Plant-based way of living is one of the lifestyles that people are going crazy about. From mango people to celebrities, all are considering plant-based foods into their diet.
So what is this plant-based lifestyle, and what are the benefits? Well, here we are going to discuss various aspects of this lifestyle, so you have a clear mind about it by the end of the article. Let’s get started-
The Simple Question – What Is A Plant-Based Diet?
As the name implies, the diet includes eating up the foods that are derived from the plants. Also, it is about consuming these foods in their whole state or without them getting through the processing stage.
Such as it is about eating potatoes and not potato chips or fries!
All the food sources such as vegetables, fruits, grains, and pulses are plant-based diets. Eating this diet does not mean you are vegan if you consider protein that comes from the meat or consume dairy products as well.
So you can be a vegetarian, non-vegetarian, and vegan, and still, you can consider a plant-based diet; the choice is yours.
Eating plant-based food comes into play because it is a lot healthier, and hence you start limiting processed foods. People adopt a plant-based diet because they want to see the improvement in their fitness or lose their weight.
So, they prefer natural foods over processed ones. It is going to be more about fruits, veggies, pulses, and grains instead of cheese burst pizza, burger, fries, candies, coke, pastries, and more.
Benefits That Plant-Based Diet Blesses You With
There is a reason why everyone is so crazy about the diet. There are some strong benefits behind healthy lifestyle adoption. Let’s see what this is-
Good for Heart and the Planet
The plant-based eating decreases your risk of heart disease by reducing the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and colorectal cancer.
Opting for the diet means you reduce taking processed food that means less consumption of unhealthy fats.
This overall overcomes the risk of high cholesterol and maintains a healthy weight. The diet also has a positive effect on the environment as those factory farms are some of the worst pollutants.
These places are known for extreme animal cruelty, and they use antibiotics and hormones on the animals.
Even if you want to fulfill your meat needs, choose organic poultry, grass-fed beef, and seafood. Eating a plant-based diet is also good for your pocket, and you can have variety as per the season.
Better Nutrition
A plant-based diet does not attempt with empty calories or no macro-nutrients. Instead, the plant foods are rich in protein, fat, and carbs, where all fruits and veggies provide you with essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.
This way, it keeps your gut healthy, your waist size in control, your skin glowing, and overall keeps you maintained.
Also, it is seen that people who follow a plant-based diet have more managed BMIs instead of people who prefer meat. It is also easy to lose weight with a vegetarian diet.
Lower Diabetes Risk
People who prefer a more plant-based diet and consume zero to minimum meat tend to be healthier in terms of diabetes.
Their system tends to have higher insulin sensitivity that comes helpful to manage overall blood sugar levels.
Hence, by switching to a plant-based diet, you are blessing yourself for a healthy life with minimum to no diseases in the long run.
If you want to do well in the gym, a Plant based fitness trainer is always a great help as you would be performing under an expert’s guidance.
Cut Cancer Risk
This is another amazing benefit of switching to a plant-based diet. Eating fruits, veggies, legumes, and grains are all associated with lower cancer risk.
It also improves your immune system, which fights against all possible diseases even more effectively.
Also, as you are not only eating healthy, but you are limiting the unhealthy also, this overall improves you in terms of health.
How To Start Eating A Plant-Based Diet?
It is not about the plant-based diet but anything you are trying to bring in as a part of your lifestyle.
Well, this is going to be a slow process as you won’t be able to replace all those processed foods with healthy choices in just a day.
So, here is some help that would guide you to adopt a healthy nature-
Start Including Healthy Fats
Don’t freak out when you hear the term “fats” because there are healthy fats, and there are unhealthy ones. Of course, here we are talking about adding up the healthy fats such as nuts, avocado, and olive oil.
You can also involve seeds in your shakes or recipes such as flaxseeds and chia seeds as they are a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids.
Consider Salad in Lunchtime
You can consider eating a bowl of salad with your meals as it would provide you fiber and would make you feel full for longer. This way, you won’t be craving for all those snacks or fries.
You can also try adding some salad or veggies in your breakfast such as you can add them beside your omelet, you can blend them in your smoothie or just eating a bowl of salad separately.
Try Having Vegetarian Food
If you often put meat in your mouth, you can try with vegetarian meals or dinners. It may not be so tempting to try, but you can try it once or twice a week and then increase the frequency gradually.
Avoid processed foods at all and pick up healthy alternatives such as whole wheat bread for white flour bread.
Do Add Up Fruits as Snacks
How many times does it happen when you are hungry, and you just gobble whatever comes handy? From now, you need to make efforts for yourself and choose fruits as your healthy snacks, go for eggs, brown rice, sprouts, mixed nuts, or peanut butter with brown bread.
You can take ideas from Google or be creative and create your own choices that are healthy and promise your nutrition.
Mix Up Variety
Whether it is the fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, or pulses, you can always consider varieties. Having many options to choose from does not let you face the monotony, and you overall enjoy your new lifestyle. Make sure you eat all colors of fruits and veggies as it ensures you receive all the vitamins and minerals.
Plants-Based Diet And Muscle Building
Building muscle while being on a plant-based diet is possible and that too very easily. However, there are some factors that you need to consider to make bodybuilding possible while relying on plant-based foods.
- The first thing is the caloric requirement. No matter what kind of diet it is, taking the required calories on a daily basis is the mantra to step into muscle building. By getting the required calories, you provide your body with enough energy based on your goals, such as bulking or cutting.
- The next factor is the macronutrients. One can’t build muscles without maintaining the ratio of protein, carbs, and fats. Again, the amount of ratio for the macronutrients which you should receive depends on your goals. However, as a general rule, it should be like 40:30:30 for protein, carbs, and fats. So, once you know your calorie count and ratio of macronutrient, you win half battle regarding plant based bodybuilding transformation.
- Next, your aim should be fulfilling your nutritional needs using plant-based foods. Prepare your list of foods that are rich in protein, carbs, and fats. Divide your intake into 5-6 meals a day and prepare a diet plan. You can always take the help of a professional as he would provide you with a perfect diet plan and would change it regularly as the time demands.
- When you are ready with your diet chart and food sources, it is time to hit the gym or do your home workouts. Keep a notebook and pen and note down your food, number of sets, reps, and overall progress.
Tip: Keep a before and after pictures, so you can notice your results and stay motivated.
- Eating time matters too. When you want to build muscles, it is important to understand the timing to eat and follow the good practice. You should take 5-6 meals a day with 2-3 hours of interval. Eat protein and carbs food sources about 2 hours before hitting the gym and drink enough protein with carbs after your workout session.
The timing of pre and post-workout snacks matters if you want o to get noticeable results. Consume a quality whey protein with water with carbs such as a banana to be the simplest, and you would have enough to fuel your body.
Calculate the need for protein as per your body weight and the intensity of your workout sessions. Get the help of a professional, and you would be sorted.
Conclusion
It is not boring to choose plant based lifestyleover junk. In fact, it is way tastier and healthier that once you get used to a healthy lifestyle, you won’t step back ever.
Also, you won’t have to consider it as a painful process, do treat yourself once a week as a reward for your efforts and you won’t be disappointed with this new life.
