For decades, we’ve always heard about various mainstream diets that promise fast weight loss and amazing body transformations. Diets like Keto, Paleo, Atkins, South beach, and many more.
You would think that with all these popular diets everyone would be in shape, no problem, right? Well sadly, that’s not the case, as the rate of overweight and obese people still continues to rise. Even more so, many people who try these diets end up quitting and trying another diet.. and the cycle continues until they eventually give up and convince themselves that there’s no hope.
The problem is not the person, it’s these BS diets. It’s been long thought that the best way to lose body fat is to cut calories, and eat foods that are high in protein, and low in, or void of, carbs. This, however, is a bit of a misconception, and only one of the problems with these popular diets.
Let’s go over some of the big problems with these diets, and then get into why a diet centered around whole plant foods is actually the best diet for successful fat loss!
WHY MAINSTREAM DIETS DON’T WORK
FAST & SUB-OPTIMAL RESULTS
A big downfall for many of us is that we want quick results. We want something and we want it NOW. This is an idea promoters of various diets use to try and entice people to try whatever diet or eating program they represent. You might hear phrases like, “rapid fat loss”, or, “watch the weight melt off”, etc.
A lot of times, in fact, some of these diets actually do provide fast results, but they’re often sub-optimal, and don’t last.
When someone starts to rapidly lose weight on, say, the keto diet, it’s typically coming from water weight, and muscle mass, not body fat. Especially when they’re following a low-carb diet, which is standard in many mainstream weight loss diets.
Carbs are our bodies’ preferred energy source, and when there’s not enough coming in, and you’re in a calorie deficit (burning more calories than you eat), the body will turn to the next easiest source of energy, which is muscle mass. Fat, on the other hand, will be mostly preserved.
This can leave people feeling sluggish, while seeming as though they’re not losing any significant weight. Or, at least, the weight (body fat) they’re trying to lose. After maybe a week or two of this, they’ll either give up, or try another diet.
LOW CARB
Mainstream, especially animal-based, diets typically focus on keeping carbs low. Let me explain why this SUCKS.
As I said before, carbs are the bodies’ preferred energy source, and can cause people to feel sluggish and tired when taken out of the diet. Carbs turn into glucose (blood sugar) in our bodies, and fuel our muscles and brain.
Carbs do NOT make you fat, nor do they keep you from losing fat. That is probably one of, if not THE, biggest food myth there is. There are very healthy carbs, and then there are more unhealthy forms of carbs. Let me break down the difference between “good” and “bad” carbs.
The “bad” carbs everyone refers to are refined carbs. To put it simply, these carbs have all the healthy nutrients, including fiber, stripped away, leaving only the sugar left. This can spike blood sugar faster than usual, while providing no adequate nutrition.
Examples of refined carbs are things like:
- Pop
- Candy
- Desserts
- Added sugars/table sugar
- *White* bread & pasta
The misconception with carbs and sugar gets twisted out of context to say that all carbs are inherently bad. When in fact, most people would actually benefit more if the majority of their calories were coming from carbs, but complex carbs that also come with fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants.
Examples of complex, healthy, carbs are things like:
- Whole Grains: Brown rice, Quinoa, Oatmeal, etc.
- *Whole* Wheat/Grain bread
- *Whole* Wheat pasta
- Legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils)
- Fruit
The Keto diet operates on keeping carbs low enough to enter into “ketosis”. This is complete BS because ketosis is essentially our body starving for carbs, so it has to go to almost a last-resort energy system. Not one that anyone is supposed to survive, or thrive off of.
Also, because carbs are the bodies’ preferred energy source, it makes sense most people claim to love and crave them. This is another reason why a low-carb diet isn’t sustainable for most people, and just overall sucks.
RESTRICTION
Whether it’s restricting carbs, calories, desserts, or portion sizes, a lot of these diets operate under a “you can’t have” theme. And there’s a classic saying that if you tell someone they can’t have something, they’re going to want it more.
We discussed why it sucks to cut carbs. Not only might people feel sluggish, but they’re just going to crave them more. Combine that with telling the person they can only eat X number of calories (when they’ve probably never tracked calories in their life), or that they can’t have more than X amount of food, you would be setting them up for failure.
Humans did not evolve to constantly track calories, or eat no more than half of a banana, or palm-full of rice. The reality is that restriction will never yield long-term, successful results. And typically ends up with people in a cycle of binge eating, or cheating on their “diet”, and then blaming themselves.
Don’t cut food out of your life, just start adding in more plants!
OTHER HEALTH RISKS?
Aside from potentially feeling sluggish, hungry, and like you’ve been torturing yourself with restriction, another downside to a lot of mainstream diets is the risk of increasing other health concerns, such as high cholesterol, or high blood pressure.
How do these risks increase? Animal products. Animal products are the only source of dietary cholesterol, which we do not need. Our bodies’ make all the cholesterol we need, therefore, any excess is just contributing to higher cholesterol levels, which increases the risks of heart disease, and stroke.
And with blood pressure, a lot of animal products contain higher amounts of saturated fat, which not only also contributes to heart disease, and stroke, but also can cause blood to be more viscous, or thick, which means it doesn’t flow as easily and as a result, the heart works harder, thus, increasing blood pressure, and also feelings of lethargy.
These issues can both be byproducts of a diet high in foods such as chicken, beef, fish, eggs, or dairy.
Even the founder of the popular Atkins diet passed away due to cardiovascular problems, shedding some light on the real issues with these mainstream diets that are otherwise ignored.
OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY
The general issue with these mainstream diets is that overall, they’re not very sustainable. And in order to achieve successful fat loss, you’d want to adopt a way of eating that you can maintain for the rest of your life. Mainstream, low carb, fast weight loss, blah blah blah, diets SUCK. They can leave you feeling tired, hungry, mentally foggy, and on the verge of giving up your goals. These diets are just over-hyped fads, not the real deal.
What is the real deal? Well, if you’re reading this, you already know… plants are the real deal! And a diet centered around whole plant foods is the fat-loss real deal!
WHY A PLANT-BASED DIET WORKS
OVERALL MORE SUSTAINABLE
Eating a diet where the majority of the calories are coming from whole plant foods is going to be a much easier and long-term way to lose fat. Eating this way is much more sustainable for various reasons, so let’s get into them!
SATIETY KING
Satiety, or the feeling of being full and satisfied after a meal, is one of the most important factors in a successful fat loss journey. Feeling hungry all the time is not.
You’ve probably heard that protein is key for satiety, making protein-rich animal products, such as meat or eggs, staples in a fat loss diet. However, protein is just ONE of a few factors in terms of satiety, not the main driver.
There are 3 main players for satiety – protein is one, then there’s also water, and fiber. All three of these play a crucial role in keeping you full and satisfied, and guess what?.. You can find ALL THREE in plants!
Fun fact, researchers have studied what the most satiating foods are and guess what? It isn’t chicken, it isn’t eggs, it isn’t steak.. It’s actually potatoes! Score for plants!
On the contrary, animal products are void of fiber and water, leaving only protein as the lone satiety soldier. Therefore, to get the best bang for your fat-loss buck, ditch the animal products and increase your consumption of plants!
EXAMPLES OF SOME SATIATING PLANT FOODS:
- Potatoes!
- Beans
- Lentils
- Whole wheat pasta
- Bean or Lentil pasta
- Rice
- Quinoa
- Oatmeal
- Big salad of leafy greens, veggies, etc.
CUTS CALORIES FOR YOU
I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase, “calories in, calories out”. How much you’re putting into your body vs. how much is being used, or burned off.
Everybody has an individual “maintenance” number of calories that refers to how much they need to maintain their body weight. Going below that (calorie deficit) will elicit weight loss, while going above (calorie surplus) will elicit weight gain.
Because of this, people will commonly track (using a fitness app/tracker) their maintenance calories, and then subtract by a few hundred to be in a deficit, and lose weight. They’ll then try to stick to that calorie number day after day.
This is sometimes seen as a hurdle because people can struggle with maintaining their calorie intake while still eating foods they enjoy. Then they run into trouble when the foods they love have a lot of calories, but aren’t very satiating. It’s very easy to hit your calorie limit but still feel as though you haven’t eaten enough.
Believe it or not, humans are not designed to walk around with a food calculator all day, and are perfectly capable of losing weight while not tracking what they eat. That is, of course, when they’re eating the right foods! The foods that nature designed for us!
Plant foods are much more nutrient dense rather than calorie dense. Along with containing fiber, water, and protein, it’s almost impossible to overeat calories! Feelings of fullness will set in before calories are topped out, keeping you from overeating calories without having to track everything. Definitely a win-win!
FIBER
You always hear about “low carb”, or, “high protein” for dieting, but I think a more important one you don’t hear anyone talking about is a “high fiber” diet!
Fiber is found in all plant foods, to varying degrees.
Most people probably think all fiber does is help you stay “regular”, aka, have regular and consistent bowel movements. This, as well as how I’ve mentioned fiber’s satiety benefits, are just two of many benefits of fiber. Some other amazing benefits of fiber include:
- Blood sugar control
- Weight loss/management (bingo)
- Regulates hormones
- Improves gut health
- Improves immune system
- Lowers cholesterol
- Lowers risk of diabetes
- Lowers risk of colon cancer
Unfortunately, the majority of people don’t even meet the recommended daily intake of fiber, which is around 20-40 grams per day, varying by gender and age. Roughly 95%, give or take, of people aren’t getting enough fiber, therefore, it’s really no wonder so many people struggle with some of the health issues mentioned above that fiber can actually help to combat.
A big misconception about fiber, too, is that it’s hard to digest and causes people gas and bloating. It’s a misconception because it’s used to make fiber look bad, when in reality, there are other reasons why fiber can be difficult to digest.
It takes certain enzymes and gut bacteria to digest fiber. The problem is these enzymes and bacteria can be killed off or weakened by things like:
- Unhealthy, ultra processed foods
- Added sugars
- Antibiotics/certain medications
- Alcohol
- Diet lacking in fiber
Now, when you take into account the large portion of people who already don’t get enough fiber, and combine that with the likelihood that their lifestyles include one or multiple of the things listed above, it’s obvious to see why fiber can be difficult to digest.
The good news is we are an adaptive species, and everyone’s gut can be trained to love fiber! The golden rule is to start low, and go slow! Meaning, if you notice any gas or bloating when introducing more fiber-rich foods, start introducing them to your diet a little at a time, and slowly increase as you get better and better at digesting it.
**I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advice, just educating! If you’re someone who really struggles with digestive issues, definitely check with your doctor before making any diet changes! **
Enough ranting about fiber. The bottom line is, fiber is amazing and has tremendous health benefits, including helping with fat loss. Most people can’t digest it right simply because they’re not eating enough of it, and probably eating too much crap they shouldn’t.
EXAMPLES OF GREAT FIBER SOURCES:
- Legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils)
- Whole Grains
- Whole Wheat pasta
- Whole Wheat/Grain bread
- Berries
- Broccoli
- Apples
- Avocados
- Potatoes/Sweet potatoes
- Nuts
These are just some! As I said, fiber is in all plant foods, just to varying degrees. So either way, the more plants you eat, the more fiber you’ll be getting!
MORE ENERGY
I’ve discussed how mainstream diets, like keto, can leave people feeling sluggish and crappy. That’s no way to go about losing weight!
Eating plant foods is associated with more energy for various reasons.
For one, your muscles will LOVE the healthy carbs that become glucose, and are stored in muscle cells for energy. Making workouts feel damn good!
Another reason for more energy is the ability of various plant foods (leafy greens, beets, watermelon) to act as “vasodilators”. This simply means they help to increase oxygen and blood flow throughout the body, which not only increases energy, but also lowers blood pressure.
A third player is low fat content (more on this in a minute). As I stated earlier, saturated fat, which is high in meat, eggs, and dairy, can cause the blood to be more viscous, which can slow down oxygen and blood flow, resulting in feelings of lethargy.
Plants on the other hand, are naturally low in saturated fat, and help to increase oxygen and blood flow, as well as reduce inflammation, and provide your muscles with the proper fuel. All equating to better energy levels.
More plants = more energy.
NATURALLY LOW IN FAT
The majority of plant foods are naturally low in fat. Now that’s not to say you can’t get any fats from a plant-based diet, as we do need some fats in our diet. There’s an entire food group – nuts and seeds – that is a great source of not only fat, but the healthy fats, such as polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats.
EXAMPLES OF HEALTHY FATS
- Flaxseed
- Chia seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Walnuts
- Avocados
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Soy milk
- Tofu
However, why would plants naturally being low in fat matter for fat loss? Well particularly because if we think about calories in, calories out, out of the three main macronutrients: carbs, protein, and fat – fat is the one that has the most calories per gram, at around 9.
Whereas both carbs and protein have roughly 4 calories per gram.
Therefore, the more fat someone eats, the quicker they will reach their calorie limit. Fat also can produce satiety, but not as well as protein, fiber, and water, making it easier for someone to overeat calories before feelings of fullness kick in, or, reach their calorie limit, yet still be haangry.
This circles back to plant foods cutting calories for you. Since most plant foods have very little fat, their calorie content isn’t going to be so high, yet they still provide satiety benefits, keeping calories in check for you!
This is also why trying to lose weight on a diet like keto makes absolutely no sense. The majority of calories on a keto diet are coming from fat. Why on earth, if you’re trying to lose weight, would you focus the most on the macronutrient that has the most calories?
Doesn’t seem very logical…
Also, our bodies are very good at storing the fat we eat as body fat. So not only does eating more fat increase the likelihood that you’ll reach your calorie limit, or exceed it without realizing, but also, overeating calories from fat will most likely result in more stored body fat.
Another reason why plant foods are great! Not only keeping calories, but also fat, in check for you.
OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS?
In terms of sustainability, a plant-based diet can do it all. It can keep you full and satisfied while not overeating calories, it can help to improve hormones which in turn can affect your metabolism, and aid in weight loss. Plant-based diets can also improve energy levels, which can lead to better workouts, better moods, and more fat loss!
But what else? What else could a plant-based diet possibly do that could motivate people to stick to it long-term? More and more benefits of a plant-based diet are being studied every day, but according to current research, some of the amazing benefits of a plant-based diet include:
- Lower risk of heart disease – number 1 killer of humans
- Lower risk of alzheimer’s/dementia
- Lower risk of multiple cancers – colon, breast, prostate,
- Lower levels of inflammation
- Lower risk of arthritis
- Lower risk of erectile dysfunction (ED is actually one of the early warning signs of heart disease/cardiovascular issues)
- Lower risk of obesity
- Lower risk of diabetes
- Lower risk of gut/digestive issues
- Lower risk of gout
- Lowers cholesterol
- Lowers blood pressure
- Lower risk of life sucking (this one is my personal addition, ha)
SUMMARY
If you’re truly serious about getting rid of that extra body fat, once and for all, it’s time to stop falling for all these mainstream, flashy, BS diets that promote quick, sub-optimal results, and leave you feeling hungry, tired, and like your goals don’t even matter anymore.
Kick the carb fear, and kick the idea that you need to suffer or track every ounce of everything you put in your body in order to lose weight.
Don’t get me wrong, tracking calories is still very helpful in a fat loss journey. It also teaches you the calorie and nutritional content of various foods, so overtime, you learn to track in your head. It’s just not something anyone should be overly focused on, or think that they need to do.
Simply eating more of the foods that nature designed for us to operate and thrive on will make managing and achieving your fat loss goals a lot easier!
PLANT-BASED, FAT-LOSS FOODS!
Here is a little breakdown of each macronutrient (carbs, fats, protein) and some good examples of healthy, fat-loss, plant-based foods, and some swaps, for each category you can try to incorporate more of into your diet!
**These are simply ideas to help you get started. This is not meant to be any sort of meal plan. **
CARBS
- Whole wheat/grain bread rather than white bread
- Whole wheat/Bean/Lentil pasta rather than white pasta
- Brown rice/Quinoa rather than white rice
- Potatoes/Sweet potatoes rather than fries
- Oats/Whole grain cereals rather than sugar cereals
- Fruit – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, apples
FATS
- Ground Flaxseed
- Chia seed
- Hemp seed
- Walnuts/other nuts/nut butters *higher calorie content*
- Extra-virgin Olive Oil rather than coconut, or palm oil
- Avocados
- Soy milk
PROTEIN!!
- Tofu/Tempeh/Seitan rather than animal meat
- Tofu scramble rather than egg scramble
- BEANS!! Use in tacos, burritos, mix with rice, add as a side to any dish, add an extra type of bean or two to a chili recipe rather than animal meat, etc.
- Lentils – lentil loaf, lentil soup, use as side dish, mix with rice, etc.
- *Whole* Wheat/Grains rather than enriched/refined wheat/grains
- Bean/Lentil pasta
- Flax/chia/hemp seeds
- Nuts & Nut butters *higher calorie content*
- Plant-based protein shakes
- Soy milk
VEGGIES & LEAFY GREENS
All of them. As much as you can incorporate. That is all.
Thanks for reading!