- Diets are temporary. I can’t tell you how many times I ramped up to start a new diet. Typically it went something like this- I will start Monday. Monday would roll around and there was a ton of food left over from the weekend and it’s just wrong to waste it. I’ll start Tuesday. Tuesday would get here and I would remember that we are having dinner guests that are looking for pizza and wings on Wednesday and it’s pretty stupid to diet one day and then stop the next. Thursday, yep I’ll start Thursday. But…….. It’s so close to the weekend and we are having a cookout. It goes on and on. The way they end is just as sad. Summer is coming and I have to get my bikini body ready in 3 weeks. Summer comes and goes and now what? How many people have you heard say, “I lost weight but then I gained it back with interest”? Every person I know that has started a diet has also finished one. I started eating plant-based food and I can tell you that this is how I will eat until I die. Why would I stop doing what makes me feel amazing and has given me my health back? I would be a complete moron to stop this way of eating.
- Diets waste willpower. It is so unreasonably difficult to stay on a diet without cheating. It’s a constant battle between the little fat guy on one shoulder and the little skinny guy on the other. It drains you emotionally. Sure, you have days where you are perfect and you go to bed feeling like a champion for denying yourself of cheats but for the most part if you cheat you just lie to yourself anyway or you rationalize why it was ok. Then you feel guilty for the failure. A plant-based way of eating requires very little willpower. If you eat whole unprocessed plant foods there are no battles and no rules. This is great because you can take the willpower you save and use it for training for a 5k or some other goal.
- Diets take too much time and knowledge to learn. High carbs in the morning. No eating after 7pm. Track your points. Count your calories. Subtract your calories for a workout. Weigh, and measure your food. Calculate your macro intake. Carbs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, proteins on Tuesday and Thursday. Cycle carbs. Cycle proteins. Paleo, gluten, Mediterranean…. RULES RULES RULES! It’s like a freaking job. The plant-based way of eating has really only one thing to understand. If it is a whole food that is unprocessed and it comes from a plant, eat it until you are not hungry. Done.
- Most diets cost money. Powdered shakes, protein bars, special prepackaged food, and meal plans all have a hefty price tag. In fact, The U.S. weight loss market totaled $64 billion in 2014, according to Marketdata Enterprises. Watchers, Craigs, Slim Quick and smoothology are making billions and people are paying dearly, but obesity is still climbing at an overwhelming rate every year despite the money being spent. Seriously, why don’t apples and bananas get marketed that way? What if we set up a multilevel marketing model to sell spinach or sweet potatoes? Would people fall for it? I cannot fathom what 64 billion dollars of fresh fruits and veggies looks like. You should never have to pay for a healthy diet unless it’s for the food itself at the farmer’s market or the produce section.
- You can quit a diet. What makes diets easy to quit is that there is another one right around the corner for you to try. If you watch couple infomercials you will have many to choose from. You convince yourself you are not “done,” you’re just in-between diets. With a plant-based way of eating you either eat normal food or you eat processed poison.
- I like to eat until I’m done. I love food and don’t you dare take it away! There are no restrictions on volume of food in plant-based way of eating. If you are hungry, eat. If your workout made you extra hungry, eat. If it’s 2 in the morning and you’re hungry, eat. EAT, EAT, EAT!
- The same diet that works for one person may not work for the other. Well, you have to find a diet that fits your personality type. I tried that, here’s what happened…. I haven’t seen one person that hasn’t had success going plant-based. Not one, and believe me they would tell me.
So here’s the deal, I try not to tell people what to do. I honestly just try to toss the information out there and give people the opportunity to choose. Every one of us has heard our grandparents say, “Eat your vegetables” everyone of us knows that fruits and vegetables are healthy. I have just 2 questions, if you are willing to try a new “fad” diet or a “pay as you go” plan, what would it hurt to go “all in” on a plant-based way of eating for 30 days? I mean, what could it possibly hurt? And number two, what are you waiting for? There’s really no preparation or anything. Most everyone has rice, beans, and potatoes in their home. You can start anytime. Give it a whirl, I dare ya!
Click one of these and you are well on your way:
McDougall Program
Engine 2 Diet (“way of eating”, not a diet but I didn’t name it)
It probably wouldn’t hurt to read over this post I wrote on Diets are for the Birds.
Hey, check my Facebook page and connect with me on fatmanrants.com (click here)
If you haven’t seen my story, check this out.
My Plant Based Journey.
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My Plant Based Journey.
“Eat plants, move your body. All ya got to do is a little more than ya did yesterday😉 ”
Until next time,
