Turns Out You Can Lose Twice as Many Calories on a Veggie Diet
When yet another new diet comes out with the promise of
helping us lose weight, we tend to feel a bit, well, tired of it all. There are
so many new ways to get a flat stomach/drop pounds/look slimmer it can get a
bit exhausting. Which is why when we heard that one super-easy old-school diet
was making a comeback to help you lose weight we were more than a little happy.
That's right: Being vegetarian has actually been proven to be the diet to help
you lose weight more than others. According to one recent study, it can help
you lose twice as many calories.
For those who still turn their noses up at the vegetarian
diet (no, you can't eat wafer-thin ham), being veggie is totally different
these days and there are some amazing recipes, not to mention restaurants that
cater for this diet. Want to know how it can help you lose weight, plus the
best recipes to follow? Keep scrolling for a super-quick guide on the
vegetarian diet.
What is the vegetarian diet?
The vegetarian diet isn't as restrictive as a vegan diet so
while meat's off the table, you can still eat eggs and dairy products. However,
you want to make sure you get your daily intake of protein. Many vegetarians
get this from beans, pulses and eggs, with tofu and Quorn also being popular.
How does it help you lose more weight?
Food Effect author and nutritionist Michelle Braude, MD,
confirmed that the vegetarian diet is the best for weight loss saying that
"countless studies have shown that most men and women lose weight when
they switch to eating plant-based protein instead of red meat and animal
protein." She also cited one study that followed 1730 male employees for
seven years, which found that the more animal protein and saturated fats people
ate, "the more at risk they were of becoming overweight or obese."
Braude also explained that animal protein, especially meat,
is high in saturated fat "so by cutting this out your diet, you save a lot
of calories." She even said that despite chicken's "healthy"
label, "certain cuts of poultry, such as dark chicken with the skin on, is
extremely high in fat and therefore, calories." So since a vegetarian diet
is generally low in fat, you end up shedding pounds easier. It's as simple as
that.
I'm sold, where do I sign up?
The first thing is to work out if you can curb your meat
intake. It's also worth noting that if you're dairy intolerant or can't eat
eggs or nuts, it's not as easy to get your protein, which you will need for a
balanced diet. However, it can be done. Braude again offered some sage advice
about how to get enough protein in your diet when becoming vegetarian.
"If you're wondering how you will get enough protein
and iron if you don't eat animal protein, just consider that the world's
strongest primate, the gorilla, consumes enough of these nutrients by just eating
fruit and vegetables and leaves," she says. Unlike the gorilla, she
continued, "a human's vegetarian diet is likely to be a lot more varied,
with plenty of plant-based sources of protein (nuts, nut butter, beans, legumes
and so on), so you definitely have nothing to worry about."
If you are worried about getting enough protein (the average
woman is recommend to consume 46 grammes per day), Braude has created a useful
table you can use to work it out by eating meat alternatives:
Meat alternatives high in protein
Food Protein amount
75g cooked lentils 18g protein
75g cooked split peas 16g protein
2 eggs 12g protein
250g 0% Greek yoghurt 23g protein
100g uncooked oats 7g protein
1 sweet potato 4g protein
40g chia seeds 12g protein
25g protein powder 20–25g protein
4 tbsp sunflower seeds 8g protein
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