Some people spend their lives losing and gaining weight. Some people obsess for months or years about those last five or ten pounds. Some people live in constant fear of regaining the weight they have lost.
This is a sad way to live. It’s a waste of precious life energy that could be otherwise devoted to pleasure, charity, or productivity. This weight-loss chase is also a huge waste of finances.
Perhaps we’re going about this all wrong. It’s expensive, it claims large swaths of time, energy, and focus, and it obviously isn’t working. It seems the more time and money we spend on weight-loss efforts, the more overweight and obese we become.
Maybe attempting to lose weight isn’t helpful or healthful.
If losing weight includes spending extra money, constipation, diuretics, laxatives, extra hours exercising, bad breath, headache, nausea, reduced happiness, or fatigue then the approach is not good for your health and more than likely will not result in permanent weight loss.
One must be healthy to lose weight. One does not lose weight to get healthy. A body full of health has no reason or need to carry excessive weight or fat. Instead of focusing on losing weight, perhaps we need to focus on getting healthy.
Well, that’s not sexy and fun Carla! We want easy & quick weight loss! Sell me a shake! Sign me up for classes! Send me to fat camp! Hook me up with some appetite suppresant pills! I want to lose 20 pounds in one month like the lady on TV said I could!
Sorry. The truth is a healthy body sheds the weight it no longer needs. A body full of toxins needs fat to encapsulate the toxins. Eating too many of the “wrong” edibles too often results in weight gain. And there’s no amount of exercising that can undo a poor diet. Sure, you might increase your fitness level, but are your heart & arteries healthy?
Bariatric weight loss surgeon Dr. Garth Davis has this to share from his new book:
• “Protein is not the key to weight loss – in fact, animal protein is one of the biggest factors behind the obesity epidemic, and, in virtually every study, animal protein is correlated with weight gain.
• Animal protein is not one of the healthiest foods around – rather, it is strongly associated with diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, and cancer, the primary killers of our time.
• Plant-based protein not only exists – it’s much better for you than animal protein and all plants contain more than enough to support every one of your health needs.
• A lower-protein (and low-fat) diet is the most effective way to lose weight, improve your health, and prevent future disease.
• Carbohydrates, far from being the enemy, are (in their natural, whole state) the source of human health, vitality, and vigor.
After years of intense research, I could come to only one conclusion: People whose diets are high in animal protein have significantly higher rates of chronic diseases: hypertension, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and many, many others, including cataracts, diverticulitis, diverticulosis, inflammatory bowel disease, gall bladder disorders, gout, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney stones, and rheumatoid arthritis. That’s what we know for certain. In emerging research (not yet conclusive), higher animal protein consumption is linked to poor mood, loss of mental concentration, and dementia.”
What are the toxins that need avoiding so that the body can cleanse itself and then release unnecessary weight?
Level One Cleansing – Avoid The Worst Toxins
1. High Fructose Corn Syrup
2. Refined white sugar
3. Hydrogenated oils
4. Refined white salt
5. Artificial sweeteners
6. Artificial and natural flavors
7. MSG
8. Artificial food coloring
Level Two Cleansing – Eliminate These Edibles
1. Meat (from any animal)
2. Dairy (from any animal)
3. Eggs
Level Three Cleansing – Skip to Get Committed To Ultimate Health
1. Oil
2. Flour
3. Added salt
4. Added sugar
Well, what the hell is left to eat?
1. Whole fruits
2. Whole vegetables
3. Whole grains
4. Whole nuts & seeds
5. Whole legumes/beans
Well, that sounds supremely boring, Carla! I want flavor! I want pleasure!
You’re going to have to decide what you want more: health or indulgence. You can’t have a steady presence of both. And much to popular disbelief, a low fat, whole food, plant-based vegan diet can be delicious. It might not be delicious at first to your taste buds and gut micro-biome which have been trained to eat and favor salty, meaty, sugary, or greasy foods. However the beauty is that taste-buds change and the gut micro-biome evolves to prefer wholesome plant foods. It’s true!
One of the most popular features of living and eating the whole food, plant-based way is that you get to eat a lot! As long as you’re eating the foods that are nutritious, whole, and naturally low in fat, you eat often and portions are large. Seriously, you’ve never seen so many trim people put away such large volumes of food! There is no deprivation or starvation in the whole food, plant-based community!
In short, if you are overweight, obese, or in poor health with a chronic disease and you don’t want to remain this way for the rest of your life and you’ve not yet given the low fat, whole food, plant-based vegan diet a try, then you have not done everything you can to reclaim and restore your health. It is only after adopting a low fat, whole food, plant-based diet for at least 4 months that you can claim that your stubborn weight or chronic disease is due to genetics, bad luck, or permanent damage to your metabolism. The “right” food can’t cure everything, but it certainly can heal a lot!
So, Carla, how can I get started today on a path toward health so that my body can shed its excess weight?
Start Here:
1. Getting Started on a Low Fat, Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet
2. Fiber First for Weight Loss™
Additional Resources
• How to Disease-Proof Your Health
• 57 Health Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet
• Johns Hopkins on Health & Environmental Implications of Animal Consumption
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
great stuff
Thank you Claire!