There seem to be as many fad weight-loss diets as stars in the sky, but there are few that deliver both long-lasting slimness and solid nutrition. The best of these is a strictly vegetarian diet, built from a bountiful range of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. It's simple, safe and tasty. Best of all, it makes lasting weight loss shockingly easy.
Significance
Meat-eaters tend to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than vegetarians, making them more likely to be overweight. Research conducted at Oxford University in 2009 proved that non-vegetarians who made the switch to a vegetarian diet either slowed or reversed weight gain over a five-year testing period. Compounding this evidence is another recent study, sampling more than 50,000 Swedish women, that showed vegetarians and vegans to have a lower BMI and a much lower rate of obesity.
Function
According to a study published in the June 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vegetarians are far less likely to be fat than meat-eaters, even though overweight people take in roughly the same number of calories as their slimmer counterparts. The difference is not in the quantity of food consumed, but instead the kind of food consumed. This makes sense, since animal tissues are designed to serve the animal by storing calories. Statistically, non-meat-eaters are three times less likely to be obese than meat-eaters. Strict vegetarian adults generally weigh between 10 and 20 pounds less than adult meat-eaters.
Types
There are two types of vegetarians: true vegetarians (also called vegans) and semi-vegetarians (also called lacto-ovo, meaning they consume dairy products and eggs.) As well as having a range of health benefits from avoiding cholesterol and hard-to-digest animal proteins, vegans tend to have far slimmer bodies than their lacto-ovo brethren. This may be due to the fact that vegan staple foods are not calorie-dense, and as a result do not require portion control in order to control weight.
Misconceptions
Many veg-curious Americans are concerned they would suffer a protein deficiency if they eliminated animal products from the diet. This is not at all the case. Plant foods are rich enough in protein to perfectly sustain our bodies. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that the amount of protein in our diets make up 10 percent to 12 percent of our calories, and most vegetables, legumes (beans) and grains take more than this percentage of calories from protein. Those concerned with getting a large amount of protein in the diet (such as athletes in training, nursing mothers or convalescents), extra-rich vegetable protein sources include beans (especially when eaten with whole grains) and prepared meat substitutes (such as soy/wheat meats and veg burgers.)
Potential
There are a wealth of vegan/vegetarian success stories on the Internet (a solid handful of which are linked in the "Resources" section), but some of the best success stories you'll find are from people you meet in person. Vegan/vegetarian weight loss support groups abound, and any number of folks will be happy to share their stories.
