Does Being A Vegetarian Help You Lose Weight?
We all know that vegetables are good for you. So being a vegetarian should mean that your diet is healthy, and therefore, you should be able to shed the pounds, right? Well, possibly, but within vegetarianism, there’s many choices you can make in terms of ensuring your diet is healthy, or not.
Diet Dilemmas
The plain fact is that some vegetarians have a fat-laden, processed food-heavy, high sugar diet. They just don’t eat meat or fish. I have a veggie friend who was baffled by her inability to lose weight since ditching meat. She told me all about it over a silky, buttery mac and cheese. I think she may have mentioned it again over lattes and salted caramel muffins. While I’m the last person to suggest that salted caramel is a bad thing, I wouldn’t expect it to help me melt off those last few pounds of baby weight, just because I haven’t touched bacon in a year.
Untrained Person Offers Advice!
Becoming a vegetarian for health, religious or ethical reasons is to be applauded. But it’s only a starting point if you want to lose weight.
I’m no dietician, and I have no medical training whatsoever. With that disclaimer firmly in place, I would like to introduce you to my Veggie Weight Loss Plan (I know, snappy title), in all its uncomplicated glory.
- Eat as many vegetables and as much fruit as you like
- Eat a range of grains, pulses and beans
- Cook with a little oil (olive, nut, seed etc)
- Flavor with garlic, herbs and spices
- Don’t eat too much bread and dairy
- Avoid sugar and processed stuff
- Stop eating when you feel full
- Drink alkaline water
All of which is expressed much more succinctly in this engaging quote from author, journalist and activist, Michael Pollan.
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
If you accidentally eat ice cream, several cookies, or the afore-mentioned salted caramel muffins, don’t panic. Don’t write off the day as a hopeless case either. Just don’t eat another one, put the pack away, and congratulate yourself on your immense restraint.
Good Food And Alkaline Water!
When it comes to cooking your veggies, trying using alkaline water, especially when grains or dried beans/pulses need soaking or will absorb the water during the cooking process. For example, I happen to find risotto much nicer when made with alkaline water to dilute the stock.
So let’s go back to the question. Does being a vegetarian help you to lose weight? It can, but only if you eat a balanced, healthy vegetarian diet. Shunning the steak and choosing chick-peas over chops isn’t a magic formula for dropping a jeans size.
East sensibly, drink alkaline water to improve and maintain your overall good health and exercise a little, or a lot, whatever works for you.
By the way, my mac ‘n’ cheese loving veggie friend is still trying to lose weight, and is now vegan. So watch this space…
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