This is a bit of a lengthier post than normal, I did not want to break up this information especially on a topic that is an ‘Achilles heel’ for a huge number of people. Particularly addressing those that do not see weight come off, and why that is, so bare with and stick with me 😉
A Clip from The China Study, by T.Colin Campbell
“….Published results for still more intervention studies using a low-fat, whole-foods, mostly plant-based diet (10%, or less, of diet being non-plant-based)
- About 2-5 lbs lost after 12 days
- About 10 lbs lost in 3 weeks
- 16 lbs lost over 12 weeks
- 24 lbs lost after 1 year
All of these results show that consuming a whole foods, mostly plant-based diet will help you to lose weight and, furthermore, it can happen quickly. The only question is how much weight can you lose. In most of these studies, the people who shed the most pounds were those who started with the most excess weight. After the initial weight loss, the weight can be kept off for the long-term by staying on a whole foods, primarily plant-based consumption, which most importantly losing weight this way is consistent with long-term optimum health.
Some people, of course, can be on a plant-based diet and still not lose weight. There are a few very good reasons for this. First and foremost, losing body weight on a plant-based diet is much less likely to occur if the diet includes too many refined carbohydrates. Sweets, pastries, pastas and alcohol won’t do it. These are high in readily digested sugars and starches and often times very high in fat as well. These highly processed unnatural consumptions are not part of a plant-based diet that works to reduce body weight and promote health.
Notice that a strict vegetarian diet is not necessarily the same thing as a whole foods, plant-based diet. Some people become vegetarian only to replace meat with dairy foods, added oils and refined carbohydrates, including pasta made with refined grains and sugars. These are referred to as “junk-food vegetarians” because they are not consuming a nutritious diet.
The 2nd reason weight loss may be elusive is if a person never engages in consistent physical activity. A reasonable amount of physical activity, sustained on a regular basis pays vital dividends.
Thirdly, certain people have a family predisposition for overweight bodies that make their challenge more difficult. If you are one of these, I can only say that you need to be especially rigorous in your whole foods plant-based, “non-junk-foods”, diet and exercise. In rural China, we noticed that obese people simply did not exist, even though Chinese immigrants in Western countries do succumb to obesity. Now as the dietary and lifestyle practices of people in China are becoming more like ours, so too have their bodies become more like ours. For those with genetic pre-dispositions, it doesn’t take much bad food before their change in diet starts to cause problems.
Keeping body weight off is a long-term lifestyle choice. Gimmicks that produce impressively large, quick weight losses don’t work in the long-term. Short-term gains should not come along with long-term pain, like kidney problems, heart disease, cancer, bone and joint ailments brought on with popular diet fads. If the weight was gained slowly, over a period of months and years, why would you expect to take it off healthily in a matter of weeks?…”
Plant Based Diet Adventures 