If someone told me losing weight was as easy as eating plants, I would have started a lot sooner than I did.
If someone told me I would feel better if I cut out bread, meats, and dairy from my diet, I would have done so a lot sooner than I did.
If someone had told me I would CONTINUE to lose weight, even when I ate foods that weren’t good for me, just because my diet was plant-based, I would have done so a lot sooner than I did.
Photo by webmd.com
These five easy steps are what I wish I had known 30 lbs ago:
1.) CUT IT OUT. Eliminate red meats, sausages, pork, poultry, then chicken, tuna, and seafood. Go one at a time. Then cut out white breads/pastas of all kinds, especially the ones with sugar and preservatives. Then get rid of dairy products, which are full of fat and hard on the digestive system. Immediately stop consuming foods with artificial flavors or colors (like sodas), anything processed or fried, anything full of fat (I had to stop making pies because my pie crust recipe used Crisco), and anything with unpronounceable ingredients. If you can’t find it in nature, don’t eat it. Click here to tweet this
2.) ADD PLANTS TO YOUR DIET. Any kind of plant – green leafies, cooked carrots, beans of all kinds, fresh or frozen berries, nuts, seeds, and LOTS of fruit. These are your cancer-fighters, your blood pressure lowering soldiers, your blood sugar stabilizers…you get the idea. Your body will function so much better once you get on a plant-based diet.
3.) Exercise when you can, but aim for 3 times per week. I was able to walk 3 miles 3 times a week and saw tremendous changes in my muscles and body shape. Besides just feeling good, you will LOOK good, too!
4.) Don’t count calories. Forget about how many points something gets or is this on so-and-so plan. Just eat plants and get rid of all the other junk in our American diet.
5.) Don’t obsess. This is a journey, not a destination, so there is no race to the finish. Food is made to serve you, not the other way around. It’s designed to make our bodies function so we can live LIFE. You won’t be perfect every day, so accept that. Give yourself some grace. Stick to the 80/20 rule if you are going to splurge – 80% of what you should eat (plants) and 20% of what you WANT to eat. Losing weight and eating whole foods can become a “god;” an idol; an obsession that your life revolves around and distances you from your loved ones. God never intended food to be divisive – see THIS ARTICLE from someone who shared her own journey from food idolatry (shared with permission from the author). There are more important things in life than food.
If someone had told me losing weight was easy, I would have started on this journey a whole lot sooner. Click here to tweet this I hope this has helped you make progress toward your healthy goals. If you know someone who has struggled with their weight and wants to learn more, please pass this on! Let’s all help each other make progress toward our health goals.
Making Progress 