(This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.)
As everyone has discovered by now, diets don't work. That is, if by "diets" we mean regimens that you go on for awhile until the weight is back to normal, at which time you resume your regular diet.
That's exactly why they don't work. Because for your weight to return to normal and remain there, a diet must be adopted that you can easily live with for the rest of your life. It must be a "living" diet, not a "dieting" diet., one that can be your regular diet forever.
The next thing to understand is the concept of the ratio of calories-to-bulk (usually expressed as the caloric density of the food. That is, for a given amount of calories, how much bulk does the food have?
Well, 500 calories of steak will take up only a small portion of your stomach, so you won't feel full and will want to eat more.
500 calories of chicken or fish will take up little more room than the steak, so that the stomach is still mostly empty. 500 calories of cheese or eggs, same thing. On all these foods, you won't feel full and will want to keep eating.
On the other hand, 500 calories of rice will almost fill up your stomach, and 500 calories of potato will more than fill your stomach.
In other words, food from the plant kingdom will make you feel much more full when you eat, so you won't have that empty feeling and consequently will stop eating sooner.
What this means is that on a plant-based diet there is no need to count calories or even be concerned about how much food you're eating. You can eat as much as you want on a diet of unrefined fruits and greens, grains and beans—you won't go around feeling hungry.
This does not mean, of course, loading up on french fries, donuts, cakes, pies, cookies, chips, refined cereals, pizza and the like. All of these are plant-based or mostly plant-based foods, but they are also loaded with fat.
The added fat tremendously increases the caloric density of the foods, and thus the amount of bulk you get for a given amount of calories. You will have a hard time losing weight on that kind of food.
On a truly unrefined plant-based diet, though, which is naturally low in fat and caloric density, your body will have a strong tendency to take you to your ideal weight and keep you there. You won't even have to think about it—it will happen by itself. And this kind of diet can easily be maintained and hugely enjoyed for a lifetime.
(This is the end of Part 1. Go to Part 2.)
—jim sloman, 12.13.01 for Dec 13
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