Going plant based is the healthiest and most sustainable way to lose and maintain weight
Understanding more about the underlying mechanism about why animal based foods and ultra processed foods can cause weight GAIN and why whole plant based food can help with weight LOSS can help a lot.
Ultra processed foods and drinks cause weight GAIN
Research has shown that people who consume a lot of ultra processed foods and sugar sweetened beverages tend to consume 500 calories MORE per day than those who are eating minimally processed foods, which ideally should be whole plant based foods for the most sustainable weight loss and weight maintenance.
Animal based foods like meat and dairy ADD calories
Animal based foods like meat and dairy tend to have a lot of saturated fat, including all types of meat, poultry, and even some fish, like salmon, plus cheese, which has a concentrated amount of saturated fat. And fat contains 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates, which ideally should come from whole plant based foods, only contain 4 calories per gram. Also, excess dietary protein, which often comes from animal products in the Standard American Diet, that is not used by the body through thermogenesis is converted into fat and stored in fat cells.
Plus, animal based foods like meat and dairy from “ruminant animals” such as cows contain trans fat, which can cause weight gain and raises LDL cholesterol. So eating animal products daily, with trans fat and saturated fat, ADDS calories every day.
Consuming whole plant based food is the most natural and sustainable way to lose and manage weight
There is an incorrect belief that we are destined to gain weight, especially from middle age on. However, whole plant based foods often contain water and offer plentiful fiber, which makes you feel full so you are less likely to overeat, and most whole plant based foods are lower in calories and have no saturated fat.
Whole plant based foods stimulate a peptide hormone called GLP-1 more effectively, which is a natural appetite suppressant. The new popular weight loss drugs contain a GLP-1 analog, but eating whole plant based foods with fiber is the more healthy way to suppress your appetite, with no negative side effects. Also, there is a greater increase in your metabolic rate after eating a plant based meal, according to a study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The thermic effect of food is the increase in calories burned after eating. The PCRM study showed that the thermic effect is higher for plant-based foods than animal-based foods.
Whole plant based foods can help you LOSE 500 calories a day
Animal products do not contain fiber but whole plant based foods do in abundance. Many ultra processed foods also contain little to no fiber. Fiber binds to unabsorbed calories in the digestive tract and moves them out as waste so about 100 calories are not absorbed in the body every day you eat fiber rich whole plant based foods.
You lose about 100 calories a day when fiber from whole plant based foods binds to unabsorbed calories and flushes them out of your body
AND
You lose about 200 calories a day from whole plant based food stimulating GLP-1, the body’s natural appetite suppressant
PLUS
You lose about 200 calories a day because of the metabolism boost from the thermic effect of whole plant based foods
So if you eat whole plant based foods at every meal, every day, you could be losing 500 calories a day, naturally, with no calorie counting and you have far more options for what to eat !
Source “The Power Foods Diet” by Dr. Neal Barnard
As we age, we do start to lose muscle mass, so continuing to exercise to maintain muscle mass is important as well. The combination of exercise and whole food plant based nutrition assists in losing excess weight and maintaining a healthy weight.
Resources about WFPB nutrition and weight loss and weight maintenance
https://www.pcrm.org/health-topics/weight-loss
“The Power Foods Diet” by Dr. Neal Barnard
“Ozempic” and “How Not to Diet” by Dr. Michael Greger
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