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| British listing |
A Vegetarian Plan for Weight Loss
Going on a good vegetarian weight loss diet will enable you to shed pounds like you've never imagined! Eating fruits and vegetables is how people lose weight on a Weight Watcher's diet--one of the more successful programs offered. As a Weight Watcher's leader, I would often have people come into the program saying things like, "I'll do this as long as I can eat my big mac," or something like that. I'd say, "You can, as long as you stay within your point range." If that person was successful after a few months, I would ask if they still eat big macs (milkshakes, cake, whatever), and they would always say something like this, "You could set that big mac in front of me right now, and I wouldn't touch it." Why? Because people quickly learned that by eating fruits and vegetables, they can include a lot more food in their diets and lose weight. And when you’re hungry, you want to eat.
What do I eat?
On a vegetarian weight loss diet you will focus on eating fruits and vegetables, and raw works better than cooked. Let's start with Breakfast.
- Begin each day with two glasses of water at room temperature or warm with some squeezed lemon. This will help cleanse your liver so your food will process and not store in your body.
- Next, eat a piece of fruit or fresh, squeezed juice, or be creative and have a fruit cup. I always keep some dried and frozen fruit in case I run out of fresh, but fresh is best.
- Then, you can have a grain. The more natural the grain the better, like oatmeal or sprouted, flourless bread for toast with unsweetened apple butter and no butter. Be careful of the fat and sugar content in prepared granola cereals.
- A warm beverage is fine as long as you avoid white refined sugar and fat. I use a soy creamer. Herb teas are great!
Eat Healthy Snacks
On your vegetarian weight loss diet you need to eat a few snacks to keep your metabolism from dropping. By eliminating white refined sugars, you will begin to enjoy the sweetness in fruits more. Fruits will become sweet enough. Have all snacks 2-2 1/2 hours after a meal.
To succeed on your vegetarian weight loss diet, include a salad at lunch and dinner. Raw vegetables digest more easily than cooked ones. You may include two tablespoons of your favorite dressing. Here's a little trick: have your salad dressing on the side, then, just dip your fork into it before spearing your salad, so you get the taste of the dressing without much dressing. Avoid white, refined sugars and flours whenever possible.
The hardest part of your vegetarian weight loss diet may be that you must exercise. If you don't, you will lose muscle instead of fat. Start slow and simple by just increasing your movement. Do the typical starts: go up the stairs instead of the elevator--It's like running the 6-minute mile, park farther from your destination for the walk, walk the mall at lunch time, do simple stretches at your desk or at home. The more often throughout the day that you exercise, the quicker the pounds will come off because you will be keeping your metabolism high. Increase your physical activity gradually. This diet and daily exercise will keep you healthy.
Morning Snack
It's good to include raw nuts with your morning snack as shown here. According to Dr. Lendon H. Smith, M.D., we should be eating some protein in the mornings to help our brains work better. I always soak my almonds in water overnight, then rinse in the morning to remove all enzyme inhibiters for my body to more easily digest the nut. Do not eat more than 25 nuts a day because of the high fat content. Nuts are a good source of protein and monounsaturated fats: almonds rich in calcium and walnuts have qualities similar to Omega-3 fatty acid.Afternoon Snack
This can be as simple as a piece of fruit. If, in the first few weeks, you must have a sweeter treat, choose Tofutti brand frozen treats or something similar for this snack. You could chop your fruit into a cup of soy yogurt to make it more interesting. In the beginning you may want to have some dried fruits to keep hunger pains away, but in a week or two, switch to fresh fruits or vegetables. Bananas are filling, and organic bananas are sweeter for only a few cents more.Evening Snack
Fruit again or some raw veggies. Have this snack about two hours after your meal but not too close to bedtime.Lunch and Dinner
Lunch
Soup and salad is a good choice. Soup will help curb your appetite. Homemade or clear broth, vegetable based soups (no beef or chicken broth) are better for you without the fat. If you can't have soup, make a nice veggie sandwich with mustard. If you pack your lunch, faux lunchmeat and faux cheese have far fewer fats and calories that real--and no cholesterol.Dinner
For dinner, an occasional low-cal pasta is fine and easy with your salad. There are plenty of low-fat, faux dinner meats on the market today, but if you can't find them, try some of these options: spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, bean burritos on corn tortillas with rice, vegetable stew, vegetable spring rolls with rice, tostadas on a corn tortilla, or cheeseless pizza.Do I Really Have to Exercise?
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| Nick Harris |
