Benefits of a Low-Fat Plant Based Diet (HCLF)
- Lily Green
- Jan 3, 2016
- 9 min read
I'm not one for 'macros' and ratios and calories and restrictions.
*IMMEDIATE DISCLAIMER*: This is not any of that.
Obesity. Acne. Chronic fatigue. Lack of energy. Weak immune systems. Cardiovascular disease. Diabetes. Osteoporosis... What is happening to the human population???
These are some of our most common western diseases but they are soon becoming prevalent all over the globe, that's scary stuff! But why? Why are these diseases so common, where did we go wrong?
I feel like we're trapped somewhere between the Best of Times and the Worst of Times (and I'm trapped in year 12 literature obviously), where we are a society obsessed with nutrition and fitness and diet fads and superfoods and supershakes and crossfit and crosstraining... yet we're in our unhealthiest state (as a whole) ever. There's something that's just not adding up.
Problem is, we live in a world bombarded with marketing and propoganda. See, marketing essentially 'lies' to you. You see a product, and you are given the impression that having it, or eating it is going to make you beautiful and popular and cool (or strong, or feminine, or masculine) when in reality, it's gonna make you OBESE AND SICK!!
{Don't get me wrong, I love me some T-Swizzle}
This marketing comes in many shapes and forms, to target all demographics in a population. It's pretty powerful stuff. But it's exploited every day.
Why do you think, even though you never took a class in it, you "know" that:
-Meat is protein
-Dairy is calcium
-Fish is omega 3
-Steak is iron
Marketing. Right there in your face.
Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to pump out a post on why exactly animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs aren't exactly your best healthy livins and why/how they are causing some of the most tragic health problems of our time. You may be shocked!
Sooo... what is a HCLF plant based diet?
H- High (abundance of)
C- Carbohydrate (plant foods such as starches, rice, potatoes, fruit, veggies)
L- Low (minimal)
F- Fat (fatty animal foods, oils, nuts, avocados)
Plant based diet (STUFF THAT COMES FROM THE EARTH!!)
I have been eating this way for just over a year now, with the inclusin of occasional fats such as avocado or oils like most people eating HCLF, but in the past 5 months have chosen to cut out all overt fats (foods with a high fat density such as avocado, nuts, seeds) to help with acne.
But today I am going to share with you the 5 benefits I've experienced from a HCLF plant based diet (and probably generally from a vegan diet too!)
--AN ABUNDANCE OF FOOD + UNLIMITED CALORIES--
Okay so you heard me the first time, I don't care for calories. I don't wanna know about them and I don't count them. Why the hell we even decided to start counting calories is beyond me, especially given that we all have different caloric needs ON DIFFERENT DAYS!!
Get this: a glass of orange juice contains 45 calories (per 100g) and coke contains 38 calories (per 100g) and when sweetened with aspartame (DANGER DANGER) it contains 0 calories!! But we all know which one we would be better off with...
See, the thing with our obsession with nutrition is our obsession with calories, and it's nonsense. I have gone from eating a tiny little salad with a bit of fish on it (no carbs, they make you fat! Pshhh...lame) to eating HUGE amounts of low fat plant foods in ABUNDANCE. I will have a smoothie with up to 7 bananas in it, a salad (pictured) with about 8 potatoes baked with it, a whole 500g packet of pasta with a whole tin of organic lentils, 5 mangoes for breakfast, 8 sushi rolls for lunch... the list goes on! And do these 'carbs' make you fat? No. Quite the opposite actually.
In real fact, I have never felt more energised (given my body is being fuelled with it's primary energy source... CARBOHYDRATES! SUGAR!) and my fitness level has skyrocketed. I never feel gluggy or heavy after eating to my heart's content, I'm always satisfied because I know I don't have to hold back for fear of putting on weight, and I am actually the leanest I've probably been in my entire teenage years. I fit into dresses that didn't fit me in year 9 :P
Being able to eat as much as you want without worrying about your weight is what we've all been searching for, really. Because who doesn't love to sit on the couch and smash in all the food in the world? You can. Without the guilt. Plus most of the foods making us put on weight come from animals that were abused their whole lives just to give us a steak or a slice of cheese. Really?
P.S Vegan cheeses and meats are improving every day. Gone are the days when you put teriyaki sauce on tofu and called it 'chicken'. Meat eaters, meet Gardein Meatless Range. It will change your life.
This is a really great video explaining why carbohydrate foods don't make you fat! And remember, a muffin is not 'carbs', neither are fries or doughnuts or any other treats that cause you to pack on the pounds. These food are dominated by FAT!
--FITNESS--
It's amazing how the body can perform at it's peak by providing it with it's primary fuel source: carbohydrates. In order to resynthesise ATP (the body's energy 'currency') to produce energy for daily functions OR maximal efforts and bouts during exercise, your body converts the food you eat into simple sugars, or glucose, if you wanna be scientific about it :P
**So, we know the body runs off carbohydrates
Fats too can be broken down into glucose, but it is a much longer process that not only requires a huge amount of oxygen to occur, it is also harder to keep weight off this way since fat molecules are much more calorically dense than that of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram
Fats contain 9 calories per gram
So although I really don't give a crap about calories, this just helps to explain how fat is harder to utilise as fast and efficiently as carbohydrates as you have to burn a lot more calories from foods that contain fat, hence why people eating a standard western diet full of high fat animal foods can't eat these foods abundantly or they'll soon begin to gain weight. Low fat plant foods, however, contain less calories therefore you get to eat a lot more! Yay!
And by eating enough of this good stuff, you'll be bouncing off the walls if you don't find some sort of exercise routine to shake off some sillies. I've been involved in activities such as running, martial arts, aerobic gymnastics/ sport aerobics and fitness spread across almost 10 years and never have I felt this amazing. I remember feeling really heavy and out of breath and like my legs were full of lead back when I believed carbs were the enemy and that I'd feel my best on a paleo-type diet high in fats such as nuts, avocado and animal products. I didn't touch much fruit, sugar or starches. Long story short I was unfit and felt shitty. Now I feel energetic, buzzed and athletic... which would make my 8 year old self fall off her feet at the thought.
I have a pretty demanding lifestyle now, and a job/jobs that need me to be able to work optimally most days. I'm a gymnast. A coach. A fitness instructor. And a teenager. Haha so I need my energy! A HCLF way of eating helps me feel light and ready to go, I pretty much never feel nauseous or fatigued during the high intensity exercise I do almost daily!
--BODY--
Not only does a plant based diet make you feel rad on the inside, it works wonders for your bod on the outside. I've grown up with pretty weak nails and I've always been quite chubby (due to my love for food!) and apart from my genetically asian hair, I've always felt a bit lackluster.
That's not to say I'm a shiny barbie doll now, but my body has leaned out so much since going HCLF vegan, my nails are shiny and strong, my hair is the softest it has ever been, my eczema has healed, the skin on my body is soft and my acne is still getting there... but it's definitely better than it used to be. But that's another post altogether!
I don't think a lot of people realise the damaging health effects of animal products, particularly meat/dairy/eggs. Whilst they are cruel as hell to the animals, they're also killing us. I'm not going to be a liar and say milk doesn't contain calcium, because it does, but the problem lies in that the calcium is virtually unabsorbable. Milk has such a high protein content that it has an acidic nature on our naturally alkaline bodies, (our body has a pH of just above 7) so our systems have to neutralise this acid somehow before it causes us any damage. Where can we find alkaline minerals in our body to neutralise the acid? Our bones.
So though milk is marketed as being good for our bones, it's actually leaching the calcium stores right out of us-- hence why the largest populations of dairy consumption also have the highest prevalence of osteoporosis. Hmmm, scary stuff, huh?
By eliminating gross animal products, you're helping save your skin. Literally! Maybe your hair too. And your nails. And you'll definitely see your body lean out if you're no longer transferring the body fat of another animal into your own through your mouth. Grossssssss!
--EASY TO BE HEALTHY--
When you remove the meat and dairy from your diet, you'll be loading up your plate with starches, fruit, and veggies without even thinking twice about it. Coz that's what you gotta do! So it becomes so much easier to be healthy without trying so hard. You don't need to count calories of healthy fresh food and as you go vegan you'll discover so many amazing food combinations you may not have tried before, which will increase your nutrient uptake and variety. I eat the same sort of things week to week but in one dinner I might have sushi rolls filled with shredded carrot or cucumber or red capsicum or lettuce, or a huge spinach salad with roasted beetroot and potatoes-- while they seem like simple combinations I'm getting so many nutrients from all the veggies and same goes for massive fruit meals.
One thing I know will still linger as you transition away from rich animal products are the junk food cravings and the 'healthy' is boring mindset. I know this because people do look at my food and think its boring af. Maybe it's simple, but boring only sprouts from the problem of our overindulged tastebuds. See, when we are spoiled with salty, sugary, greasy, fatty foods filled with chemical flavour enhancers and additives, we ruin our natural tastes for more delicate flavours found in fruits and vegetables in their whole form. Of course watermelon doesn't stand a chance against nacho cheese Doritos, but once you kick the junk addiction (and trust me, you can!) you won't even think about those foods anymore. The body craves what it is used to. If you feed it junk, it'll want more junk. But by reintroducing it to whole, plant foods, you'll regain your natural hunger for fresh, sweet fruit and the subtle taste of veggies. Of course you can load em up with some ketchup if you need to though!
--FEELING CONNECTED TO YOUR HEART AGAIN--
Someone once told me that you don't have to be an animal lover to be a vegan, but it doesn't make sense to support the mass slaughter of billions of animals per year for your burger, yet claim to 'love all animals'. I think a lot of us have lost that connection between our plate and the living creature it was once part of, and with education and discussion I think most of us can gain it back.
I wasn't always a big animal lover. I grew up terrified of dogs, I was scared of fish because they were slimey, I was chased by chickens at a local children's farm, I have an irrational fear of goats and my first instinct upon seeing a snake is to faint and hope I wake up in a better place.
BUT I WOULD NOT, AND COULD NOT EVER SUPPORT THE IDEA OF KILLING ANIMALS.
There is no 'humane' way to slaughter a being in the agricultural industry. Even if there was it is too slow and not efficient for the demand for burgers and bacon we seem to have. Animals on factory farms (yes, I can almost guarantee the meat sold in Woolworths or your local butcher is from a factory farm) go through the most inhumane, horrific torture and mutilation during their time on earth and I truly believe everyone should watch PETA's If Slaughterhouses had Glasswalls, narrated by Paul McCartney, to truly understand what goes on before these animals are turned into a faceless product wrapped in plastic.
It took me a while to understand it all. I was once a meat-eater, and I swore I'd never be a vegan. I hated steak but I loved chicken nuggets and salmon sushi and ice cream and cake. But I was also ignorant and didn't think about where it was coming from. And I can't say it's because I didn't care because now the grief of knowing how animals on farms are treated is real. We care, as humans we care a lot and our compassion is a part of who we are-- but we let distractions such as branding, marketing and media remove us from that compassion and see a product for only that and not as flesh from a living, breathing animal.
To tie this section up, I just wanna ask you:
Would you still eat meat if you had to kill it yourself?
Lily x