you eat processed foods and the extra sugar is stored as fat in unwanted areas on your body.
Soluble fiber helps lower your cholesterol levels, plus increasing your fiber intake to the recommended 30 grams per day reduces a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer by 50%!
When you eat fiber and water-packed foods (like fruits and vegetables), it is harder to over-eat because you always feel full and satisfied. But if your idea of a vegetarian meal is a dense, processed pasta dish, you could easily consume twice as many calories as you need – and that’s where vegetarians get into trouble!
When you BUILD YOUR DIET AROUND fruits and vegetables you will feel full while eating fewer calories (the key to fat loss), and you’ll consume more water, higher amounts of nutrients, and get a lot more fiber without feeling hungry.
Simply put, the right Vegetarian Lifestyle is a better, faster, and simpler way for you to lose weight, get more energy, and look 10 to 15 years younger in just weeks.
The Power of Plants
The correct Vegetarian Lifestyle is full of nutrient-rich foods and lower in calories, and when you eat a plant based diet it has amazing effects on how you feel and think – and it gives you a tremendous boost in your MENTAL and PHYSICAL energy levels.
Plus, eating a plant based diet has the power to cleanse, detoxify and regenerate your body back to optimal health.
Having excess fat on our bodies is not a sign of good health as it is a sign of stored calories and stored excess toxins.
Did you know that the chemicals in marijuana can stay stored in fat cells for up to 60 days? (Not that you use marijuana, but I just want to prove a point!). A lot of other drugs – including valium – and toxins also “hang around” in your fat cells for months.
But when you give the body the nutrients it needs, it has the ability to shed unwanted weight and the toxins that are stored in fat.
Health
There’s so much I could say about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet that this section needs a book of its own. But since we’re concentrating on fat loss with these meal plans, I’ll just list everything the Vegetarian Lifestyle can do for your health:
• Helps you lower your cholesterol
• Decreases risk of heart disease
• Dramatically reduces your risk of cancer – often slashing your risk in half or more
• Cuts down on uric acid and eliminates cases of gout
• Creates an alkaline environment in your body (An acidic environment is associated with common lifestyle diseases)
• Lose weight and enhances your fat burning program
So you can see the MANY advantages of following a healthy vegetarian diet. What about you, have you embraced the Vegetarian Lifestyle or are you considering it?
bit weird that these vegan recipes contain honey. Don’t bees count?
I make my dishes vegan as much as possible. I ran out of Agave for my scone recipe but I still wanted to show you how to make it . I have raw honey as a back up. Not everybody will agree with that but that’s o.k.