Have your best January intentions about dieting flown the coop? I could say mine have, except I didn’t make any. I’ve learned the hard way that will power lasts only so long. There has got to be a better way, and there is. It’s not how much I eat, but what I eat.

All Roads Lead to Rome

For the last five years, I’ve studied how diet affects our health. Setting aside the snake oil “experts” and their handy-dandy supplements, I’ve found that physicians and researchers like Dr. Neil Bernard (founder of Physicians for Responsible Medicine and diabetes expert), cardiologist Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and Dr. T. Colin Campbell (author of The China Study), all conclude a whole food, plant based, meat and dairy free diet is not only health preserving, but curative.

It appears no matter their starting point (how to prevent or cure heart disease, diabetes, or cancer) every research road leads to a plant based diet of some sort. Like it or not, the popular, meaty Keto diet that looks so effective on the scale results in lean body mass loss rather than fat loss.

Eat Lots and Lose Weight

That’s music to my ears!

Take calorie intake. They say, “a calorie is a calorie is a calorie.” I could chow down a baked, sugary, tasty treat that’s 300 calories with no fiber. My body will instantly absorb those calories and leave me wanting more. Yet 300 calories of carrots will take a lot of chewing time, more than fill my stomach, and give me healthy carotene for my heart. Also, some of those calories will by-pass absorption, because they are imbedded in the carrot’s fiber to be flushed away.

Who wouldn’t want the sugary goodie rather than the carrots? A person who has savored deliciously prepared carrots, totally unlike raw or just boiled ones, that’s who. We haven’t showered our culinary creativity enough on vegetables as much as we have on meats and desserts. I remember the elder President Bush defying the agriculture industry when he said he did not want to eat broccoli. He pushed back on their push-back by announcing, “I’m the President of the United States and I don’t have to eat broccoli if I don’t want to!” So there! Executive privilege in action. Maybe if it had been prepared with a little…….

Not Easy at First

I think it would amaze you how tasty a creatively prepared vegetable dish can be. I admit chopping, preparing, and cooking veggies takes time. Cooking whole foods will never be as fast as popping prepared food into the microwave or frying up a hamburger patty. I would bet, however, that after a few weeks of whole food plant based eating, you will feel so much better, you won’t look back. Not to mention the good news from your scale. Imagine stuffing yourself with food, ignoring portion control, and stopping when you feel satiated.

I found some recipes were time consuming and tasteless. But after kissing a few culinary frogs, I discovered enough “princes” to keep me on track.

I urge you to watch this fascinating presentation by Dr. Greger on evidence based weight loss. The science of how our bodies react to the food we eat will show how willpower will not last or give you a sustainable healthy weight. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/evidence-based-weight-loss-live-presentation/

Motherload of Information

I registered for The Truth About Weight Loss Summit that is starting February 18 through February 26. (They will replay each of the four daily presentations later in the day for those with schedule conflicts.) Even catching half of the presentations from the experts makes this FREE summit worthwhile.

Honestly, sometimes it feels like the world is determined to defy my choice to eat a whole food, plant based diet. I succumb more than I should when eating out. Even doctors don’t help. Tell them you cheat once in a while and they say “Good!” I figure it may make them feel better about their own food choices OR believe the vegan life is one of deprivation. It’s not!

Still, holidays, dining out, visiting friends, all conspire to make a vegan life far more challenging than need be. That’s why I return to these summits and lectures. They make me glad I’ve chosen this route and more determined each time to stick to my meatless guns.

Here’s the free link. I promise it will be worth your while, and may even extend your life.

https://thetruthaboutweightloss.org/live

Other Resources

I have Dr. Greger’s book, How Not to Diet. By the way, he’s coming out with an updated edition soon.

Finally, to help me put my money where my mouth is (pun intended) I look for the latest issue of Forks Over Knives in the magazine section of the grocery checkout lines.The title implies that what you put at the end of your fork will keep you from “going under the knife.” And with our failing health care system, that’s huge. Every issue is full of recipes and inspiring stories and advice.