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Speeding Up Weight Loss
High Daily Intake Of Fruits, Vegetables, Greens and Beans Can Help You Take Control
High levels of fruits, vegetables, greens and beans help you lose weight because they are low in calories, high in volume and high in critically important nutrients. On a very practical level they fill you up, without loading you up with fat and calories. And when your stomach is filled up with high volume, low calorie food, there is less room for other stuff. There is also a growing body of evidence that shows that plant-based foods help to control food cravings and overeating. They are nutrient dense, which simply means they are packed with all sorts of good things for you, which is something most of us know. But what is new is the idea that a diet very high (much more than the recommended 5 servings a day) can help turn off our cravings for processed foods. They can short circut the food addiction cycle, and help provide a jolt to your weight loss efforts.
Your Diet May Be Balanced- But Are You?
The average American diet is roughly 8% fruits, vegetables and beans. We are told to eat 5 or more portions a day, but to get real
impact on your weight or health, you need to radically and dramatically increase daily intake, and put a special focus on green vegetables like spinach, broccoli and salad. Often what keeps us from doing this is that we are told to pursue a "balanced diet" and to "eat sensibly". But what if your body is out of balance and overweight? In order to attain balance, might we need to pursue an "unbalanced diet" where we simply invert the ratios of fruits and vegetables in relation to everything else?
Why Fruits and Vegetables Fight Food Cravings
Our body is really smart, and often sends us signals. Hunger is a big signal. It is your own body
telling you to eat. If you have ever been pregnant (or known someone who has!) you are familiar with peculiar food cravings. It is the same thing with your body and nutrients. Your body is looking for specific nutrients and is not getting them in nutrient poor processed foods, and anything marked low fat or low carb.
So you eat and you eat and you eat but the body still hasn't gotten what it needs. It's still looking for the nutrients available in fruits and vegetables. Learning to listen to your body will be a skill you develop as you log daily on PEERtrainer. You will begin to see how you feel in relation to what you eat. You can test these ideas on yourself.
PEERtrainer Diet Tip: Beans Are A Dieters Best Friend
Did you know that a serving of beans (legumes) has the same amount of protein as a serving of meat? The calories are also the same, but the fat content of beans is negligible. The fiber content of beans is extremely high. Meat is the exact opposite. The most important part though, is that beans will fill you up even more so than a hamburger. A 1/4 pound of beans is simply much bigger in your stomach than 1/4 pound of hamburger. Try it and you will be amazed.
I Don't Like Fruits and Vegetables!!!!
What if you don't like fruits and vegetables? Take out a pen and list all the vegetables you've heard of and we'll bet there are a few you like. Artichokes? Corn? Cucumber? On this list, circle all the vegetables you like, and tape the list to your refrigerator. You don't have to eat a different one a day. Find a few you like, and start to incorporate them in your diet. Start by incorporating just one vegetable a day in each meal and one fruit. Maybe you are getting older and would be motivated by the fact that certain fruits like
Pears help to preserve your eyesight, lower your cholesterol and help reduce the risk of colon cancer. Just being told that "something is good for you" often does nothing. But if you have a specific reason, for example mapping pears and fruit to better eyesight, it will help in your day to day decision making.
You'll find, as time goes on and you get suggestions of ways to prepare them from others, you'll start to try different ones. Just get the habit formed with ones you like and your body will start to build up its nutrient reserves. Getting in the habit of eating a huge salad or two each day is a great way to make the bulk of your diet healthy and nutrient dense. If you make enough of a change in your diet, your body will start to respond very quickly. If you replace meat and dairy with healthy foods, you will lose weight quickly.
Next: Get Moving- Easy Ways To Start Exercising