So you’re interested in eating only plants, eh?
Well, you’ve come to the right place to learn all about it. I’ve seen many people over the years have success with a Plant-Based Diet.
Truth be told though, I’ve seen many people also struggle with it too.
(After all, donuts are “plant-based” and pizza just got declared “a vegetable”).
There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to embark on eliminating animal products from your diet.
Today, I’ll share with you how to safely and correctly follow a plant-based menu and still hit your goals.
Now, although I’ve been running this site for 10 years, I may be drawing a large target on my back by diving headfirst into a topic I’ve thus far avoided.
As a blogger, if you want to tenfold your hate mail, take a stance on a Plant-Based Diet.
And saying ANYTHING about veganism – for OR against – is an easy way to get virtual produce tossed at you.
Although most people discover Nerd Fitness through our guides on Paleo or Keto, we get SO many questions on how to eat a Plant-Based Diet that I figured I’d give my two cents.
With pop stars and famous directors advising folks to try veganism, these inquiries are only going to increase.[1]
So today, we are going to talk about how to eat a Plant-Based Diet safely.
The right way, and the wrong way, to go vegan or vegetarian.
BIG ASS CAVEAT: I’m not going to try to convince you to give up meat. If you’re reading this, I’ll assume you’re here because you’re interested in doing so, and want to know the best path through it.
The politics, controversy (yes, I’ve read the China Study[2]), and geopolitical impact of veganism are beyond the scope of this article. I’m just a nerd who studies the hell outta health and wellness and sometimes wears pants.[3]
So setting all the controversy aside, I want to explore the science and the “how to” for people who are heading down this path.
- If you are going to eat a plant-based or vegan diet, what’s the best way to do it?
- What are tips and tricks to make it sustainable?
- Is it as easy as “stop eating meat?”
- Is there any unsafe way to eat only plants?
Let’s goooooo!
WHAT EXACTLY IS A PLANT-BASED DIET?
There are quite a few different versions of a Plant-Based Diet.
It’ll be good to start with some definitions so we land on the same page.
According to the Vegetarian Society, a vegetarian is someone who “does not eat foods that consist of, or have been produced with the aid of products consisting of or created from, any part of the body of a living or dead animal.”[4]
So NO eating:
- Meat
- Poultry,
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Insects.
Instead, vegetarians DO eat:
- Grains
- Legumes
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Vegetables (duh)
- Fruits
- Fungi.
Plants, more or less.
“Vegetarian” can be a broader term for more specific examples of plant-based eating. Some examples would be:
Lacto-ovo-vegetarians is someone who doesn’t eat animal flesh but does eat dairy and eggs. This is the most common type of vegetarian.
Lacto vegetarians don’t eat eggs but do eat dairy.
Ovo vegetarians avoid all animals products, with the exception of eggs.
Vegans avoid all animal products, including dairy and eggs and even things like honey. If it came from an animal, it’s not a part of a vegan diet. Some even take it one step further and eat only a “raw vegan” diet, where the plants consumed are not cooked prior to consumption.
The above are the most common forms of Plant-Based Diets, but there are others!
A pescatarian is someone who consumes no animal products except fish and shellfish.
A flexitarian is someone who follows a vegetarian diet a majority of the time, but who will occasionally eat meat.
Now granted, neither pescatarians nor flexitarians are technically vegetarians because both contain animal products on the menu.
However, they are mostly plant-based, so worth mentioning – especially if somebody is doing this in an attempt to be healthier.
There are many more considerations and labels, which can tackle a lot of the ethical stances around being vegan: not wearing animal products, the treatment of animals, etc.
To be blunt, this is outside the scope of this article.
I’m only interested in “If you are going to eat only plants, how do you do it?” So we’ll politely ignore clothing, testing, and captivity for this article.
Which brings us to…
WHAT DO YOU EAT ON A PLANT-BASED DIET? WHAT’S ON A VEGAN MENU?
What you can or cannot eat on a Plant-Based Diet depends a lot on what kind of vegetarianism you follow.
Eggs and dairy, for example, may or may not be included. It really comes down to what path you are choosing.
There are some general food groups we can consider as universal no matter what form of vegetarianism you follow.
A Plant-Based Diet will include the following foods:
Whole grains. Rice, oats, barley, and buckwheat would all be examples of whole grains. Most vegetarian diets include a sizable amount of whole grains as their base.
Vegetables. Of course, a vegetarian diet is going to include vegetables! And it should because vegetables are great for you! They’re packed full of nutrients, fiber, and generally low in calories. Most people could stand to eat more veggies. If you find yourself not being able to stomach greens, I got you. Check out this post for tips on how to turn around any vegetable hater.
Legumes. Beans, lentils, and soy make up the legume family. If you’re following a plant-based or vegan diet, legumes would be a great way to get protein (more on this to follow).
Fruit. Bananas, apples, and oranges all come from plants, so all are vegetarian-friendly. While high in fructose (sugar), they are also nutrient dense. Our general stance on fruit around these parts is to eat “in moderation.”
Nuts and seeds. Again, they come from plants, so almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds are good to go on any vegetarian plan you pick. So is quinoa, which although is often thought of as a grain, is actually a seed. Mind=blown.
Nuts and seeds, although high in fat and calories, are another great way to get protein on a Plant-Based Diet.
No matter what type of vegetarian diet you pick, you’d be free to eat the above (provided they fit into your current nutrition goals – but I’ll get to that shortly).
The below will depend on what kind of vegetarianism you are trying. We may be stepping into controversial waters (remember, don’t shoot the messenger) with the following:
Eggs. Eggs are a great source of vitamin B12 and protein, which will become important in a section further down.
Dairy. Whether or not you consume dairy will be determined by your specific strain of plant-based nutrition. On the one hand, it’s from an animal (moo). On the other hand, dairy can be full of nutrients that might be harder to source from only plants, like omega-3s and calcium.
Fish. Look, I get it. Fish are animals, so technically not allowed on a vegetarian diet. However, if you eat a mostly-Plant-Based Diet that includes a little fish, it wouldn’t be too different from a Mediterranean Diet. There are a lot worse ways to eat than like the Mediterraneans. And as mentioned earlier, depending on who you talk to, being pescatarian could be a form of a Plant-Based Diet.
That’s a lot of the major food groups when it comes to plant-based eating.
So here’s all you need to remember:
Whatever form of vegetarianism you may pick, stick to REAL food whenever possible.
Pinto beans, asparagus, apples, and quinoa would all be examples of real food. These are nutrient-dense foods that will keep you full and energized throughout your day. Deep fried cheese balls, donuts and candy bars are examples of “plant based, but not real” food.
And I’ll give out a warning on processed vegan junk food in a moment.
For now, there may be a question you are thinking.
It’s one of the most common ones we get when it comes to eating a vegetarian or vegan diet.
WILL A VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN DIET HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?
…MAYBE!
There are plenty of examples of people losing weight on a Plant-Based Diet.[5]
However, there are also stories of the opposite where people gained body fat when going vegan.[6]
However, anecdotal evidence isn’t science.
What does the research say?
If you look at studies on the subject, there’s nothing here that will surprise us: plant based calories count just as much as animal based calories.[7]
There are some studies which show the success of veganism compared to omnivore diets for weight loss.[8] Then there are others showing that a diet including meat outperforms vegan diets for trimming body fat.[9]
Depending on who you’re trying to impress, you can find six studies that say vegans will lose more weight than meat eaters, or half a dozen studies that show vegans will lose less weight.
It honestly doesn’t matter, because when it comes to weight loss, it comes down to calories, calories, calories.
Oh and calories. Did I mention calories?
Put blunty, if you’re not losing weight, you’re consuming too many calories.
It doesn’t matter if they’re vegan or vegetarian or Paleo or certified organic. Check out our “Why can’t I lose weight?” article to learn the science behind why!
Let’s get to the point: You’re here, you’re eating plants, and you want to lose weight. So here’s how to do it.
If you typically ate a standard American diet filled with burgers and french fries, and then moved to salads? Yeah, I’d imagine that you would lose weight – simply because you’re now eating fewer calories than you were eating in the past.
However, if you go from scarfing down normal burgers to scarfing down an Impossible Burger or a vegan burger? Maybe not.[10]
Let’s take a look:
- An Impossible Burger’s three-ounce patty has 220 calories.
- A three-ounce regular beef patty has about 205 calories.
The Impossible Burger is made with wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein and heme (a molecule found in plants and animals). So it’s very calorically dense.
Moral of the story: don’t assume that food without any meat in it will have fewer calories in it.
While there are plenty of nuances, when it comes to weight loss, calories in and calories out plays a major role in whether or not you are successful.
Just because something is vegan doesn’t mean it’s necessarily healthy. As someone pointed out in our private Facebook Academy group, “Oreos are vegan.”
If you don’t plan properly, you could be deluding yourself into thinking veganism will be a weight loss strategy.
I know that adopting a new lifestyle can be challenging, especially if you’re really busy. Whether it’s veganism, a low-carb diet, or trying to build muscle, embarking on a new habit can be tough if you don’t know what to do.
Weight-loss, no matter which strategy you pick, can be a hard road to follow.
I want you to know that you’re not alone, we’re here to help. We offer a 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program to help busy people like you embark on complete life overhauls. We can help you with dietary changes, exercise, and accountability so you can create new healthy habits that fit into your chaotic day-to-day life!
If you’re thinking about a Plant-Based Diet for weight loss, we can help you switch to a less restrictive diet over time. Slow and steady is our preferred approach.
If you’d like to learn more, click on the big image below:
DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING ENOUGH PROTEIN WHEN EATING A PLANT-BASED DIET?
Contrary to popular belief, you CAN get enough protein when following a Plant-Based Diet.
However, protein consumption SHOULD be something that’s prioritized if you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle, and be healthier. What we call “protein” is actually a combination of different amino acids. There are 20 or so amino acids that we use to build muscle and keep our organs functioning.
Nine of these amino acids our body can’t produce itself, so we need to get them through food.
Getting all nine is important, because these amino acids do everything from build and repair muscle tissue (which is HUGE for strength training), run our metabolism, and even help our genes function correctly.[11]
All nine are found together in all forms of meat. When you eat a piece of chicken, you are getting all nine.
When it comes to non-animal sources, most plants will generally be missing one or two of these nine essential amino acids.[12]
Soy might be the best way to get all nine together in one plant; however, soy doesn’t seem to provide the same biological functionality as dairy or eggs.[13]
You can overcome this small challenge easily by varying your dietary choices.
Let’s look at the most common example:
- Beans are low in the amino acid methionine, while high in the amino acid lysine.
- Conversely, rice is low in lysine but high in methionine.
Eat them together, and you’ve covered any amino acid deficiency![14]
To recap: if you eat some kind of unprocessed starch (rice, corn, potatoes, beans), combined with some fruits and vegetables during the day, you’ll be covered.[15] The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics explains “Protein from a variety of plant foods, eaten during the course of a day, supplies enough of all indispensable (essential) amino acids when caloric requirements are met.[16]
Did you catch that caveat?
As long as you are meeting your calorie requirements from “plant foods,” you’ll get all your necessary amino acids. But this only works if your calories are coming from plants, not cookies.
I’ll say it again: EAT REAL FOOD.
Eating a variety of foods will help build up a diversified nutrient profile, including amino acids. Oats with one meal, lentils with the next, and rice with dinner, for example.
This would be a better strategy than just living off soy.
And DEFINITELY better off than living off of Soylent Green…
To recap this section: vegetarians can get plenty of protein. It just really depends on what they are eating.
So why are we focusing so much on protein?
Because, muscles.
CAN I BUILD MUSCLE ON A PLANT-BASED DIET?
Look in the right places and have the right conversations, and you’ll be able to find uber successful plant-based athletes that have built plenty of muscle.
For example, Danielle Sidell is a CrossFit athlete who follows a 100% Plant-Based Diet:
David Carter, a defensive lineman in the NFL, calls himself “The 300-Pound Vegan.”
