Let’s face it. Not all vegan diets are created equal.
Perhaps in the compassion category, they run neck-and-neck. Yet when it comes to healthy eating, between you and me, you could live on Coke and fries and still be an official, card-carrying vegan. You could also be unhealthy and quite overweight.
When Donald Watson coined the term vegan back in 1944 with the first Vegan Society newsletter, the driving force behind the term ‘vegan’ was to differentiate from those vegetarians eating dairy and eggs. Waters had been so moved by his experience of seeing cows being led to slaughter that a whole new breed of veg-eaters was officially born.
These days, there is a stronger association between vegan diet and health, and many people also turn to a vegan diet to help them with weight loss. ‘Overweight vegan’ may sound like an oxymoron, thought it’s entirely possible to be one.
The good news is there are 2 very simple guidelines for becoming not only vegan, but a trim and healthy one. And believe it or not, it’s all about plugging into your natural hunger and fullness signals and being a good animal.
How to become a formerly fat vegetarian
When I was 50 lbs heavier, I was confident that there must be a way to eat according to my hunger and fullness signals and not be overweight. I’d see the squirrels scrambling in the trees and on the deck outside my studio eating their fill, and they didn’t have a weight problem. And they weren’t counting grams of protein, carbs, and fat either – there is no ‘Zone Diet’ manual for them. And it’s not because they didn’t have enough to eat. As a matter of fact, there is no obesity in the wild, until wildlife has access to human foodstuffs with all its processed wonder. This gave me inspiration and hope.
As it turns out, there is a way for humans to do this too - eat according to appetite, just like all the other critters who are being good animals. It only requires that we level the playing field with what we put on our plates.
Satiety is a function of nutrition and bulk
Your body has the wisdom to keep you at a healthy weight. For most of us, this means respecting the laws of nature when it comes to hunger and fullness. Satiety is a function of nutrition and bulk. We are designed to be naturally slim when eating high-nutrient-content food that is full of color and fiber (an essential nutrient) as it is grown.
When we mess with the works by disrupting and removing fiber or otherwise processing natural foods, we affect its calorie density. Without the fiber content to provide nutrition and bulk, it becomes easy to plow through platefuls of eats before our natural fullness signals – designed to work perfectly with natural, unprocessed foods – switch our hunger off. It becomes easy to keep going long after our caloric needs have been met. This is why calorie counting and portion control don’t work when you are eating anything other than a whole-foods, plant-based diet.
2 critical considerations when it comes to eating vegan according to appetite in a way that keeps you slim and energetic:
1) Eat whole plant foods. This is because of the fiber content which is a critical part of the hunger and fullness signaling process. If we are eating highly processed foods with disrupted and removed fiber, added sugars and fats, and bleached and otherwise altered carbohydrates, then relying on our hunger and fullness signals won’t work because without the fiber, we can’t trust our appetites to stop when our energy needs have been met. This goes for expelled oils, too, the most calorie-dense, de-fibered edible of them all. The fat you eat is literally the fat you’ll wear. Without the fiber content, you don’t have the fullness on par with the calories and as a result can actually have eaten too many calories for the day and still be hungry.
2) Eat sparingly of whole plant foods that are high in fat. Even with their fiber intact, avocados, olives, coconut, nuts, and seeds are such calorie-dense packages that they can easily contribute to a weight problem.
The good news is that eating according to appetite WILL keep you trim when you are clear about the food on your plate being whole plant foods.
As if on cue, the PCRM 21-Day Vegan Kickstart launches TODAY (September 5)! This online program invites you to immerse yourself in 3 weeks of a healthy, slimming, whole foods, low fat, plant-based diet. Recipes, support forum, celebrity tips, restaurant guide, videos and more, and it’s free. Sign up HERE today.
Lani Muelrath, MA, CGFI, CPBN, The Plant-Strong Fitness Expert and creator of The Body Transformation Formula and Fit Quickies™, specializes in helping people who struggle with their weight and energy transform their bodies, without hunger or exercising like a maniac. Find more information at www.lanimuelrath.com.
With a Master’s Degree in Physical Education and over 30 years of experience as a teacher, coach, and trainer, Lani is a Guest Lecturer in Kinesiology at San Francisco State University, Lani is also the Fitness Expert for Dr. John McDougall’s Health and Medical Center and a coach for Dr. Neal Barnard’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program. She is Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition Certification through Cornell University.
Lani is recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Instruction. She created and starred in her own CBS TV show, and is the Healthy Living Examiner at examiner.com. Well known for her compassionate and knowledgeable approach combined with expertise, Lani maintains multiple credentials and certifications in physical fitness and exercise disciplines. Her Fit Quickies™, targeted body shapers for people on the go, have recently exploded on the marketplace. Lani overcame her own lifetime struggle with weight over 13 years ago when she lost 50 lbs, which she has maintained easily with the tools that she now is passionate about sharing with others.
