Weight Loss Wednesdays: Plant Based Diet

First and foremost I forgot to mention Monday who the Winner of the Lily White. designs contest was (well I told her just not the public) It was Salinn Ranney! Thanks again to all those who entered and everyone should still check out Lily White. They should be getting a new website anytime now with many more of their products. Or check out their blog where they add new products and fun random things.

Weight loss Wednesdays is a weekly event where I share my weight loss progress and some advice that I use and studies have shown to help with weight loss. Seek a doctor Registered Dietitian (RD) (doctors don't usually have a background in nutrition, but RDs go through at least 5 years of study in nutrition) before you start any type of program.

My Progress: Lost 2 pounds this week!
New weight: 136
Goal weight: 117
Total lost: 7lbs
Fyi: I'm 5'2" so this is a very reasonable goal weight

This week's topic: Plant Based Diet

This does not mean that everyone needs to stop eating meat all together. Above the picture is from USDA that shows that 1/2 the plate is filled with fruits and veggies (lets just call them FV for the rest of the blog), more than 1/4 filled with grain (the majority of your grains should be whole grains. I would say all but some people don't like whole grains for some reason. Not sure why they are really tasty!), and less than 1/4 should be protein. Protein doesn't have to be meat it can be beans, legumes, lentils, quinoa (awesome really delicious whole grain), split peas, tofu, chick peas, eggs, soy, and the list could go on and on but you get the gist.

A good recommendation is to eat on a smaller plate not a "dinner" plate. One reason is you can not put as much food on it. For me if something is in front of me their is a good chance I will eat it. Another reason is that it can trick your brain to thinking you have eaten more than you have.

Now to the good stuff. It is important to eat a plant based diet, because plants are low in calories, full of vitamin and minerals your body needs, and chalked full of phytochemicals. These phytochemicals are a beneficial substance found in FV and are usually a pigment and turn the FV a color. For instance, lycopene which is good for your heart is found in tomatoes and is a red pigment. Every color has a different phytochemical and different health benefits. Have you heard the saying you should eat the colors of the rainbow or the darker the color the better. This is so true! The more color the better the nutrients and health benefits. For instance, ice berg lettuce has like no nutrients in it nor does it really have any color. There is a ton more information about phytochemicals here.

Eating FV can have a positive impact on your health. Studies have shown that a diet high in FV can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and some cancers. These also happen to be the top 3 causes of death in the US. FV can also help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. USDA came out with 5 a day meaning your should eat at least 5 servings a day of FV. Then they came out with "More Matters". I agree everyone should strive to eat more than 5 servings a day. It can be easy if you add a fruit and/or veggie to every meal and 2 snacks. You can have it as a side or add them straight to your meals. Like adding veggies to a noodle dish or lasagna.

Moral of the story eat you FV! I promise not all of these Weight Loss Wednesdays will be this long! I would love to hear some of your goals and/or progress!