The Incredible Success of a Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet.
Consuming a vegetarian weight loss diet can be one of the best ways to take extra pounds off and to keep them off for good. If you are someone who has been looking to lose weight, chances are that you have tried numerous different diet plans that simply haven’t worked for you. Even if you were successful at initially losing weight, those lost pounds always seem to find their way back. You don’t have to worry about these issues when you follow a vegetarian diet that’s packed with nutritious foods!
There are a couple of differences in your average vegetarian diet and one that’s designed to help you lose weight. This is simply because when there is extra fat to lose, keeping a limit on consumed calories is necessary. But once you have lost the weight that you’d like, you can stop focusing on limiting calories and you can start focusing on living life in delicious abundance.
What Makes up a Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet?
There are four major food categories that make up a healthy vegetarian diet, and there is no exception just because you happen to be trying to get rid of some excess weight. These food groups include fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. In order to understand what a vegetarian weight loss diet can do for you, it’s important to understand what each of these categories entail.
Grains
The first thing to understand is that not all grains were created equally. In fact, all refined grains should be eliminated from your diet plan for good. They don’t offer any nutritional value and they add a bunch of empty calories to your daily consumption. Instead, focus on whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, couscous, oats, millet and more. Consuming whole grains on a regular basis can help you to fight hunger, to keep blood glucose levels normal and to provide you with necessary vitamins and minerals found in them.
Legumes
The legume family includes beans, nuts and seeds including lentils, sunflowers seeds and hemp seeds. These foods provide a vegetarian weight loss diet with plenty of healthy fats that are needed, protein to help keep hunger at bay, and enzymes known to help fight some cancers. Eat a wide range of legumes such as black beans, kidney beans, peas, almonds and cashews.
Fruits and Vegetables
One can never get enough fruits and vegetables, especially when following a vegetarian weight loss diet. These foods are fabulous sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can help fight diseases such as cancer, heart disease and even diabetes. Almost all fruits and vegetables are low in calories, and they’re easy to incorporate into a daily routine.
Incorporating a well balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes can help you to fight the bulge for a final time, without ever having to worry about your waist line again. Following a vegetarian weight loss diet for life can help you feel energized, healthy and ready for whatever life has to offer.
By: Diana Garnica
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 21st, 2010. 
Becoming a vegetarian is indeed a challenging choice and if you want to learn how to become a vegetarian, you may need to learn some tips and strategies to help you in making the big shift towards cutting down and totally avoiding animal meat. Whatever reason you have in going for the vegetarian lifestyle, here are a few things that you may find useful.
-Make sure that you are in good shape to be a vegetarian. Some health issues also need to be considered if you want to go for a vegetarian diet. This includes anemia. If you have anemia, it may not be advisable to go for a vegetarian diet. Indeed, you need to consult your doctor if you can go for a vegetarian diet.
- Learn everything you can about being a vegetarian. Being a vegetarian is not just about avoiding animal meat but it is also about respecting animals and standing for the environment as well. Some who want to become vegetarians also do so for the environment. Whatever it is your reason for going vegetarian, it is important that you know what you are doing. Of course, it does not make sense if you invest your time and effort in something that you just know a little about.
Learn how you can get the same nutrition even without animal meat and animal products in your diet. If you think there are limited choices, there are actually a lot of things you can do with plant food. You can even get a good resource or recipe book for vegetarian diet. One thing that you may find useful on how to become a vegetarian is to learn some substitutes that will give you the same nutrients that you need for your body.
Learn the benefits of tofu, which can be a good source of protein. Also explore alternatives for milk, cheese and meat. You can also explore protein powders, veggie burgers as well as nutritional yeasts and other alternatives especially for cheese or other sources of protein and nutrients.
It also helps to find someone or a group that also lives by the same principle of respecting animal lives and protecting the environment as well by being a vegetarian. It helps a lot to have a buddy and someone who also shares your principles as well to make your efforts easy and attainable. It can also help you to be motivated as well. You can actually find a lot of groups who are into a vegetarian diet and this can be helpful in your quest on how to become a vegetarian.
Take everything slow. This is important in your quest on how to become a vegetarian as this will put your health at risk if you do it abruptly. Of course, abrupt change to your food or diet is not good for your health.
Find some resources that will help you learn some recipes and menu on plant foods. This will help you plan your meals and will help you in never running out of vegetarian recipes or menus.
By: Carolyn Anderson
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Read more on How to Become a Vegetarian – Simple Guide to a Healthy Vegetarian Lifestyle…
Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 21st, 2010.
In this article, I want to share some of my favorite plant-based complete proteins. There are many other great sources of protein for vegetarians/vegans, but this article will only outline the specific ones that contain all the essential amino-acids.
First off, why be vegetarian/vegan? For me, there were a few specific reasons which motivated me to stop eating meat some time ago. The first one, is how meat and animal products affect your health and digestive system. Animal products are the main reason why people have such high levels of cholesterol. Why take an artificial man-made pill, with a slew of side-effects, to lower your cholesterol when you can just stop eating foods that contain it?
Meat is also very difficult to digest for humans. Our intestinal tract is a lot longer than meat eating predators such as lions, which allows them to digest the rapidly decaying meat quickly.
If you’ve ever seen someone whose body isn’t seriously over-weight, but their belly sticks out abnormally far; this is usually because their colon is very backed up with hard to digest foods such as meat, cheese, and white-bread. This causes serious health problems, one of course being colon cancer (the number one killer in the U.S.), but also the easiest disease to prevent.
Another, is just being aware of how animals are raised and treated in order for mass consumption by humans. These poor animals, are forced into very small areas, live in their feces, fed abnormal GMO laced diets, given growth hormones and antibiotics, which you’re now taking into your own body. These animals are brutally tortured, and killed inhumanely by the handlers.
This torture and fear, gets injected into the animals blood from the chemicals, and adrenaline that the animal produces when it’s experiencing high-levels of trauma. This fear and trauma, transfers directly into that.99¢ quarter-pounder with cheese. Along with the ammonia the meat is soaked in during processing, in order to kill e-coli bacteria (yummy!).
After I stopped consuming meat, I noticed a shift in my level of awareness and consciousness. My body felt a lot lighter and energized. I didn’t get angry as easily, and could think faster and more clearly. Meat stopped looking appetizing, and I lost taste for it completely. Vegetables, fruits, and grains started to taste a lot differently than before, I started to crave them instead of a hamburger. My relationship with animals, and my pets changed as well. It’s a pretty amazing shift once experienced.
Here’s the vegetarian complete protein guide. This is all of the plant-based complete proteins that I try to include into my diet as much as possible:
• Quinoa – By far my favorite, quinoa is very easy to make, and goes great with any dish. You can get quinoa usually in the bulk section at grocery stores, and health food stores for a decent price. To prepare this, you can soak it in water in the refrigerator overnight, and then mix it with soup, pasta, salads or taco’s just to name a few. You can also cook it like rice, just put one cup into a pot, with one cup water or mushroom broth and spices, boil quinoa until soft, and all liquid is absorbed.
• Chia Seeds – Another good one, these are best sprouted in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, rinsed, then blended into smoothies, oatmeal, salads, or dressings.
• Hemp Seeds – A very delicious and nutritionally dense seed. Can be eaten in many different ways such as raw, cooked, hemp milk, added to smoothies, salads, cookies, and bread. They also contain a very high amount of essential fatty-acids, which are crucial to the human diet.
• Spirulina – A plant which is found in the sea and fresh water. You can purchase this in either tablet, or powder form, and add it into your smoothies. The absolute best form I’ve found is at Healthforce Nutrition. Their Vita-Mineral Green has a very high amount.
• Amaranth – This grain contains no gluten, and is often referred to as “the crop of the future”. This seed along with quinoa, make a very good Tabouli salad.
• Buckwheat – This grain is cheap, hearty, and makes wonderful pancakes. Last year, Madison and I made buckwheat pancakes at a local farmer’s market, and everyone loved them! The recipe we used is in the Healthy Recipes page.
• Soybean – A complete protein, however, I try my best to limit this from my diet as much as possible. After doing some research, I’ve decided Soy may do more harm than good.
For other sources, there’s a brand named Ezekiel that sells complete protein bread, English muffins, and cereal found in most health food stores that we love.
I’d love to hear some of your own recipes that include any of these complete proteins. If you’d like to share, I have a place in my healthy recipes page where you can tell everyone all about it!
By: Sean N Burrows
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 20th, 2010.
David Letterman once quipped on his Late Night Show, “‘Vegetarian’ is actually an old Indian word which means, ‘Poor Hunter’.” Someone else stated, “”I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals; I’m a vegetarian because I **** plants!”
As funny as those quotes are, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to the real definition of a full time veggie eater. Vegetarian stands for so much more. Not only a veggie meal lover someone who stands for something in life, it is someone who believes very strongly in a special diet.
That being said, a veggie diet plan can differ depending on what type of vegetarian someone is and to what way of life they subscribe. Believe it or not, there are a lot of different types and sub-types of vegetarians. And depending on what type of vegetarian you are, your veggie diet plan will vary deeply.
In the very strictest sense, a person that considers themselves in this veggie world is someone who does not consume meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, etc. Rather, they eat vegetables, grains, seeds, fruits, etc. However, from there there are many different sub-sets of vegetarians and vegetarian meal plans:
A lacto-vegetarian is someone who is someone who will still eat dairy products (cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.). However, they do not use eggs. The vegetarian meal plan for the lacto-vegetarian is almost double in size what a vegan can consume because of the potential that dairy can add to a vegetarian dinner. A lacto-vegetarian can create a 2000 calorie vegetarian diet menu simply because of the addition of dairy to the menu.
An ovo-vegetarian, on the other hand, is someone who is just the literal opposite. They use eggs, but not dairy products. Again, veggie recipes for an ovo-vegetarian may consist of an egg salad sandwich, a fried egg, or a side of scrambled eggs. But dairy is against the rules.
An ovo-lacto vegetarian is someone who eats both dairy products and eggs. Obviously, the vegetarian meal plan for this person can be much more wide-ranging with the addition of these items. The number of veggie recipes explodes considerably for the ovo-lacto vegetarian.
Finally, a vegan is someone who excludes all animal products from their diet (sometimes even honey). A vegan meal plan is the most preventative of all the vegetarian meal plans. However, because there are no dairy products or eggs, the vegan meals are the preeminent vegetarian diet when it comes to losing weight. A vegetarian weight loss meal plan can be fashioned simply because most of the items that cause weight gain are not allowed to the vegan.
By: Rick Porter
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 19th, 2010.
Many people are making the move to a healthy vegetarian diet because they want to improve their health. But, is this style of eating really better for your health? Critics everywhere are claiming that not eating meat can be detrimental to your health… but the truth is coming out in the research studies that have been conducted.
Countless research studies are finding that eating high amounts of meat can cause serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, kidney problems, and osteoporosis. Meats are high in saturated fats and they are higher in calories.
But, if meat isn’t as good as we originally thought, why do we eat so much of it? The food pyramid shows that eating meat is a good way to get protein, and we should have several servings per day. We learn in schools that meat is good for you, and advertising pushes us to eat more and more meat.
The reason there are so many misconceptions about the health factors relating to meat is because the meat industry is so heavily involved in government lobbying. The food industry is a huge business, which means that there is a lot of money to be made by selling those products. So, you need to remember that the meat companies are trying to earn more money-they are not necessarily interested in your health.
If you choose to follow a healthy vegetarian diet, be sure that you are eating a variety of whole foods. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats and you will get plenty of nutrients that are necessary for living.
Following a healthy vegetarian diet can be a great way to improve your health. Of course, this is a very personal decision that each individual needs to make. But, once you do the research you will see the facts and understand that a plant based eating plan is a great way to improve your health.
By: Becki Andrus
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Read more on Healthy Vegetarian Diet: Is It Really All That Healthy?…
Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 18th, 2010.
If you are becoming a vegetarian, there are a few things that you need to know about healthy eating. People choose a vegetarian lifestyle for many different reasons, but the main 2 reasons are for health or for moral values.
Following a meat-less diet can be a great way to improve your health, regardless of your motivation to start eating this way. Studies have shown that cutting down on meat consumption can help lower your risk for many serious diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and high cholesterol (just to name a few).
The first thing that you need to understand is that you should be replacing the meat in your diet with healthy alternatives. Make sure that you are eating a variety of whole foods, because they contain the best nutrition. Whole foods have the essential amino acids that your body needs to build the proteins that are necessary for living.
Eating a variety of whole foods is important for a healthy lifestyle, because different foods contain different amino acids. So, be sure that you are eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, whole grains, seeds, nuts and healthy fats each day in order to ensure that your body is getting the nutrition that it needs.
Try to avoid eating junk food and processed foods, because these foods are usually stripped of their nutrition. The processing removed the vitamins and minerals that are essential for health, so you are eating empty calories when you consume these types of food.
When you are grocery shopping, be sure to buy different colors of produce. Green vegetables have great plant-based protein, and reds, yellows, and oranges also have good nutrients that they provide. Also, eat different types of beans, legumes, nuts and seeds because they all have different nutrients. Additionally, various whole grains can provide different nutrition to support your health.
Becoming a vegetarian is a great way to improve your health, especially if you are eating a variety of plant-based whole foods.
By: Becki Andrus
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 18th, 2010.
Being a vegetarian can be tough in a meat-focused culture, our Standard American Diet has centered around eating meat. There are many valid reasons to become vegetarian, but meat-eaters often don’t understand the reasons and will commonly shake their heads at “unknowing” vegetarians.
The truth is that decreasing meat consumption can actually improve health. Studies have found that higher meat consumption can lead to higher amounts of disease such as cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, and more. But, many people don’t understand the implications that meat eating can have on their health, because there is so much conflicting information out there.
If you are being criticized for choosing meat-less meals, the best approach to take is to let the person know that you respect their eating choices and ask that they in turn respect your choices. It is even appropriate to let them know that you have researched the topic and there is solid evidence showing that lowering meat consumption can improve health.
Also, remember that many times people speak up even when they don’t actually know what they are talking about. Most meat-eaters don’t know why they eat meat… other than the fact that they have always been told that meat is a great source of protein and they should eat it everyday. Often, explaining to them that there are other plant-based protein sources can be a great way to diffuse the situation.
The most important factor to consider is this: make sure that you are not critical or harsh of your meat-eating friends choices. Everyone has the right (and ability) to choose their food choices, and offering respect for their personal choices can often lead to them respecting you back.
Being a vegetarian can be tough, especially when there are so many people questioning your food choices. But, I have found that education and discussion is usually the best way to help other people understand why you are making vegetarian food choices.
By: Becki Andrus
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Read more on Being a Vegetarian: How To Eat Healthy In A Meat Filled World…
Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 18th, 2010.
Due to the raising problems associated with modern day processed foods an increasing number of people and health experts are considering how to be healthy eating vegetarian foods. It is becoming increasingly agreed that a vegetarian diet implemented with nutritional wisdom is an effective way of living a healthy lifestyle. Millions of people today suffer from ailments such as hypertension, cancer and such related diseases directly as a spin-off of the type of foods that they consume. Meats are generally full of hormones, antibiotics and dangerous viruses for example.
Meat is hard to break and difficult to digest and robs the body of vital energy during the process of digestion. Undigested portions of meat that fail to be digested since the process is difficult to carry out may end up rotting in the colon. This may result in the production of toxic chemicals which are harmful to the body. There are particular types of vegetarian approaches that when implemented in a particular manner will include plenty of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. There are also long term benefits associated with a vegetarian lifestyle. These benefits will include better prevention of high blood pressure as well as cardiovascular diseases.
Solid and reputable studies have shown that vegan diets provide a longer life to those who participate. Vegetarians outlive the general population by up to ten years according to some assertions. In fact Mari-Louise Meilleur who died at age 122 was a vegetarian. Studies further show that vegans run a risk 50 percent lower than meat eaters in developing heart disease. They possess a healthy cholesterol levels, blood pressure and are at an advantage when it comes to developing hypertension, diabetes (type 2), and colon and prostate cancer. Individuals who eat meat are nine times more likely to have weight or obesity problems compared to vegetarians.
A strong link has been established between meat and diary foods and medical conditions like Alzheimer’s, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, impotence, obesity, and osteoporosis. Vegetarians have a stronger immune system providing them with greater protection against common flu and cold. They have a robust ability to ward-off infection at an early stage. There has been many concerns about a vegetarian diet and children. A vegetarian diet is also good for children. Its been shown that children brought up in a vegetarian lifestyle are taller and have a higher IQ compared to other children.
By: Aurther Shoko
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 18th, 2010.
Vegetarians may be able to avoid the harmful growth hormones, chemicals, and bad cholesterol sometimes found in meats, but they are also at high risk for omega-3 essential fatty acid (EFAs) deficiencies. These essential fatty acids are critical to cellular health, brain structure, and brain function. Aside from making up 60% of our brain’s structure, omega-3 EFAs also contribute to cardiovascular health, joint flexibility, immune system health, balanced moods, and sharp concentration. It is often difficult for vegetarians to obtain omega-3 EFAs because they are usually found in deep-sea fatty fish like salmon and tuna. Although flaxseed oil is one widely-used vegetarian source for EFAs, they only contain one kind of omega-3 fatty acid – alpha linolenic acid (ALA). ALA can be converted into an important long-chain fatty acid called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), but the conversion process can be lengthy and inefficient.
Recently, however, scientists discovered that the seed of the purple wildflower Echium Plantagineum is a rich source in omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 EFAs. Research shows that echium oil has a rare omega-3 EFA called stearidonic acid (SDA). SDA has a molecular structure similar to EPA, which means it can easily be converted to EPA than ALA. In fact, SDA is known to produce 5 times more EPA than ALA.
Echium oil also contains another long-chain omega-3 fat called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is essential for brain function in adults as well as the visual abilities and nervous system development of infants six months old and younger. DHA is also a structural EFA that makes up part of the brain and retina’s physical component.
Aside from these omega-3 fats, echium oil also has an important omega-6 fat called gamma linolenic acid (GLA). Most omega-6 fats actually get in the way of omega-3’s health benefits, but GLA actually boosts omega-3’s functions. Supplements with GLA are known to improve ****** cancer treatment, skin conditions like psoriasis, cardiovascular health, and mental health. Although evening primrose oil is the only other plant source of GLA, nutritionists observe that echium oil contains more GLA per milligram than evening primrose oil.
Finally, echium oil serves as a source of the omega-9 fat oleic acid, a healthy mono-unsaturated fat that promotes antioxidant production, reduces heart disease, and lowers bad cholesterol levels.
The health benefits of echium oil have been studied for several years, and now many health stores carry echium oil supplements. Don’t let your dietary choices prevent you from consuming the essential fatty acids you need for good health. Consider making echium oil supplements a part of your diet and lifestyle today.
By: Dr. Yannick Pauli
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Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 18th, 2010.
Creating a vegetarian meal plan can be a great way to improve your health, but the problem lies in the fact that many people have a hard time constructing a menu when there is not any meat to focus the meal around. This article will help you to understand the basics of planning a meatless meal and eating the right foods for optimal health.
Most meal plans start with the meat as the center of the meal, and then side dishes are prepared to complement the main course. But, if you are putting together a vegetarian menu, you will need to start with another option for the main course. Beans or legumes can be a great way to prepare a hearty main course meal, you can also consider other foods such as vegetable dishes and any combination of beans/vegetables/grains.
Be sure that each meal is providing you with fresh fruits and vegetables, because these foods contain high amounts of nutrients that are essential for health. Focus on eating lots of green vegetables, they are a great source of plant based protein.
Another important item to include with your meals is a whole grain. There are many whole grains to choose from, such as rice, wheat, quinoa, and couscous (just to name a few). Try to eat the grain in it’s most natural form, because you will be able to gain the greatest about of nutrition. Whole grains can provide you with protein, vitamins and minerals to support your health.
Nuts and seeds are the last type of food to include with your meatless meal. You will want to eat these in small quantities because they are high in fat and calories. But, they make a great protein-packed supplement to many meals, try sprinkling some chopped nuts on top of your salad, casserole, or steamed vegetables. They add good nutrition, plus a little bit of crunch to your meal.
Creating your vegetarian meal plan gets easier with time, practice to decide the types of foods that you like, and then you will be able to create a variety of meal plans to fit your lifestyle.
By: Becki Andrus
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Read more on Vegetarian Meal Plan: What To Include In Your Meat-Less Meal…
Filed under Health And Fitness by on Nov 17th, 2010.