Lose Weight With a Plant Based Diet
Many people feel that in the modern world the best way to
remain healthy is to move away from a meat-based diet and to move towards a
plant-based diet. Even without taking into account the cruelty issues that a
meat-based diet brings to the table, a plant-based diet has many benefits for
you and your family. One of the most important questions that get asked in
relation to a plant-based diet is how to lose weight on a plant-based diet?
It’s not as easy as you might think, while a plant-based diet is undoubtedly
healthier than a meat-based diet, it is sometimes difficult to feel full which
can lead to snacking. It is this snacking that stops you to lose weight when
partaking in a plant-based diet. Why does this snacking seem almost encouraged
though?
Almost every food that you eat has a calorie count. Don’t
believe the myths out there that eating celery is a calorie deficit because it
takes more to digest it than the calorie count in a stick of celery, it’s just
not true. Just because you have moved onto a plant-based diet doesn’t mean that
you can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you like. The more you think that
the 13 apples you ate yesterday are acceptable the more you will be asking
people how to lose weight on a plant-based diet. If you want to lose weight on
a plant-based diet then you need to stick to a sensible meal plan that provides
you with the right amount of calories for you. How do you avoid feeling hungry
so that you can resist the temptation to snack though?
Resisting Snacks
The easiest way to ensure that you can resist the call of
snacks is to make sure that the meals you eat satisfy you. How do you do this
though? Fortunately, there are a lot of plant-based foods that are incredibly
satisfying. Whole grains like brown rice are perfect to keep you feeling
satisfied long after you have finished your meal. This is because they are made
up of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are broken down at a slower
rate inside the body, this means that they satisfy you for longer and provide energy
over a much longer period of time. This, in turn, helps you to resist the urge to
snack because you feel full over a much longer period of time.
Another food type to stack your plate with is beans and
legumes. Beans and legumes are low in fat but high in fiber. This will help to
keep your digestive system healthy as well as reducing your need to snack. The
added protein in beans also means that you will be able to recover from any
exercise you undertake which means that you can get back in the gym a lot
sooner than if you didn’t take on board protein.
If you still need to snack you should ensure that you stick to
healthy snacks like fruit or a handful of nuts as much as possible and don’t go
over the top with how many you have. Stay away from snacks that are high in fat
and processed sugars and it will help you to keep to your diet. Just remember
that 13 apples are not a healthy snack, 1 apple is a perfect snack. Stay
disciplined with your snacks as well as your diet.
Exercise
Talking about protein and recovering from exercise, it’s not
enough to just move to a plant based diet to help you lose weight. If you are
taking on the same amount of calories and fat as you were from a meat-based
diet, which is possible if you have a diet that contains a lot of sugar, then
not only will you not lose weight, but you won’t reduce your body fat
percentage either. It will make your body healthier on the inside, but to
improve the weight you need to engage in exercise as well as a better diet.
You will need to engage in fat burning exercises like cardio and resistance
exercises. This will increase the number of calories that you use over the
course of the day and help to put your body in a calorie deficit. When you are
in a calorie deficit that means that your body is using more calories than you
put in. When this occurs then you will start burning away the excess fat on
your body and start losing weight. The reason you need to exercise as well as
diet is that if you just use a diet then you will not be putting in enough
calories to function properly, nor will you be getting all of the nutrients
that you need. Exercise increases your calorie output so that you can put all
of the nutrients that your body requires into your meals.
Ideal Weight
What about when you have reached your ideal weight though?
Should you keep eating a lower calorie diet? Should you stop exercising? The
answer to both of those questions is a resounding no. Once you have reached
your ideal weight you should definitely carry on exercising. This helps to keep
your body healthy as well as keeping it looking toned. This will help to keep
the number of calories you use at a regular level and make sure that your
metabolism still works at a healthy rate.
What about the reduced calories though? Once you have achieved
your ideal weight you will need to bring up the number of calories that you
eat. This is because if you remain at a calorie deficit you will continue to
lose weight. This will end up giving you health problems as there comes a point
where there is nothing left for your body to use except the healthy parts of
itself. Raise your calorie intake to the same point that you are using each
day. You want to try and use the same amount that you put in if possible, this
will help you to maintain your weight. If you go too high you will end up
putting weight on again. Just remember that the healthier your diet, the easier
it is to lose that weight as long as you put the work in.