Carbs have been demonized in our modern culture, but when you dig into solid nutrition practices you realize that a well balanced diet is essential to great health. This means consuming foods from every food group, including carbohydrates.
When you consume a well balanced diet rich in natural plant sourced foods, you will lose weight and feel more energetic than ever. In designing your vegetarian weight loss diet, just make certain to include healthy sources of lean protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Benefits of Lean Protein
You may know a few avid runners, but did you know that they use lean protein sources to boost their energy for those long runs? It's true! Protein has a variety of benefits inside the body:
* Fueling the muscles for intense activity.
* Building up lean muscle mass.
* Providing long term energy.
Protein is also a great appetite suppressant since it is digested slower in the body and keeps you full between meals.
Many people attack vegetarians because it is believed they eat very little protein. This is entirely untrue. Just because you aren't eating animal sources of protein doesn't mean you can't balance your meals to incorporate natural protein sources.
Consider some of the best protein sources when following a vegetarian weight loss diet:
Not only are all of these protein sources lower in saturated fat than animal sources, but they are more complete sources of protein that will benefit your body more.
Your vegetarian weight loss diet will also benefit from the calcium that comes form the low fat dairy sources.
Benefits of Healthy Fat
You may be shocked to find fat listed as a valuable component of a vegetarian weight loss diet, but keep reading. Fats are completely misunderstood today and few people realize that healthy fat can keep them full between meals, helping them lose weight faster!
Healthy fats are unsaturated fats that come from natural foods such as olives, olive oil, avocados, and nuts. You don't want to go overboard with any type of fat, but they definitely have a place in any well balanced diet.
Unsaturated fat can actually help cure and prevent heart disease! Heart disease is caused by the build-up of plaque inside the artery walls, but unsaturated fat goes in and cleans that plaque out. Increasing levels of good cholesterol and reducing bad cholesterol, these fats are the best thing you can do for your heart.
You know the worst thing you can do is go on a diet that leaves you hungry and feeling empty. Consuming these healthy fats will keep you feeling full and satisfied so that doesn't happen.
Benefits of Carbohydrates
If there is one food source that vegetarians are never deprived of, it is carbohydrates. A a vegetarian you will eat a lot of carbs and they can be used to gain energy when it is most needed, but you have to be careful when you consume them and which ones you choose.
Avoid high carb foods that are very starchy, made with white refined flour, or which have a high content of sugar. These foods will stand in the way of your weight loss.
The majority of your carbs on a vegetarian weight loss diet should be fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. You can eat pasta and bread but make sure it is 100% whole wheat or whole grain so you don't cause blood sugar spikes and crashes. These foods will also be packed with a lot more fiber.
Quick Warning about Soy
You can use soy as a vegetarian protein source, but it may slow your weight loss or even lead to thyroid problems if you go overboard. It shouldn't be a staple that you rely upon daily. Some people may be able to handle more than others, so seek a doctor for advice if you want to consume larger amounts of soy.
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Discover how getting rid of fat can be done both permanently and quickly. If meat just doesn't do it for you and you are considering a vegetarian weight loss diet there are a few things you need to know in order to make sure you are still getting the nutrients that your body needs.
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