Slim Down in a Healthy Way with a Whole Food Plant Based Diet
The healthiest 30 day slim down you can do consists of cutting out processed foods and following a whole food plant based diet. A whole food plant based diet helps with weight loss and weight management and can prevent, halt, and in some cases reverse chronic diseases. It also doesn’t contribute to animal cruelty, is less expensive and is generally better for the environment. All of these benefits and more can be yours by following a whole food plant based diet.
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Table of Contents
What is a Whole Food Plant Based diet?
It sounds simple… and, it really is. A whole food plant based diet consists of whole, unrefined, plant based foods. The term “whole” in whole food plant based describes foods that are minimally processed.
Processed foods are packed with added sugars, fats and calories. Avoiding processed foods and focusing on whole foods, which are nutrient dense as opposed to calorie dense, helps you lose weight easily and naturally.
My Personal Experience Following a Whole Food Plant Based Diet
I have been following a whole food plant based diet for over three years and love it. My energy levels are through the roof and I just feel good, both mentally and physically. My daily diet consists of muesli or porridge in the morning with lots of added fruits, seeds and nuts. Lunch and supper generally consist of hearty legume, whole grain, root vegetable and vegetable salads and stews. I snack mainly on seeds, nuts and fruit but will occasionally have granola bars or crackers and hummus. More about me
Differences Between Whole Food Plant Based and Vegan Diets
A whole food plant based diet is not a vegan or vegetarian diet. While much overlap exists, there are also some major differences. The main difference being the whole food aspect. Many unhealthy vegans and vegetarians merely cut out animal products without adding healthy, whole foods. You can still be vegan by living off fries, onion rings, vegan pastries, white bread, and chocolate bars!
Benefits of a Whole Food Plant Based 30 Day Slim Down
Weight Loss and Weight Management are much Easier on a Whole Food Plant Based Diet.
Following a whole food plant based diet isn’t really a diet at all as weight loss happens naturally. A 16 week study of overweight participants conclusively showed that plant based diets increase metabolism and decrease insulin resistance, helping burn calories while improving health. Many other studies have proven the link between plant based diets and weight loss. The main reason for this is the caloric density differences between processed and whole foods. Processed foods are high in fat and sugar making them calorie dense. Whole foods are high in fiber and nutrients and low in calories. Without all the added sugar and fat hidden in processed foods you can feel free to eat until you are full without counting calories and exceeding your caloric needs.
Following a Whole Food Plant Based Diet Prevents Disease
Whole Food Plant Based Diets can prevent, halt, and in some cases reverse chronic diseases. It is extremely effective at promoting cardiovascular health. It can prevent, halt, and in some cases even reverse heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US. A 2019 review of 99 studies found that diets rich in whole plant foods were associated with significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with diets high in meat and dairy products.
Adopting a whole food plant based diet has also been shown to:
- lower the risk of prostate, breast & other cancers.
- prevent & treat diabetes and arthritis.
- improve liver and kidney function.
- promote general well-being while living longer.
A Whole Food Plant Based Diet is Better for the Environment
Eating a whole food plant based diet is generally better for the environment. As you can see in the graph below, following a whole food plant based diet reduces your water consumption greatly.
Factory Farming is a Major Contributor to Water and Air Pollution as well as Deforestation
Factory-farmed animals produce massive amounts of manure every day. This waste is usually stored in large open air lagoons which can leak, overflow and spill into the surrounding environment, especially during floods. The waste is also sprayed onto fields as fertilizer. This can contaminate local water supplies, spread pathogens, reach neighboring populations, and emit harmful gasses.
Livestock release methane gas during their digestion process. For this reason, factory farms serve as concentrated sources of methane gas emissions which contribute to global warming.
Land and rainforests are cleared to allow livestock to graze and crops to be grown to feed the animals raised on factory farms.
The Inefficiencies of Factory Farming
It is estimated that:
- 75% of all agricultural land is devoted to animal production.
- 35% or more of global calories is used as animal feed.
- 50% or more of the global protein is used as animal feed.
According to Smil (EM/2008 via UKY) (researcher) it takes:
- 25 pounds of cattle feed to produce 1 pound of beef.
- 9.4 pounds of pig feed to produce 1 pound of pork.
- 4.5 pounds of chicken feed to produce 1 pound of chicken meat.
Ethical Consumption Practices
Factory farming practices reduce living, breathing, feeling animals into products. Animals within the factory farming system can be treated very cruelly, disregarding their suffering and pain for efficiency. Pigs are as smart as dogs and have the same feelings and intellect. However they are kept in tiny pens where they live their lives on metal grates, unable to even turn around. If people kept their dogs in the same circumstances they could be arrested for animal cruelty. Supporting this type of cruelty is unethical. If you do decide to include animal product in your diet, use truly free range chickens, family farmed pork, grass fed beef and sustainable fisheries. Your body and mind will feel better for the change.
How to do a Whole Food Plant Based 30 Day Slim Down
Following a whole food plant based diet is relatively easy. No counting calories, starving yourself or skipping meals. Simply cut out all processed foods and focus on eating natural, whole foods. An easy way to get going is by making a whole food plant-based diet shopping list and following the recommendations of a Whole Food Plant Based Diet Pyramid.
A whole food diet may seem bland at first but that is because you are used to processed foods with all of their associated sugar and fat. Your taste buds will soon make the switch and you will be enjoying the rich flavors and freshness of whole, natural foods in no time.
Cutting out all processed food might sound drastic and, in reality, it is. To get some added calories and for the sake of palatability and personal pleasure, I regularly include three processed foods in my diet.
- Tamari Soy Sauce – Tamari is a variation of soy sauce that is thicker, darker in appearance, and is richer in flavor than traditional soy sauce. Tamari’s rich flavor comes from an abundance of amino acids that are derived from soy protein during the brewing process. Tamari contains less salt than traditional soy sauce. However, it is still high in salt and should be used in moderation.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – A small amount of extra virgin olive oil can be used in salad dressings or as a topping for steamed vegetables. However, remember that, while high in healthy monounsaturated fats, olive oil is still pure fat and caloric dense so try to have no more than 1 tbsp. per day.
- Plant Based Milk – Plant based milk can be made from legumes (soy beans and peas), nuts (hazelnut, almond, cashew, walnut, coconut, pistachio), seeds (hemp, sesame, flaxseed), grains (rice, oat, quinoa) and fruit (bananas). No matter what the base ingredient is, all plant based milk is made by grinding and then straining the base material which is then mixed with water. Sometimes sweeteners, vitamins, minerals, thickeners and emulsifiers are added. Try to buy high quality plant based milks and avoid products with added emulsifiers like xanthan gum and guar gum as these have been linked to digestive problems. You can also make your own plant based milks at home with a blender or with the easy to use Nutr plant based milk machine.
There are lots of books and plenty of great online information (including this post) on whole food plant based diets. To give you a start, see the lists below for foods to include and foods to avoid in your whole food plant based 30 day slim down.
Should You be Taking Supplements?
Eating a whole food plant based diet is the healthiest and most responsible diet on earth. It minimizes your exposure to harmful food components such as sodium and saturated fat and maximizes your intake of fiber and nearly every required nutrient including: vitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, most of the B vitamins, as well as magnesium, iron, and potassium. However, because of the way we live in the modern world, chances are you’re still missing a few key nutrients. Not getting these nutrients can, at best, make you function at less than your peak. At worst, it can lead to serious health problems down the line.
Vitamins and minerals you could be missing include:
- Vitamin B12 – Vitamin B12 is not made by plants, or animals for that matter, it is made by microbes that live in the earth. And, unless you eat a lot of dirt, you will be low in this vital nutrient.
- Vitamin D – We evolved to get all of our vitamin D from the sun. However, unless you live on a nudist colony in the tropics you are almost certainly low in vitamin D for at least part of the year.
- Iodine – Iodine is essential for thyroid function and is found mainly in the ocean and in variable amounts in soils around the world. Iodine is regularly added to table salt, so if you use enough table salt your iodine requirements will be met. However, since sodium causes many serious health issues, table salt should not be exclusively used for your iodine source. If you eat enough seaweed, which has high amounts of iodine, this can be used for your iodine source. Otherwise iodine should be supplemented in some other way.
- Omega-3 (EPA and DHA) – While plant sources have plenty of ALA omega-3s, notably flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts. Plant sources of EPA and DHA omega-3s are lacking. While fish oil can be taken for this purpose, algae oil is the better, primary source of oceanic omega-3 EPA and DHA and comes without added PCBs, toxins or fish oil burps.
To correct these deficiencies each vitamin or mineral can be sourced separately, fortified foods can be eaten or a high quality multivitamin can be taken. Multivitamins are now made with plant based diets in mind. These multivitamins include only the vitamins and minerals generally lacking in plant based diets. This avoids the issue of overcompensating and getting too much of any one thing.
Foods to Include in Your Whole Food Plant Based 30 Day Slim Down
Fruits: (Raw or cooked) any type of fruit including apple, avocado, bananas, grapes, cherries, mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, melons, papayas, kiwi, plums, citrus fruits, etc.
Vegetables: (Raw, steamed, stewed or fermented) plenty of veggies including peppers, corn, celery, cruciferous veggies, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, lettuces, parsley, cilantro, chards, bok choy, brussels sprouts, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms (not really a veggie), sea vegetables, arugula, kale, collards, etc.
Tubers and Roots: Starchy root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, and cassava (aka yuca) and onions, leeks, carrots, radishes, beets, garlic, ginger, turnips, daikon etc.
Whole grains: Grains, cereals, and other starches in whole form, such as amaranth, quinoa, brown rice, barley, wild rice, whole wheat, steel cut and rolled oats, popcorn, etc.
Legumes: (Dried, sprouted or canned with minimal salt) adzuki beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, fava beans, edamame beans, kidney beans, soybeans, green beans, peas, mung beans, lentils – sprouted lentils are quick, easy and nutritious, lima beans, pinto beans, homemade bean veggie burgers etc.
Seeds and Nuts: Best are the Omega 3 rich seeds including flax and chia seeds but also pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, coconut, cashews, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts etc.
All types of spices: Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, peppers etc.
Beverages: Water, unsweetened plant “milks”, herbal teas, green tea, kombucha, coffee.
Foods to Avoid in Your Whole Food Plant Based 30 Day Slim Down
Meat: Fish, especially large predator fish like sword, shark and tuna are high in concentrated metals and other pollutants, poultry, seafood and red meat, especially processed and cured meats like sausages, hotdogs and salami which are high in nitrates and preservatives.
Dairy: Milk, cheese, butter, half and half, cream, buttermilk (if you tolerate dairy, organic yogurt and sheep and goats milk cheese like feta can be used sparingly).
Eggs: Chicken, duck, quail, ostrich etc.
Added Fats: Oils, margarine, country crock etc. (extra virgin olive and flax oils can be used sparingly).
Refined Sugar: White sugar, barley malt, beet sugar, brown rice syrup, brown sugar, cane juice crystals, cane sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s sugar, fructose.
Refined Grains and their products: White flour, white rice, quick cook oats, white bread, white pasta, pastries etc. (Whole grain sourdough bread can be used sparingly).
Protein Isolates: Soy protein isolate, pea protein isolate, seitan.
Beverages: Soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, (100% pure fruit juice diluted in water can be used sparingly).
Avoid anything that doesn’t look like a natural food. Avoid anything that didn’t come out of the ground or from a tree, shrub, vine, bush or grass. Snacks like chocolate, energy, and granola bars, twinkies, pastries, chips, crackers, pastas, breads, pop tarts, pizza pops etc.
Other Weight Loss Strategies to Try During Your 30 Day Slim Down
Following a whole food plant based diet is a great way to slim down in a healthy way. In order to look and feel your best an all round healthy lifestyle should be followed. While I don’t lift weights or go to the gym, I do live a healthy lifestyle. I don’t drink or smoke. I eat a Whole Food Plant Based diet, and I do Tummo Breathing and Cold water Therapy every day.
I also follow an intermittent fasting eating schedule. This means I only eat for 8-12 hours each day, fasting the other 12-16. Try an intermittent fasting schedule that works for you. For me this is most easily done by eating breakfast around 10 AM in the morning and finishing supper by around 8 PM.
Lifestyle suggestions to help slim down.
- Eat a Whole Food Plant Based Diet.
- Practice Intermittent Fasting.
- Do Cold Water Therapy by taking cold showers or doing cold water plunges.
- Do Tummo Breathing.
- Drink alcohol moderately. You can find my suggestions and strategies on getting sober here.
- Be active! I love surfing, stand up paddle boarding, gardening, hiking and biking. Find sports or activities you enjoy, and get out and do them!
Following a whole food plant based diet for your 30 day slim down is the healthiest way to lose weight and can be a life changing experience. If you can implement some of these changes into your lifestyle after your 30 day slim down, weight management will be easier, less expensive and more enjoyable for you. The transition to a fully whole food plant based diet takes time and effort but the lasting changes will be with you for a (longer and healthier) lifetime.
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