Olivia Johanson’s Guide To Weight Loss With A Plant Based Diet

Article by Olivia Johanson
As a busy mom I struggled to lose weight for a long time. I tried all kinds of diets and fit in exercise whenever I could but it simply wasn’t enough. I didn’t start consistently losing weight until I decided to go all in and try a completely plant-based diet.

Now that I’ve switched to a plant-based diet I’m healthier than I’ve ever been, with lots of energy for exercise as well as for my kids. It’s been a tough journey—eating out is all but impossible—but I know it’s worth it because I feel great every day.

Why Does A Plant Based Diet Work?

Plant-based diets are effective because they flood your body with nutrients without loading you down with extra calories. A plant-based diet doesn’t have any empty calories to speak of and the high levels of nutrients in most fruits/vegetables will ensure that you have a constant supply of energy.

You Overeat Because Your Body Is craving Nutrients.

This can happen even if you’ve gotten your entire caloric intake for the day. It’s why you don’t really feel satisfied after eating at a fast-food restaurant. If you fill your body only with the healthiest foods available you’ll actually be full after every meal.

A plant-based diet is also a long term commitment. Month long diet plans and detoxes don’t work because you end up reverting to your original diet once the month is up. Switching to a plant-based diet is a complete lifestyle change, one that gets easier to maintain instead of harder.

Vegetarian Or Vegan?

Most people think becoming a vegetarian will automatically make them healthier and help them lose weight, but I learned the hard way that this isn’t true. A vegetarian diet can easily be as unhealthy and fattening as a regular North American diet. This is because many people who become vegetarian often eat larger amounts of other animal products—usually dairy—to get their protein and fill their bellies.

Unfortunately dairy products and eggs are chock full of fats that are bad for you. These fats contribute to all kinds of health issues and are highly concentrated in egg yolks, cheese, and pure milk products.

A vegan diet also forces you to avoid a lot of the unhealthy carbs that a vegetarian person still eats (and might even eat more of to replace meat). Switching to a completely plant-based diet means that you absolutely have to eat the healthiest options available—everything else has animal products in it!

How To Lose Weight With Your Plant-Based Diet

Of course, switching to a plant-based diet still won’t automatically help you lose weight. You’ll probably lose a little weight, but if you don’t do it properly you’ll hit a plateau very quickly or end up gaining the weight back.

Follow these tips to maximize your weight loss:

1. DON’T just fill up with substitutes – As tempting (and tasty) as they might be, soy substitutes for meat and cheese aren’t going to help you lose weight. Most of these products are high in both fat and sodium which won’t help you lose weight and can cause other health issues.
2. DO cut back on sugar – Getting rid of meat and dairy will go a long way towards helping you lose weight but it’s still important to watch out for your sugar. Some of this will happen naturally—a lot of cheap desserts have animal products in them—but you should be consciously aware of all the sugar going into your diet. Limit it as much as you can without feeling totally deprived. Avoid fruit juice at all costs. This is one of the easiest ways to undermine your weight loss goals as most juice has as much sugar as pop and not much more in the way of nutrients.
3. DON’T avoid nuts – Nuts are full of fats, but they’re actually the healthy fats you need to maintain a stable weight and keep control of your body. Most nuts also contain incredibly high concentrations of a range of vitamins and minerals. Some, like almonds, even qualify as a superfood.
4. DO drink lots of water – Water helps you absorb nutrients, keep your energy levels high throughout the day and fill your belly so you’re less tempted to overeat. Drink at least six glasses every day.
5. DON’T obsess over the scale – The truth is that the number of pounds is not a reliable way to judge weight. Muscle is heavier than fat, so if you’re gaining a lot of muscle you can actually gain weight but lose inches around your waist. Focus on the number of inches you want to lose instead of the amount of pounds you want to lose and make sure you’re not checking your scale more than once a week.
   Becoming vegan isn’t easy at first, especially if you also have to worry about nutrition for growing kids, but it gets easier every day and your whole family will reap the rewards. Switching to a plant-based diet is one of the most dramatic lifestyle changes I’ve ever made but it dramatically changed my life in the most important ways, allowing me to love my body and enjoy my time with my family more.

   What are you waiting for? Make the switch to a plant-based diet today!

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