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On Saturday, CNN Health ran a story about a woman who went raw vegan and lost more than half her body weight.  Angela Stokes reached a high of 300 pounds when she began a raw vegan diet.  In two years she lost 162 pounds.  Wow.  Way to go Angela.  And most impressive, she's managed to keep the weight off for four years.

Stokes says she went "cold cucumber," from the Standard American Diet to one that consists of uncooked and unprocessed vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

"To me, the thing with raw food is that it just makes sense. It's simple and natural, eating food straight from the earth. There's no rocket science, no mystery," said Stokes. "Once you understand the simple principle that no other animal in the wild eats cooked or processed foods. That's it."

On the other hand:

Andrea Giancoli, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says everyone could stand to eat more fruits and vegetables. "The raw diet, specifically, the philosophy behind it is scientifically incorrect," Giancoli said. "Raw foodists believe that cooking food destroys enzymes that are essential for the body. While that's true, so does the gastric acid or juice in your stomach. "So those enzymes are broken down anyway in your gastro-intestinal tract."

Giancoli believes there's a nutritional downside to a vegetarian diet. People who eat no animal foods run the risk of nutritional deficiencies such as a lack of vitamin B-12, iron and zinc and the powerful Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, she said.

Source - CNN Health

Of course, just like with any diet, if you're getting the bulk of your calories from junk food, you'll be deficient in nutrients, which is why we advocate seeing a dietician before any planned radical changes in your eating.

While Jane and I are probably not going raw any time in the near future, we know that many of you are raw vegans, or are interested in the raw vegan lifestyle.  If you're simply interested in vegan weight loss, see our post "Combat the Obesity Epidemic - Go Vegan" for more information.  If you'd like to hear more of what Angela has to say in her own words, you can visit her site where she's currently offering a free raw weight loss pamphlet.

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Recently, we saw a brief blurb on ABC news that indicated that obesity rates in America, as well as globally, are continuing to rise. It looks like we're on track to have 86% of all adults in America categorized as overweight or obese by 2030 - with related health care costs very close to $1 TRILLION! Well, if you look around you, this is really no surprise. As our lifestyles become even more sedentary, and cheap, high calorie (and often tasty) foods are omnipresent, what else can we expect? Or perhaps it's the 3,747 average calories we're consuming per person (according to New Scientist) -- that will pack on the pounds quickly!

The American mentality of instant gratification is also a huge factor. (And here I get on my soapbox.) We are taught from day one, that if we want something "we deserve it" (thanks to the marketing folks at L'oreal), and have to have it NOW (thanks Target). Whatever happened to saving up for something? Whatever happened to working for things? Whatever happened to anticipation? Why do we need so much stuff? And this goes for food too. Last year, when we were travelling through Sedona, we stopped at Taco Bell for a bean burrito, no cheese (vegan). Their new add campaign was something about a "fourth meal." Sheesh!

But I have an easy weight-loss suggestion for the general population; eat vegan a few meals per week. Notice, I said vegan, not vegetarian. That's because vegetarian often means "a non-meat based dish slathered in cheese." And as good as "real" cheese tastes, it's not likely to be part of a "reducing" diet, at least not in the quantities we typically consume. But overall, vegetables have fewer calories than meat.

Now, I'm not saying that simply eating vegan is the solution. We've found plenty of vegan junk food items out there. It's also fairly easy to eat a "bad" vegan diet. Our personal experience -- we notice we tend to gain a pound or three when Jane is baking more often, or when we're eating a lot of vegan ice cream or snacks. But as we move away from processed foods and eat more plant based whole foods, we consume fewer calories, and that's when the pounds come off, and it feels effortless.

Resources:

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health - Newsletter
• Obesity Research Journal
• BMI Calculator - Adult; Child/Teen
• Veganism: A Weapon to Fight The Obesity Epidemic — John Livesey PhD, Scientific Officer, Department of Endocrinology, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand

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When Jane and I started on our vegan journey, we both effortlessly lost weight. I dropped twenty pounds in 5 months, and she lost 11. These numbers may not be staggering, but we didn't do anything else. We simply went from eating a slightly healthier than average American diet, to a vegan diet. No calorie-counting, no increase in exercise (although we really need to work on that). Not bad for no effort. We'd probably still be losing a bit of weight if Jane wasn't finding new and incredible vegan desserts to make like the vegan danish we had this past weekend.

While Jane was poking around on the internet today, she ran across a post entitled, "Lose Weight While Spending Less on Food and Exercise." She shared it with me and I thought, who doesn't want that? So I figured I'd blog about it too.

The author writes that we should:

• Eschew diet pills / diet drinks -- Jane and I always laugh at those commercials. If you read the fine print, it always says "Combined with a healthy diet and exercise program, (insert product name here) will help you to lose weight." Hmmm, won't the diet and exercise do that without the pills?
• Buy only what you will eat -- So, I guess this means no more beets for us! (I confessed yesterday, that we keep buying beets, but Jane can't bring herself to prepare them, so they usually wind up in the compost bin after a tour of our refrigerator.)
• Eat your heaviest meal in the morning and your lightest at night. -- Tough to do since most of us prepare or go out and eat a hearty dinner.
• Eat smaller portions -- In other words, don't supersize me.
• Chew slowly and carefully -- When I was a child, my mom and I used to watch The Bob Newhart Show. There was one episode where he was talking about chewing food. I don't know why this is still stuck in my head (especially since I probably couldn't tell you anything about any other episode), but here goes... "32 chews keeps your tummy from danger, then you can stay up and watch the long ranger." That should keep you motivated!
• Control your appetite with more physical activity -- um, that would mean getting up from behind the computer occasionally.
• Dilute your fruit juices -- my mom always did this.
• Drink more water -- Water is the most consumed beverage in our household, so that's not really a problem for us. If you're not a huge fan, try putting a slice of citrus in your water. That will make it more palatable.
• Avoid or control the consumption of processed and junk food -- Well, we know that junk food is bad for you, it just tastes so damned good (until you wean yourself from it).

I would like to add another point:

• Eschew animal products. Plant-based foods tend to cost less than animal-based foods, and tend to have fewer calories and fat too.

Don't get me wrong, you can certainly gain weight eating vegan, but if you eat a healthy vegan diet like we are, the weight can just fall off. And you can save money at the same time (unless you've been subsisting on happy meals or other junk foods). Talk about a win-win.

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For the last few years, it seems that "the obesity epidemic" has been one of those hot topic issues. You read about it everywhere and hear about it on the news with some regularity. And now that it's January again, it seems like you hear something new every day. I guess it's not so surprising after all. If you do any research on the matter, obesity health-related issues are problems facing most developed and developing countries. According to the World Health Organization there are One BILLION overweight people in the world, and at least 300 million of these are clinically obese. Overweight is defined here as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25 and obesity is having a BMI over 30. Imagine that, 300 million clinically obese people... That's the equivalent of the entire population of the United States. (You can find a BMI Calculator here.)

The most effective way to combat obesity is to modify your diet and to begin an exercise regime. You know, common sense... eat fewer calories than you expend and you'll lose weight. But the global trend of wealthier and denser populations has lead to a change in the way we live. As humans, our diets are comprised of more refined foods, foods which are high in saturated fats, trans-fats, sugars, and over processed grains stripped of their nutrients. And food is omnipresent. There is food for purchase at almost any event you might attend, including plays on Broadway!

In addition to the dietary changes we have also experienced significant changes in the way we live over the last century. More and more labor saving devices allow us more leisure time, and more time to socialize - which is usually a food-centric event. It seems like home cooked meals are becoming a rarity. The computer, television, and electronic games have all but replaced the physical pursuits we used to participate in during our leisure time. Most of us spend our days behind a desk in front of a computer. All this adds up to a sedentary lifestyle, which coupled with the above mentioned dietary changes, has led to our ever expanding waistlines.

One of the ways to combat this problem is to shift to a vegan diet. Most doctors and health organizations recommend that people should increase their intake of fruits and vegetables while reducing their consumption of saturated fats. Saturated fats are primarily found in animal products (with the notable exception of coconut oil).

The major killers of Americans—heart disease, cancer, and stroke—have a dramatically lower incidence among people consuming primarily plant-based diets. Weight problems—a contributor to a host of health problems—can also be brought under control by following the New Four Food Group recommendations. -- The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Of course, being vegan doesn't guarantee that you will lose weight. If you eat nothing but potato chips or Soy Ice Cream, you'll most likely be eschewing animal product, but you won't lose weight. Generally vegan meals are less calorie dense than those centered around animal product. If you've been following this blog at all, you'll know that I've lost 20 pounds and my wife has lost 11 over a six month period. That may not sound like a lot if you're looking to lose 100 or so, but we haven't done anything else. We haven't stepped up our exercise; we haven't cut our consumption. We just changed what we were eating, for other reasons, and had this very nice byproduct. And we're not the only ones. Apparently, a veg*n diet will result in a 1 pound per week average weight loss, as reported in a study by Nutrition Reviews.

For further reading see:

• A New Food Guide for North American Vegetarians (pdf)
• Veganism: A Weapon to Fight The Obesity Epidemic -- John Livesey PhD, Scientific Officer, Department of Endocrinolog, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand
• Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

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