Karina (USA) on 11/20/2024
Stephanie (Napa, Ca) on 10/25/2024
Rebecca (California ) on 04/21/2024
Health Now (Murfreesboro, TN) on 05/28/2023
Misn (Ceb) on 06/03/2022
Kaylee (Portland ) on 03/31/2022
Plant-Based Diet for Weight Loss Mama to Many (TN) on 10/14/2021
At a check up in July my husband had some bloodwork done. His bad cholesterol number was a concern. Due to a bad family history (his father died of a heart attack at age 37) the doctor wanted him to get a calcium score test done. Well the results of that were not good either. He had evidence of significant plaque in all four arteries of the heart. His doctor gave him two options - statins or a gluten free, no sugar, whole foods vegan diet.
Well, my husband did not want to go on statins. He is 55. We have seen what they did to our parents.
So he started eating vegan, gf, ns (no sugar). I, for the most part, have joined him. (Due to alpha gal allergy I can't eat mammal products anyway, and it wasn't much of a change for me.)
He has been eating this way for 3 months with very few exceptions. I have enjoyed being more creative with vegan cooking. I don't really feel like going to much trouble to cook for just myself, but I do love to make food for others.
He goes back in January for more bloodwork. I don't know how his cholesterol is or if this has improved the issue with plaque in his heart arteries. (I'll let you know, though! )
What surprised us both is that he has lost 40 pounds in the last three months, without even trying (about 15% of his weight.) He has had to buy new clothes.
This is the lowest weight he has had since our first year of marriage (1989.) He has been on diets before. He did the no carb/low carb diet 20 years ago (Atkins) a couple of times but he couldn't bear the diet long and he always gained it back pretty quickly.
My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of a guy. He loves a good burger. So he is surprised himself by how content he is on this diet. Eating out is harder but we have found options. He now loves Smoothie King. Chipotle works, too. There are lots of plant based meat substitutes that are close enough to the real deal that he says I could have fooled him. (I read a lot of labels as being meat free or dairy free doesn't necessarily mean it is particularly healthy.)
He eats oatmeal for breakfast nearly every day. I put bananas or fruit in it with erythritol/stevia sweetener. We have found that oatmilk in coffee is our favorite dairy alternative.
For lunch he eats hummus with sweet potatoes crackers, cashews, raw carrot sticks with guacamole. I send two apples with him and he eats them for snacks most days. Sometimes I have leftovers to send with him.
Dinner - chickpea pasta with a veggie marina, stir fry, beans and rice (with gauc and fried onions/peppers) etc. I serve lots of salads. I learned to make California rolls with brown rice.
He has a sweet tooth. I told him I thought it would get better and surprisingly it has. He does drink Stevia flavored carbonated drinks for a treat. He drinks a glass of wine with dinner a couple of times a week but has completely cut out beer (which went very well with burgers or pizza. :) )
His snoring has reduced by 90%, even when he ends up sleeping on his back.
His blood pressure has gone down and the doctor gave him the go-ahead to cut his blood pressure medicine in half. We hope he can get off of it eventually.
I have known him a long time. I have never seen him so faithful to a diet or so motivated. I am very proud of him. We are hopeful to move to sometime more Mediterranean down the road, as in, add in some chicken and fish.
I think there are many factors involved in the success of this diet for weight loss. He wasn't even doing it primarily to lose weight. He has not done any sort of fasting with it. He doesn't skip meals and eats when he is hungry. He snacks (on healthy stuff) when he is hungry and needs one. He has not increased exercise. He work in construction so he isn't sedentary, but he doesn't do much in the way of cardio. He may be eating less calories. The calories he consumes may be more efficiently used. It seems likely that he has less overall inflammation and perhaps that is a factor.
The weight loss has leveled out now, and that is fine.
Meanwhile, he said I could share his success story!
~Mama to Many~
Bee (Tampa, FL) on 06/03/2020
I am 38 years old and about 8 months ago I started gaining weight for no reason. I had not changed my diet. I went to the doctor to ensure nothing was wrong medically and they checked my thyroid and everything else. All was normal. The doctor felt my metabolism was slowing down due to my age. I tried cutting back on food and calories and still no weight loss. It was beyond frustrating. ACV did not help me and coconut oil was just plain gross to eat for me.
The only thing that was helping was a keto diet but as soon as I ate any carbs the weight would come right back in a couple of days. Who wants to live without carbs? Not me. I read about green tea and also saw a testimonial for garlic.
I know people take garlic to lower cholesterol but I had not heard about it for weight loss.
So I started drinking one cup of green tea during the day. And in the evening after dinner or before I go to sleep I chop up 3 cloves of garlic and swallow it with water. I am finally losing weight while eating regular food. Carbs and all. I have noticed that I lose more weight while doing the garlic/green tea combination daily, even though they both probably work on their own.
MTucker (Long Beach, Cali) on 07/18/2019
Nat (Brooklyn, Ny) on 06/18/2020
The powder is much better tasting than the syrup. (bought it online from a nut/seed distributor).
One teaspoon to one tablespoon can be taken before a meal (mixed into water or just taken as a sweet powder), a few minutes to an hour before the meal.
* Too much can cause intestinal distress/diarrhea, (sometimes noticed only a few days later) so the dosage should be adjusted accordingly.
Yacon also lowers hunger level, so that one needs to eat less. It is also a pre-biotic helping to grow good bacteria.
It has many other benefits. It helps against certain cancers. It is anti-fungal. It helps to lower blood sugar, to lower cholesterol, to lower blood pressure. It helps the liver.
Anon (Anon) on 06/07/2020
I have been overweight since gradeschool. Nobody pointed out that eating icecream every night before bed would cause weight gain... PCOS began in my 20s, from coffee? Chocolate? Birth control pills? Don't really know.
BUT!! High dose vitamin C has been *excellent* for exercise resistant weight problems!!!!, which was aparently a detox/edema issue.
I mix a couple grams of vitamin C with baking soda and water, let it fizz, and drink it. I don't even need to exercise.
I realized it was reducing my weight when I mixed it up one day (maybe with fresh lemon juice added) and for the first time kept adding baking soda until it didn't fizz any more. A few days after I noticed my thighs were much slimmer and firmer. I suspect it gave me kidney stones, though, so I use less now.
The vit c is making the weight come off in all the hard to lose places - belly, hips, thighs, face. Not sure if the baking soda is necessary. It might be. I like to mix in fresh lemon or lime juice.
Lasix and Slimfast (w/ hunger control) were also very effective for weight loss, but less healthy. Regular Slimfast always left me hungry, but the hunger control kind I would drink and not be hungry or tired or even want food all day. I used it for about two years, went from an 18 to a 14. I quit because of the sucralose in it.
If you are *very* desperate to lose weight though I would recommend it. Just make SURE you eat some fresh fruit or veggies every day to keep your bowels clean. And drink water.
I also recommend lots of garlic, cilantro, parsley, and turmeric for their detox properties.
When I was in gradeschool someone gave me diet soda ( Diet Rite if I recall) for the first time and I have a vived memory of how fuzzy and foggy my head was after. It was like just like static on a tv screen but in my head. I was formerly very energetic and cheerful but ever since have struggled. My grandmother drank a lot of the same diet soda and died of Alzhiemer's.
Karen (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) on 07/27/2018
flax seed, greens, a good multivitamin for 40+ women, a digestive enzyme plus ox bile with every meal, adrenal support, I stopped eating anything prepared and eat fresh veggies, fruit and lean protein. I also take 5-HTP and an herbal sleep aid. I make a tea daily with 2 litres water, ginger root, lemon, baking soda, ACV and honey.
None of this is making any difference. I usually have a protein shake with 3/4 c almond milk, a banana, greens and flax for breakfast with all of my supplements- then I won’t eat much all day until 2-3 pm because I don’t get hungry. I have been sleeping a lot. I have a hard time falling asleep at night then I can sleep until 12-1 pm if I am off.
I have battled with depression but the supplements help. I need to lose weight and get some energy, or I need to sleep and never eat to lose weight. One or the other I don’t know what else to do. Exercise makes me gain. Help
Katie (Beverly, Ma ) on 02/02/2018
Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss Janet (Ca) on 11/02/2017
I started drinking 2 TBSP of ACV in 4 ounces of water, three times a day. Immediately the pounds started melting away faster with the program I was on. I went from 259 lbs down to 197 lbs in six months. Even my blood pressure dropped to normal, my cholesterol levels were normal, and the inflammation in my joints were gone. If not for weight loss....do it for your health. It's worth it!!
Sharon (Middletown, Ct) on 08/10/2017
Esther (Greenwich) on 08/10/2017
Fasting 5:2 Diet Stephanie (Napa) on 07/25/2017
This is incredible! I have tried EVERY diet out there, doing research for years on nutrition and diet, went gluten-free for a while, went vegan, but could not lose those those last stubborn 10 pounds. I started fasting 22 hours, two days per week, and my life has changed. I am under 130 for the first time in a decade and ALL my old clothes fit again. Words cannot describe what it feels like to feel like your old self, and more importantly, feel in permanent control of your weight--it's been years of desperation and yo-yo dieting. Not to mention what it does to your mood!
I fast on Mondays and Wednesdays(or Thurs, depending on plans). I eat a full meal the night before around 7:30 and then eat 22 hours later around 5:30. I drink coffee in the morning and maybe another cup of coffee or tea around 2:00(I set an alarm on my phone) and just sip water casually throughout the day. Life changing. It's so much easier than you think just to skip a couple meals and just say to yourself, "I'm not very hungry" than it is to constantly stress about planning meals and waste time and energy counting calories. Just find projects to focus on and keep your mind distracted and you will be fine. Sipping water also prevents hunger pangs so it's easy to forget you are even fasting.
Prayer and/or journaling during these days is the easiest way to transform your mind while transforming your body. Just purge every thought out on paper and don't sensor yourself(you can always burn it! ) But try fasting, it will seriously get you off the diet roller coaster and completely reset your taste buds for healthier eating. Trust me, you really can do this!
Tara (Uk) on 10/17/2016
I'm in my 20s and decided to begin a healthy lifestyle, been watching meal portions and doing some walking every day...but beyond a few kilos, couldn't seem to lose much weight...i still felt pudgy around my arms and stomach. I though there's nothing more to lose, and things can't get worse...so I followed a friend's advice and started having 1 tablespoon COLD PRESSED VIRGIN COCONUT OIL every morning with my coffee, soon after I wake up. Continued 1 hour walks every second day, and watching meal portions (no sugar, less of bread/rice and more of greens, meat, fish). Within a week, my family noticed I was looking slimmer..and I had changed nothing except started taking coconut oil...
I was super enthused with the results and continued the early morning ritual for 2 months now...and I don't feel cravings to eat junk...feel great and energised, motivated to exercise as I can actually see results now. I'm 100% confident the coconut oil has helped boost my metabolism, and it's amazing! I would recommend everyone to try having 1 tbsp coconut oil with their tea/ coffee in the mornings...it's natural and nutrient-rich. Due to marketing, we usually believe more in artificial, processed protein shakes but are doubtful of natural foods like coconut oil. Try it and believe me, your life will change
Thanks!!
Beryl (Uk) on 06/22/2016
Fresh Ginger Works for Weight Loss! Nicole (Virginia) on 05/24/2016
But I constantly ate ginger for those 3 weeks to help with my sinus infection. Once I got better and made it to the gym weeks later...I braced myself once I got on the scale, preparing myself for the news since I was already a few pounds over...so knew it was now doubled. Shockingly...I had lost 4 pounds!! (That's a lot for me as I'm about 120lbs, 5'3")
I kept thinking it was the scale but it's the same scale I always used. Then I noticed how lean my arms were and knew it was real.
I racked my brain for what supplements I was taking consistently that might cause that and realized it was the ginger. I had ACV and iodine and Vit C occasionally...but it was ginger all day every day for weeks.
I googled Ginger and weight loss as soon as I got home just to see...and sure enough the articles are there.
I used fresh ginger and went through several good size roots. I would slice off the skin (to avoid pesticides) and then cut about 3 pieces an inch or two long...and a couple millimeters thick (so a few thin, 1-2 inch long pieces). I would simmer them for 10-15min in a few cups of filtered water and drink it hot like that or add a green tea bag (for my morning cup) and drink it as ginger-green tea (I never added honey or anything else). Sometimes I'd do that twice a day.Then I would also EAT the boiled ginger pieces throughout the day. I sort of gnawed on them as I worked (they helped with my cough and opened my sinuses). By the 3rd week (b/c I was back at work and didn't have time to boil ginger tea
Then I would also EAT the boiled ginger pieces throughout the day. I sort of gnawed on them as I worked (they helped with my cough and opened my sinuses). By the 3rd week (b/c I was back at work and didn't have time to boil ginger tea so I was just taking small slices of the raw ginger and eating them straight like that...chewing gently to ease into the burn...maybe just 1 inch of the raw, uncooked per day.
Hope this helps someone. I think many ways of preparing the ginger will work...and it's portable so can go anywhere. Just slice it ahead of time. I never tried adding honey or the crystallized versions...just the raw.
