By now nearly everyone knows that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. ABC News did a story the other night on weight loss and basically concluded that the only choices were two expensive weight-loss drugs with some nasty side effects. If you watch the ads during ABC News you will know that they must get a lot of their funding from drug companies so I guess their conclusion is not surprising. But it is not correct.
They should have pointed out that you can change your diet to eat fewer calorie-dense foods. Meat, eggs, and dairy all contain lots of calories but no fiber at all. This means that when you have eaten your day's calorie limit of those foods your stomach is not full and you are still hungry … so you overeat. The same also applies to highly processed foods made from white flour and sugar.
If you change your diet to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts then you will fill your stomach before you have eaten too many calories. Combine this with just a little exercise such as walking a mile or two every day and you will lose weight.
I switched to a healthy vegan diet about 5 years ago and before I knew it I had lost 35 pounds without even trying. Since then I eat all that I want and have maintained my weight of 150 pounds (I am 6 feet tall).
Sure, switching to a whole-food vegan diet is not easy for everyone but it is a healthy choice that is good for you, the environment, and the animals. ABC News should have at least mentioned this alternative!
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