As
a dietitian, I always preach to my clients to cut back on their meat intake and
eat as many non-starchy vegetables as possible each day. Extra meat leads to
extra calories being consumed… and meat contains no fiber. Fiber helps to fill
you up, breed healthy probiotics,
and keep food moving through you so not every calorie is absorbed. I met with a
client the other day who is just another who has been super successful losing
weight and keeping it off. She claims: “I attribute the majority of my weight
loss to the fact that you told me to eat 5 cups of vegetables per day.” It’s
true- my clients that eat the most non-starchy vegetables tend to be the most
successful for losing weight and improving their lab values.
Luckily,
yet another study has come out backing my claims. This study looked at 15
studies where participants followed anything from a vegan to a vegetarian diet
either for weight loss or for other health reasons. There were over 755
participants among these studies who were not given any calorie goals nor
exercise routine to follow. These individuals were merely given instructions on
what type of vegetarian diet to follow (vegan, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, etc.). The
average weight loss for participants was over 10 pounds in a 44 week period
(keep in mind, the study lengths varied), with people starting with heavier
weights losing more. The takeaway from this meta-analysis is that you can lose
weight (and improve health!) by simply consuming a plant-based diet. Imagine
the results if you paid attention to calories and exercised too!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Barnard NB, Levin SM, Yokoyama Y. A systematic review and meta-analysis of changes in body weight in clinical trials of vegetarian diets. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015 January [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.11.016.
Reference: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-plantbased-diets-weight-20150122-story.html
Picture Source: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/sweet-and-sour-chicken-or-tofu-and-vegetables
No comments:
Post a Comment