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Main Concepts
A PLANT-BASED DIET is the most effective way to lose weight quickly and permanently. In fact, a plant-based, or vegan, diet has been proved to be more effective for long-term healthy weight maintenance and disease prevention than diets containing processed foods, dairy products, and meat. (Get a more complete list of what you should and shouldn’t eat here.) What does it mean to eat vegan? It means that you don’t consume any animal products at all — no meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, or even honey
You’ve probably heard that vegetables are the absolute key to health and weight loss. However, most modern diets do not give vegetables the priority they deserve. Many of our meals involve no vegetables at all, consisting of just breads and meats, or, if they do include vegetables, contain only those vegetables that are starchy and carb-heavy, like potatoes and corn. This is a problem, because a meal with no vegetables will always be less healthy, less filling, have less fiber and fewer vitamins, and be higher in calories and fat than one that focuses on vegetables. Furthermore, vegetable-sparse diets are more often processed, high in refined sugars and simple carbs, and high in unhealthy fats and cholesterol. These are things that are linked to all sorts of diseases, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, hormonal imbalances, and so on.
Picture what you would consider to be a perfectly healthy diet. What types of food does it focus on? Your instincts are probably correct—nutrition plans that give vegetables the starring role will always be more waistline-friendly and healthy than diets that focus on heavy meats and processed foods.
Our Take
The switch from eating as an omnivore to eating as an herbivore brings with it all sorts of physical, social, and economic challenges. It can be difficult to give up some of the foods you’re used to eating, like cheese, meat, and butter, and your friends and family may not necessarily be on board. Plus, eating vegan can make grocery shopping and eating out a little more complicated. Going vegan means that you’ll have to override taste preferences that have been implanted on your brain over a lifetime. It takes a lot of motivation and discipline to change these deep-seated habits.
Still, the benefits of eating a vegan diet are undeniable. If you follow the program, you will inevitably lose weight, especially if you switch from a diet in which you consumed a lot of sugar, processed foods, and fatty animal products. And you’ll obviously find it very easy to get your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Plus, studies show that people who eat vegan have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower body mass indexes, lower risk of diabetes, and lower risk of dying from heart disease and cancer. Interestingly, vegan diets are also associated with lower instances of arthritis, and studies indicate that vegans live an average of 3 to 6 years longer than non-vegans.
It’s up to you to determine whether the benefits of going vegan outweigh some of the difficulties. Of course, it’s important to remember that any life-changing course of action is, by definition, going to be difficult. And if you do decide to go vegan, you’ll be in good company. Everyone, from Beyonce to Ellie Goulding to Jennifer Lopez has gone plant-based.
Further Reading