The internet is filled with people who want to tell you good news about your bad habits. š§ People who have never experienced obesity think that their 25 pound weight loss (if that!) gives them the authority to tell overweight and obese people that eating the foods that made them fat in the first place will result in weight loss, if they just listen to their bodies. š¤” Here is the problem with that logic:
š Obesity is caused by insulin resistance and overeating. If people could control their overeating, they wouldnāt be obese in the first place. Whatās the solution? Eat the right foods that cure insulin resistance, such as those advocated by @masteringdiabets ! Whole food plant based low fat foods for the win! š Obese people often have stretched out stomachs from years of overeating. Is a 100 calorie pack of Oreos going to help them reach their a healthy weight? No- but a low fat whole food plant based diet allows for individuals to eat higher food volume since veggies, fruit, whole grains, potatoes, and legumes are so calorie dilute versus all of the processed crap in the grocery store. š Obese people have disregulation of their grehlin and leptin systems- which may actually be a genetic issue. Telling obese people to ājust stop eating when you are fullā is absolutely fat shaming. But filling up on high water content and fiber foods that stretches the stomach lining and effectively signals to the brain that the meal can end is the solution. Not oily foods or processed protein powders, but real whole plant based food filled with micronutrients.
Iām not afraid to use the word āobeseā because Iāve been there. And when I studied neuroscience in my undergrad, my professors were involved in research equating the effects of high sugar and high fat foods on the brains of obese people to that of cocaine on the brains of addicts or alcohol on the brains of alcoholics.
I’m definitely not saying you can’t enjoy a slice of birthday cake or some vegan pizza on your date night, but if your goal is weight loss, the name of the game is discipline in eating whole food plant based to create a consistent calorie deficit. The caloric deficit is the only way, and it’s a lot easier to accomplish long term by focusing on whole foods!
I can help you clean up your diet for weight loss!
I’ve recently seen a lot of folks discouraging weight loss goals as resolutions. For skinny people who want to lose another 4.5 pounds, sure… maybe you should consider another goal for personal development. But for overweight and obese people facing a future of preventable diseases correlated with being overfat, the goal to lose fat at a healthy rate by eating more whole foods is not only admirable but achievable!
I have always struggled to lose weight. I’ve used food to comfort my own emotions since I was a child. I remember getting home from school and just eating and watching TV. Not eating normal after-school snack portions, but whole family sized bags of chips and cookies. I remember my mother trying to hide the snacks, but I’d always find them. I remember crying when she attempted to take the snacks away.
As I became an adult, I constantly yo-yoed between these binge eating episodes and starvation in the form of fasting. Even after switching to veganism, these unhealthy eating patterns continued. As I’ve switched to a whole food plant based diet consisting of whole, unprocessed plant foods such as root vegetables, whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruit, I’ve been able to adjust my eating schedule to three square meals a day.
I no longer have binge eating episodes after many months of eating this way. I credit keeping junk food out of the house. Also, eating larger portions of non-starchy veggies with meals, instead of trying to eat small, calorie controlled, mini-meals, has helped me to feel satiated between meals. In the new year, the weight loss will continue. My goal is to document and share my weight loss journey. I hope to lose 5 pounds per month by continuing to avoid fatty, processed foods. I will also be cutting out alcohol consumption and gluten. Eliminating gluten is not for everyone, but both my husband and I seem to have sensitivities to gluten and feel much better without it!
And I’ll be doing all of this on a budget- a pretty extreme one if I do say so myself! My goal is for my food to cost less than $12 per day. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? That’s $4 per meal! I’ll be posting the costs of my meals in addition to the calorie content! I’m so excited to share all of this information with you and serve as a resource to inspire your health goals! My resolve is unwavering. I will not let anything distract me from my goals- I am going to relentlessly pursue this new, healthier version of me!
If you are overweight, you have an overweight mindset. As much as we want to feel like victims to a cruel world that made us fat, ultimately it was our decisions that made our bodies overly fat. Recovery starts by realizing that we have a problem with our current behaviors and taking responsibility for the changes we want to see.
If you are eating junky processed foods, it’s no surprise that you “can’t lose weight”. If your day is largely sedentary, it’s no surprise that you “can’t lose weight”. If you eat clean all week and then go buckwild on the weekends, it’s no surprise that you “can’t lose weight”. In contrast, how would your weight look if you walked at least 5 days a week for 45 minutes, if you did strength training at least 2 days a week for 30 minutes, if you broke up long periods of sitting with a quick Zumba workout, if your everyday breakfasts and lunches were predictably healthy yet satisfying, if dinnertime prep consisted of chopping loads of fresh veggies and whole plant foods?
Perhaps you overeat when you are stressed out. Perhaps you can’t say no when your favorite snack foods are on sale. Perhaps you drink alcohol when you are bored or frustrated. Perhaps your alcohol consumption leads to decreased inhibitions when it comes to food choices. How do we get to be the people we want to be? How can we reprogram ourselves so that our baseline behaviors are healthy ones, perhaps with the exception of special occasions?
Highly successful people know that change comes from within ourselves. The change you seek is seeking you. The person you want to be is always one decision away. Each day, we must choose to be the healthier version of ourselves with our thoughts and behaviors. Would the healthier version of you finish off the tray of Oreos? Would the healthier version of you snack on processed foods while watching Real Housewives reruns? Or do those behaviors belong the the old you- the one that is long gone at this moment, because you decide it is so.
One of the first vegan resources I ever came across was a book series called “Skinny Bitch”. Her attitude, while controversial, was that if you wanted to lose weight, you had to stop acting like a fat person. You had to stop eating what fat people eat. And you needed to start behaving more like a skinny person. This approach received some pushback because there is thin line between this type of reasoning and the flawed reasoning associated with addictive eating disorders. However, I think that overweight folks do need to understand that they are never going to be like that one friend who can eat burgers and fries at the drive through and never gain a pound. If your life experiences have taught you that your genes are programed to accumulate adipose, then behaviors must be changed. And that all starts in the mind.
There is incredible research into manifestation and multiple universe theories that assert that we truly design our future with each thought, behavior, and action. However, this all begins with our thoughts- what we think is possible, what we think we are capable of… You are capable of living a healthier life. You are capable of sticking with it. You are capable of turning your life around and being an inspiration to others. But it begins with your decision to be the new you! More to come on mindset and motivation, but please reach out at weightogovegan@outlook.com or comment below if you are ready for the new you!
I have tried eating a balanced diet of some healthy options and some vegan junk food vegan for 8 years, but switching to a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB diet) consisting of whole grains, root veggies, legumes, vegetables, fruits (and nuts and seeds sparingly) has had a host of unexpected benefits!
I can finally eat three square meals a day!
I was never able to eat three meals per day in the past, and always had to pack snacks or plan for four (or five) smaller meals per day. This was due to intense hunger that made me hangry and unable to complete my work until I ate a sugar and fat laden vegan protein bar, an apple, and a handful (or seven) of nuts. Healthy right? Wrong. Switching to real foods has made it so I can enjoy heaping servings of veggies and starches with minimal-to-no added plant fats to satiation. This keeps me full for 4-5 hours after each meal for the first time in my life! The fiber and water content of the vegetables truly holds me over until my next meal. Healthy habits when I’m preparing my next meal while hungry include drinking lemon water and snacking on raw veggies.
I feel satiated for longer between meals.
I felt so betrayed when I would pay dieticians and nutritionists to help me lose weight, and they would say, “Just eat when you are hungry. Eat intuitively.” Ugh. After hearing this for the upteenth time, I finally laughed in one of their faces. (I swear I’m generally a very polite person) This woman was skinny, always had been skinny, and clearly thought that it was my fault for stuffing myself beyond satiety. I replied, “I have to laugh when I hear people say that. I have two modes- hungry and overstuffed. There is rarely a time I won’t eat something when I won’t eat something. If I ate when I felt hungry, I’d be eating times per day.” Needless to say, we discontinued our relationship due to her inability to help me. What I’ve found is that switching to whole foods has taught me what it’s like to feel full after meals, stay satiated for several hours, and listen to my hunger gently starting to return after four hours. This hunger I feel now is not the ravenous hunger I felt when I was on a blood sugar and insulin rollercoaster of overeating sweet, salty, fatty vegan junk food. The fiber, nutrients, and water-content of vegetables and starches has been my food cure, and makes me feel like a “normal” eater after dysfunctional eating since I was a pre-teen!
I no longer feel the urge to binge eat after work.
I worked for 10 years as a teacher, and started my career in low-income schools (Title I) in urban environments. Interestingly, it wasn’t until I started working in more suburban environments that I really started hating my job. I switched careers to find work life balance and worked in medical education in a hospital system. (Enter pandemic) Work has always consisted of long hours, a great deal of physical/emotional/social distress, and ending the day feeling completely exhausted, drained, and defeated. Over many years, I developed the unsavory addiction of walking through the door after work before my husband was home, switching on Real Housewives, and grabbing any snack or leftovers (or sometimes just a jar of peanut butter). I would always tell myself I’d stop at a few bites, but watching women on TV yell at each other and the constant hand to mouth movement was soothing to me in some weird way. When the pounds started to accumulate, I told myself that this dirty little habit, which resulted in 1000+ calorie intake on some occasions, had to end. Funny thing was, I couldn’t stop. I tried switching only to healthy snacks. That’s didn’t fix it. I changed the TV program. That didn’t fix it. The junk food vegan snacks and lunches I was serving myself was not providing the satiation and nourishment I needed. When I started eating Whole Food Plant Based, I slowly started to lose the ravenous feeling I felt when I got home from work. I started to feel the way I imagine people should naturally feel.
My energy levels are stabilized throughout the day.
Good Lord. Stay out of my way if my blood sugar was crashing in the late morning after breakfast or early afternoon after lunch. I used to eat a full breakfast at 7:30a, a full lunch at 10:30, another full lunch at 1:30-2:30p and then my scheduled Bravo binge at 6:00. Oh, and don’t forget about dinner at 7:00! My attempts to lose weight consisted of limiting the caloric intake of all of those meals, because it was so difficult for me to work while starved. Years and years of my life went by feeling starved yet obsessed with food and feverishly anticipating my next meal. Now I eat three meals, feeling stable energy in between eat meal. I have the energy to complete all of my goals for the day.
I sleep soundly throughout the night.
This is going to make some of your jealous, but I sleep like a freakin’ baby throughout the night. Sure, keeping tortured animals off your plate helps keep your conscious clean. But that high fat, high sugar junk food (and the booze I washed it down with at night) was causing me to wake up at 3:00am and struggle to fall back asleep. Worse than that, my brain would autoplay all the anxieties of yesterday, today, and tomorrow in an endless loop. This terrible routine is caused by a dip in blood sugar, and a resulting surge in cortisol in the 2-4am time frame. It is absolutely treatable by reducing processed foods and booze at dinner. Please reach out to me at weightogovegan@outlook.com or via IG DMs if you need help with this, because I suffered for years and am finally free of this awful burden!
I am losing weight!
I am now losing about one pound of weight per week by eating according to Dr. John McDougall’s book The Starch Solution. In that book, he details a plan for “Maximum Weight Loss” which is based on the concept of filling half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with starches such as whole grains, root vegetables, and/or legumes. Losing weight is truly REVOLUTIONARY to me, because I struggled so greatly in the past to do this despite extremely conscientious efforts. I reverted to disordered eating, every kind of diet, and fasting to try to lose weight, but nothing worked. When I learned that I had lipedema, which results in the accumulation of diet- and exercise- resistant fat, I all but gave up on the hope of ever achieving my goal. But I am finally am losing and feeling great about myself. I started this blog and my IG channel to inspire others to eat this way, the way humans were intended to eat! Please reach out if you need support!
What if I told you nachos could fit on your weight loss eating plan? This dish is perfect as comforting weekend dish (or for Super Bowl Sunday)! This recipe is designed for 3-4 people and is served on a full cookie sheet, so feel free to scale up and down based on the number of eaters!
Ingredients:
10-15 Corn tortillas
Lime juice
Sea salt
1 can of refried/pinto/black beans
Cumin
2 bell peppers (or 1 bell and 3-4 jalapenos), diced into centimeter sized pieces
1 medium sized onion, diced into centimeter sized pieces
2 zucchini/yellow squash, diced into centimeter sized pieces
Taco seasoning blend
2-4 cups of chopped salad mix or microgreens on top
salsa
low fat vegan cheese sauce (like this one from Plantiful Kiki- recipe and video!)
hot sauce and/or lite drizzle of BBQ sauce (optional)
Instructions:
-Preheat your oven to 450 degrees! If you haven’t already made the fat free cheese sauce (recipe above), now is the time to start your boiling water!
-Prepare the corn tortillas by cutting into quarters, laying on a baking dish lined with silicone or foil, sprinkling lime juice and sea salt. Pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes, and check every 2 minutes thereafter for doneness. The best chips have browned edges!
-Warm the beans in a pot on the stovetop or in a microwave safe container. Add 1/2 tsp of cumin for a slow cooked, savory taste or other seasonings if you so choose!
-Warm your fat free vegan cheese sauce.
-When the chips are done, place them on the large serving dish with mimimal overlapping!
-First top the chips with your beans, spreading evenly over the chips. Leave no chip untouched! š
-Then, spread your veggies. They are the star of the show, after all!
-Drizzle your colorful creation with the vegan cheese sauce.
-Top it off with chopped salad mix or microgreens!
-Serve with mini plates, forks, and hot sauce. We like to do a tiny drizzle of BBQ sauce for extra boldness! Enjoy!
Americans are some of the most stressed people in the world. 55% of American adults reported that they had experienced significant stress throughout the day BEFORE the start of the pandemic. Now, stress for many is at an all time high due to COVID-related concerns, dissatisfaction at work/unemployment, childcare concerns for parents, inflation effecting everyone’s checking account, and uncertainty for the future. Unfortunately, many people report having gained “The COVID 19”- accumulating pounds since the start of the pandemic. As pandemic conditions rage on, our stress levels do too. Stress often leads to unhealthy habits that prevent us from reaching weight loss goals. Let’s look at behaviors associated with stress, anxiety, and depression that may be keeping those pounds on your frame!
Stress can cause you to keep reaching for caffeine. Coffee is a natural anti-depressant. If you have to drag yourself out of bed, sometimes coffee is the motivating factor in the morning. If you opt drive-thru or coffee shop, you can be sure that the dose of caffeine in that Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte with Oat Milk will temporarily make you feel like a million bucks. But become aware of the fact that there is always a wall that you hit when you rely on caffeine for the dopamine rush. There is often an intense hunger that follows this crash when you need a quick fix to bring your energy levels back to normal. High amounts of caffeine can feel like a blood sugar rollercoaster! If you choose to enjoy caffeine, find ways to moderate your use of it. It’s wise to stop drinking alcohol after noon. Consider switching to tea which has a lower caffeine content than coffee. Or try this hack that I have used for years- I fill my coffee maker with 50% organic decaf coffee and 50% organic regular coffee. This allows me to enjoy the flavor of coffee (which I love) and have a few cups throughout the morning without overdoing the caffeine!
Stress may tell you that you need alcohol to relax. The fact of the matter is, alcohol is a sneaky liar. Alcohol may temporarily give you a feeling of not giving a f*ck but it will make you feel worse that that night and the next day. If you imbibe- start paying attention to the 24-48 hours of depression that follows those few minutes or hours of buzzy pleasure. If you find that you can’t stop after 1-2 drinks, you need to absolutely take a step back and make a plan for drying out. Alcohol destroys your chances of reaching your weight loss goals by creating blood sugar dysregulation, decreases inhibitions which results in poor snack/dinner/hangover breakfast choices, and packs a load of calories in if you can’t imbibe moderately (100+ calories per beverage). Also, alcohol is a major contributing factor of insomnia and those dreaded 3:00 AM cortisol rushes that wake you up and make you feel like you can’t fall back asleep!
Stress makes it hard to get good quality sleep. In addition to the sleep interruptions caused by alcohol (as detailed above), anxiety and stress can cause you to lay in bed with eyes wide open reliving the days events and trying to predict the future. Try these tips for falling back asleep when insomnia sets in. Definitely avoid alcohol if you are suffering. Instead of worrying, ponder the best outcome. Imagine how good it will feel when things work out. Feel the way you would feel if things worked out. Smile and experience the warm and fuzzy emotion. This is called manifesting and can be done anywhere, any time. Worrying is like praying for the outcome you dread to occur. Stop those thoughts and think positive. Sounds trite, but it YOU can create habits of positivity. Reach out to me for support with this!
Stress leads you to choose convenience food and snacks between meals. In general, convenience food (i.e. packaged food, protein bars, freezer meals, fast food, to-go meals, etc.) is less healthy than meals you would prepare for yourself with your vast knowledge of the health benefits of the vegan diet. After a long day juggling work stresses with relationship strains, you may just want to sit on the couch and do a little hand to mouth with a snack food, instead of standing in the kitchen and washing and prepping your veggies and starches for a whole food plant based meal. Reaching for processed food results in higher caloric intake (due to the high caloric density of these food) and low satiation (because the sugar, salt, and fat in these foods tricks your brain into wanting MORE AND MORE!). Change your routine if you find yourself instantly on the couch with a bag of snacks. Go for a quick walk after work. Make an herbal cup of decaf tea and soak your feet in relaxing Epsom salt in another room of the house- anything to break the cycle. Give yourself a break, then get in the kitchen and prepare those veggies! Loading 50% of your plant with non-starchy veg is the first step to vegan weight loss!
Stress makes you procrastinate on your personal goals. “I’ll start my diet on Monday, I just need a weekend of comfort food and drinks and then I’ll be ready to rock my goals.” Have you said something similar to yourself in the past? I want to say this gingerly, but there’s no easy way for me to break it to you. YOU ARE CHEATING YOURSELF. You are only hurting yourself by procrastinating. You must acknowledge your triggers. You must change your habits. You must stick to your plan. You must see it through. You must not procrastinate. If your brain is telling you that comfort food and booze and treats will cheer you up, guess what? You are an addict trapped in a vicious cycle that will make you fatter and more depressed. Healthy people take walks, visit the gym, eat vegetables, and take care of themselves. Fat and sick people eat junk food, sit on the couch all night, drink booze, and lie to themselves after when they will turn their lives around.
There are three little words that strike anxiety in the hearts of busy people everywhere. After a long day of working and organizing the chaos, the last thing you want to hear or think is, “What’s for dinner?” As you open up the kitchen cabinets and observe the odds and ends, you might end up deciding on calling to place an order for delivery pizza or hit the drive through. Or just go with those freezer chick’n nuggets and fries that aren’t really on your healthy eating plan, but hey, they are quick and easy and you are exhausted! Trust me, I’ve been there.
I was a junior high teacher for 10 years, and then I decided to start working in medical education is a large local healthcare system pre-pandemic. After my emotionally draining and challenging days, was I ready to decide on a healthful meal and spend 45 minutes chopping veggies and prepping the feast? The answer is “no”. I was burned out, and I could rarely even make a decision about what to prepare, so I’d just grad a bag of whatever and take a seat on the couch to watch the Real Housewives of wherever.
However, over time I realized that I was never going to reach my personal health goals in this way. If I was going to eat healthy, feel healthy, and lose fat, I would need to organize the way I eat in the same way that I organize the chaos of my demanding life. I’d need a plan that was simple to stick to. I needed a way to prepare meals on autopilot instead of waiting until 6pm to start ingredient analysis. And guess what? I found an amazing system that I want to share with you!
Over the past decade, vegan versions of allllll of your favorite junk food items have been crafted and released in America. It is not hard to find convincing vegan buffalo wings to enjoy before your vegan Philly cheesesteak (wit the whiz, of course) and wash it down with a vegan chocolate malt milkshake. And don’t forget to finish it off with some vegan key lime cheesecake! Yikes- there are a lot of nuts, coconut, and oil required to make that meal happen. But the point is, the only thing I’ve not seen a vegan version of (yet) is rare T-bone steak (insert barf emoji).
If you have cholesterol, blood sugar, cancer prevention, or fat loss goals, you are going to need to make strategic efforts to avoid falling into the vegan processed junk food trap, and prepare some REAL food for dinner. So how do you do that? Think INTERNATIONAL. America, we love ya. But all of those fun vegan options available in the western world are loaded with saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt, AND too many calories for someone with any sort of healthy weight goal. So when it comes to meal times, start thinking global to get back to the basics of healthy plant based eating.
I am releasing an e-book that is NOT to be confused with a recipe book. Vegan recipes are a dime a dozen and can be found online for free with ease. What this e-book and accompanying planner contain are a way to organize your weekly meals to ensure a huge variety of whole plant foods in your diet! The package is called Your Intercontinental Vegan Kitchen and contains a 10 page e-book detailing how you can incorporate quick and easy Mediterranean, Latin American, Asian, Indian, Italian, and comfort food favorites into your cooking repertoire. The book details a new way to think about meal preparation (which does NOT involve spending your weekend in the kitchen). It also comes with a one page meal planner that you can use to implement. You can spice up your kitchen and fall in love with vegan cooking again with Your International Vegan Kitchen!
Although the e-book does make mention of faux meat/cheese options and how they might fit in your meal plans, it has a section on each page dedicated to helping you reach your weight loss goals. It is heavily focused on whole food plant based eating and quick and easy meals for busy people! If you are ready to add some excitement to your meals, check out how I deconstruct global vegan cuisine in Your Intercontinental Vegan Kitchen by clicking “E-books” above or here!
Call a local nutritionist. Scroll through Instagram. Browse a health/wellness magazine. “Eating intuitively” is a buzzphrase in the weight loss space. But is this sound advice for all peoples? Absolutely not.
147 MILLION people in America are obese. Are all of these people stuffing themselves past the level of fullness everyday? No. If “listening to your body’s hunger signals” worked for all people, then 42% of America would not be obese. If “eat when you hungry and stop when you are full” worked, then why don’t we teach this to the 20% of children who are obese to solve all of their problems. This concept is commonly uttered by thin wellness enthusiasts who have never experienced obesity. And sadly, they don’t realize the harm they are doing.
How “intuitive eating” harmed my health
There was a point when my body would tell me to buy vegan junk food at the grocery store. My body would tell me “just one more Oreo” 25 times in a row. My body would have no problem finishing off an entire bag of salty snack food while watching TV. My body would not be able to stop eating even though my brain was trying to override the hand to mouth movement. My body’s hunger and satiation signals WERE completely out of whack and had been since adolescence. I used intermittent fasting and unhealthy methods of restricting my “eating window” to balance out the caloric intake of these binges.
Out of desperation and complete lack of satisfaction with my growing physical size and overwhelming feelings of being out of control, I contacted nutritionists who blamed my vegan diet for my eating behaviors. They blamed hidden nutrient deficiencies for my binges. They rolled their eyes when I told them I refused to revert back to a standard American diet due to ethical reasons, even when their overpriced blood work all came back normal, showing no deficiencies. But then, they suggested that I needed to learn to listen to my body’s hunger signals to fix this behavior. They said I had been restricting my diet for too long, and that the binges were a result of long term dieting. Finally, we agreed on something.
They told me to listen to my body, eat when hungry, and simply enjoy binge-triggering foods “in moderation”. You can probably guess where this story is going… For me, it’s the salty corn chips and snacks, crunchy cereals, and nuts/nut butters that have always been my downfall. My favorite self-deprecating joke is, “I can eat my weight in Chex Mix!” It’s true what they say, “Once you pop, you can’t stop!”
I followed my nutritionists advice and gained 25 pounds in a relatively short time. I knew that my friends and coworkers noticed although none of them said a single word about it. Moderation was not an option for me. The advice to “eat when hungry” meant that I was eating nearly full sized meals every 2-3 hours. I was listening to my body, and that’s what it was telling me to do. And I was eating what I wanted. Processed and high fat foods that were delicious and always called me back for seconds. When I knew the portions on my plate were too large, I tried to eat mini meals which left me completely unsatisfied. I was completely distracted all day by the thought of my next meal. Thousands of dollars later and 25 pounds heavier, I broke off my relationship with those nutritionists. I can honestly say that this time in my life was the darkest of all of my days.
So how did I get my health back?
I feel healthier now than ever before. And I did figured it out WITHOUT the help of a condescending, anti-vegan nutritionist. I am binge-free for the first time since my teen years! I am in a state of weight loss, despite years of plateaus. I eat three square meals a day comfotably. My hunger is no longer ravenous, but rather a mild nagging reminder that I haven’t eaten in 4-6 hours and should consider what to make for my next meal. My preoccupation with food is gone.
How did I achieve this balance and peace with binge eating and food addiction? The answer is plants- in their whole form. No oil. I began filling half of my plate or bowl with non-starchy vegetables. The other half of my meals consists of starch such as whole, unprocessed grains (such as rice, oats, barley, corn, etc.), potatoes, sweet potatoes, and legumes. This way of eating is advocated by Dr. John McDougall in his book The Starch Solution. Chef AJ, High Carb Hannah, Plantiful Kiki, Chuck Carroll, are YouTube personalities that also promote this way of eating. They attribute their own massive weight loss to this dietary change.
But how does it work? The weight loss from this way of eating is the result of decreased caloric density of your overall meal. Starches have far less calories than meat, cheese, nuts, seeds, and oils. Vegetables have less calories than any other food group. But what they do have are loads of micronutrients, fiber, and water to fill you and satiate you. But avoiding higher fat foods and loading up with starches and veggies, you can eat far more VOLUME with less calories. Dr. McDougall argues that this is the natural diet of the human and that only since the invention of processed foods have we started experiencing early onset diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Sample meals
Nonstarchy vegetables
Starches
Other ingredients/seasonings
Frozen stirfry veggies
Brown rice
Liquid aminos, sriracha, ginger powder
Frozen green beans
Baked sweet potato
Cinnamon, hot sauce
Roasted Brussels sprouts
Roasted potatoes
Favorite dry seasoning of your choice and homemade ketchup
I’ve dedicated this blog to sharing this way of eating that has freed me from the shackles of food addiction. For me, the answer was NOT counseling, “listening” to my dysfunctional body, intermittent fasting, skipping meals, diet pills, cutting carbs, or reverting back to meat eating. The answer was PLANTS. Large portions of low calorie foods to fill, satiate, and satisfy my hunger until the next meal… that was the key to breaking my binge eating and starvation cycle! I am excited each meal to fuel my body with wholesome food that nourishes and heals my mind, body, and soul!
I am happy to chat anytime with anyone about this way of eating. Find me on Instagram @weightogovegan, comment below, or email weightogovegan@outlook.com with questions! There is so much more coming soon, but if you are hungry for more information, check out the Starch Solution book that explains everything you need to know about how to eat plants to lose weight and prevent disease! I promise that if you are struggling and commit to trying this for several months, it will change your life as it did mine.
This recipe is a game changer! If your goal is to sneak more veggies into your meals, decrease your calorie intake, or eat less dietary fat, then this simple recipe is for you!
By substituting half of the volume of potatoes with cauliflower, you are essentially cutting the calorie content in half and making this a “Maximum Weight Loss”-friendly dish! This dish is also compatible with PlantifulKiki and HighCarbHannah’s #eatyourvegchallenge!
Ingredients: equal parts organic potatoes and cauliflower and a garlic seasoning of your choice!
Start by dicing your potatoes into bite size pieces, to expedite the time it takes to boil. The peels are filled with minerals and nutrients, so as long as you selected organic, leave the peels on (no matter the color)!
Fill half of your pot with potatoes and add water up to within an inch or two from the rim.
Because the potatoes require more boiling time, throw them into a pot with water and bring to roaring boil until fork tender.
When the potatoes are fork tender, add in the cauliflower until it is fork tender. You can use riced cauliflower, cauliflower florets, or frozen cauliflower!
When the potatoes and cauliflower have softened, drain out the majority of the water leaving a cup or so in the bottom of the pot (or reserve a cup of starchy water when straining).
Using either a handheld potato masher or a handheld emulsifier/heavy duty blender, whip the potatoes and cauliflower together until smooth.
Add extra water, vegetable broth, unsweetened vegan milk, if necessary, to desired consistency when blending.
Then add diced garlic, garlic salt, garlic seasoning, mixed herbs, etc. Whatever you prefer! And mix it in. We tend to avoid adding too much salt in the cooking process and instead add a shake after serving!
And that’s it. Last time we made this, we served it with corn and salad to keep the 50% starch and 50% non-starchy vegetable ratio! This is a perfect Thanksgiving dish as well, and I promise even the pickiest of eaters will NEVER detect that there is cauliflower in this dish! The garlic provides a strong savory element which substitutes the need for butter, margarine, oil, etc. I promise you won’t even miss the dietary fat!
The “Eat your veg” challenge was designed by Instagram influencers @highcarbhannah (www.highcarbhannah.co) and @plantifulkiki (www.plantifulkiki.com). It is based on the principles of Dr. John McDougall’s book Starch Solution. A chapter of that book is dedicated to the “Maximum Weight Loss” program, which asserts that weight loss will effortlessly result when you decrease the caloric density of your food. This is done by eating “50/50 plates- filling 50% of your plate with non-starchy vegetables (think: broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, salad, green beans, cucumber, peppers, onions, mushrooms, celery, etc.) and 50% of your plate with unprocessed carbohydrates (think brown rice, potato, sweet potato, legume, corn, winter squash, etc.). McDougall asserts there is no need for calorie counting and you can eat when hungry and stop when full with this method. HighCarbHannah and Plantiful Kiki each lost significant amounts of weight with this method! Follow them on Instagram and YouTube for more information! I will be embarking on this journey starting Monday and will be posting my meals on Instagram @weightogovegan (https://www.instagram.com/weightogovegan/). Comment below or on IG if you will be joining me! Until my next progress update, eat your veggies!
Plant Based Kelly 