262: 5 Reasons Weight Loss is a Struggle On The Plant Based Vegan Diet & How To Succeed

Speaker 1: 0:58

Want to know five reasons you're struggling to lose weight on the plant-based vegan diet, then this is for you. Hey sister, welcome to the Power On Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're shared in the Need to Resale Christ followers, health care professionals, parents of four and big fans of great tasting food. We, too, tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes, and we weren't finding answers to traditional routes. So we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon sustainable plant-based living. The truth is, you can eat more whole plant foods, and it's not hard. You just need the way. That's realistic and delicious, so you never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy pop in those earbuds and let's get started. This episode is all about the five reasons you're struggling to lose weight on a plant-based vegan diet and we are going to get right into it. Reason number one you're not eating whole plant foods. Vegan does not equal healthy and there's a way that vegan can be extremely unhealthy. We don't want you to get sucked into eating processed vegan junk food. That's a terribly unhealthy cycle of eating Things like the crackers and the burgers and the pre-made meals and all those things. Sometimes they can be good transition foods if you really feel like you need that, but believe me, it's not always necessary. Most people that we see succeed eating this way start following the meal plans that we lay out, start following the recipes, doing the formulas, the un-recipes that we've given, and they gain success because they start finding those new favorite foods that are not processed vegan junk foods.

Speaker 2: 3:15

It can be tempting to use the word vegan to equal healthy when you're going to look for different food options, because if you're starting this brand new and you think, okay, I want to make a change, going from animal-based diet to a plant-based or vegan diet, that's a pretty big change. It's very tempting and understandable when you think, okay, I'm going to look for the word vegan on the package, which that right there it's another sales tactic, don't you think it is a?

Speaker 1: 3:40

sales tactic yes. Yeah, I mean, you might see healthy and simple, but you also might see vegan and you started this new way of living. You think, oh, this is vegan and you're so excited, but you haven't learned yet because you haven't listened to a lot of podcast episodes and you're not inside podcast insiders experience and you don't know that you need to be reading that ingredients label. What's actually in there? Does it have oil? Does it have added sugar? Stop looking at those macros and micros. Start looking at what's actually in it. I don't care if it says vegan. Many times that is a big sales tactic. It's a keyword that they know they can trigger you with if you're on this new way of eating, and they're going to put that smack dab on the front of that package, just like Jared always says. It's like on the billboard.

Speaker 2: 4:23

The front of the package is the billboard, and so they're going to use that. It's like saying a product doesn't have saturated fats in it. It may be a product that would never have a saturated fat in it anyway, but they know that you're looking for that, and so then they'll include that on the package to catch your eye.

Speaker 1: 4:40

They put what it doesn't have on there. It doesn't have this, it doesn't have that. What we need to start asking is what does it have?

Speaker 2: 4:47

It can be a sneaky tactic. Back to the main point here is just that if you're looking for something that's vegan doesn't necessarily mean it's unhealthy, but it doesn't mean that it is.

Speaker 1: 4:57

We've got to focus on getting the whole plant foods. Maybe you just aren't sure how to eat healthy, plant based, apart from piling a bunch of plain vegetables into a bowl. You didn't grow up eating a lot of vegetables. You don't know exactly what to do. Listen to the 250 plus episodes here we have for you and, even better yet, join Podcast Insiders Experience at PowerPlantscom. Forward slash pie. That's where you can get every single episode searchable. You can search, searching hey, what should I be eating for breakfast? You can search breakfast, lunch, lunch idea search lunch, search travel. You think, hey, I'm going on a trip and I don't know what to eat, so you search travel in there. That's all available for you inside Podcast Insiders Experience. Again, that's at poweronplantscom. Forward slash P-I-E. It spells pie, all right. So that is step number one. You're not eating the whole plant foods, you're eating unhealthy vegan. And that can be really hard because you feel like you're doing it right just because it says vegan and you've gotten tripped up by a marketing message. Step number two there's oil hiding in there. Listen, you will not believe where all oil is hiding. You start pulling out packages from your pantry, from your refrigerator, all the things that have an ingredients label that aren't whole plant foods straight from the produce section. I want you to start reading the label. I don't care if it's a spice. You will not believe Pull out your spices.

Speaker 2: 6:22

We have found oil there.

Speaker 1: 6:24

Oh, pull out your spices, pull out your dried fruits, your sauces, your dressings. You will not believe Oil is super high in calories. We don't worry about calories because we don't eat the added oil products. We don't pour it on anymore. You have to learn how to cook without it. It is 120 calories per tablespoon and you don't realize all the things you're eating it in because they sneak it in there.

Speaker 2: 6:50

And if you look at four tablespoons of oil, that's almost 500 calories in just four tablespoons.

Speaker 1: 6:56

It's crazy and it's not hard to do, so you don't need to count calories. We just want you to become aware of these things. Read the ingredients label. Get the oil out. Find your new favorite oil-free options to replace with. We don't want to leave that empty hole. Learn how to cook without it. Remember one harmful ingredient out, one health-promoting one in its place. Mistake number three Telling yourself you can't enjoy meals you really like if you're only eating whole plant foods. So you just don't ever try. So you convince yourself that somehow you'll be missing out on great tasting food if you eat whole-food plant-based meals. This is a lie from your enemy. He wants to keep you stuck. I want you to think about this for a minute. You have somehow been convinced that if you eat the best foods on the planet, the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, somehow you're not going to be getting what you need. And now you need to be worrying about that, when before you were hitting the drive-thru or eating fast food, or getting takeout, or cooking things with a lot of oil, or eating all these oil-based products or animal products that we know cause long-term health struggles, which a lot of us are dealing with. We had our 40s and we were dealing with a whole host of things, but we were eating clean and organic and free-range and no hormone added. Mind you, it had tons of growth hormones in it, by nature being dairy. So this is a lie. This thought that if you eat whole-plant foods and meals that are whole-food plant-based, they're not going to taste good, you're not going to enjoy them and you're going to somehow feel deprived. And if you don't do it the right way, in the way that's quick and simple and works with your schedule and it doesn't taste great to you, absolutely that's going to happen to you. The Power and Plant Sway we have intentionally set up for you to thrive by making it quick, simple and delicious, because we know these are the keys that are often missing. I mean, you try some nasty brownies that call themselves whole-food plant-based and you're like I could never eat this way. I don't know how anybody could eat this way. You try Power and Plant Sway and you're smiling and you're going oh, I could totally do this, or our Alfredo sauce, or all these amazing things that we've come out with for you to get started. And then you come into Power and Plant Society and you find out. Hey, I can make chips in three minutes and they have no oil in them and they have none of these harmful things in them, and you're going and you love them. Yeah, and you're posting and everybody's putting our post just blowing up where we shared how to make these things, and people are freaking out going. Why did I not know this before? I mean, do you know how many times we've heard? Why did no one tell me this before? Why did I not know I couldn't make this this way? So you're finding your new favorites. You're still enjoying those same meals. You're just enjoying them in the way that they love your body back, and this is where you gain freedom to live your calling.

Speaker 2: 9:49

But we've uttered those words ourselves. Absolutely. Why did we not know this? Why did someone not tell us we went through medical and nursing training? Why were we not told these things?

Speaker 1: 10:00

But really we were just being lied to and we had bought the lie, hook, line and sinker and we're so thankful that God woke us up, even if it had to be through a mass amount of health struggles that we were both dealing with. Now we're on the other side of so many of those things and we're thriving. I'm fighting make myself go to bed at night because I have so much energy. That's a whole different problem than I used to have a long time ago. Thank God that he took those problems that I was having to make us dig into the research, learn how to put these things into place. And now we're not the only ones who have freedom. He's using us to help others gain freedom. I could not have even imagined the blessing that we have in that seeing you get free, diabetes being cured. Have you heard about that? Did you see the email? If you're on our email list, we've sent out an email about Curtis. Curtis man, you're an inspiration. Your life is going to be used to change so many lives. It already is, because people are hearing your testimony and saying this is amazing. I didn't even know this was possible. Type 2 diabetes. His A1C was so high he started eating vegan, found out about Whole Food, plant-based, found the Power and Plants Podcast and now is in our exclusive community. He's one of our Power and Plants Society members. Now he goes back to get his blood work done and his A1C went. From what was it, jared?

Speaker 2: 11:25

11.4 down to 6.0. Y'all, he has been half. He's now no longer diabetic.

Speaker 1: 11:30

No longer diabetic. Did you hear that I was talking over Jared? I really didn't mean to, but I get so excited about this. This fires me up. This is why Jared and I went into medicine and nursing. This is why he got his training in lifestyle medicine. After he graduated as a physician assistant, he is certified as a lifestyle medicine professional and I went on to become an integrative nutrition help coach. Why? Because we're so adamant about helping you get the results you're after. We're not playing around here. This isn't a game for us. This isn't about making a lot of money or trying to sell you something. We genuinely care about you. It's why we went into medicine and nursing years ago. It's why, when we met at 19 years old at Rhodes College, we were both already on the track for biology of some sort. Jared was outside organing chemistry, running his chemistry labs. He did a lot of research. He got his cellular and molecular biology degree before he even became a physician assistant. We care about research. We care about people. We want to see you living the free life that you are made to live, to walk in freedom, to have the energy that you need to go and do the things that you want to do.

Speaker 2: 12:46

We care about transformation.

Speaker 1: 12:48

Absolutely so you can't tell yourself that I'm not going to enjoy these meals. That's a lie. You just got to learn how you don't say I can't have tacos. You say how can I have tacos in a way that's going to build my health and make me feel amazing. This is just the tip of the iceberg here. It's not just about reversing diabetes, high blood pressure. We have clients and patients reverse these things, often with our advice Reversing cholesterol, reversing fibrocystic breast disease, reversing autoimmune disease, severe headaches that were unexplainable, rheumatoid arthritis, reflex that required nexium for 14 years. She's now off of it. One of our members struggle with this. She had that problem and all those side effects that come with being on that type of medication and now she no longer needs it. She doesn't have reflex. Why weren't we told these things? But you can't spend all your time regretting the past. You are where you are, but from this point forward your life can change. You can escape those old ways. I want you to go back as soon as you're done with this episode and listen to the previous one, 261. When we talk about what is good, I want you to learn to redefine what is good food. How you talk, how you think about food is very crucial, but do not buy into this lie that you won't be able to enjoy your meals if you eat whole food, plant-based because these are the most enjoyable foods on the planet when you know how to make them work with your life and especially when you know how to make them taste good. Challenge yourself to try it for 30 days. Then make it your goal each day to find one new plant-based favorite meal. You will be pleasantly surprised. Get into podcasts and signaries. Experience to gain insight and the inspiration you need at poweronplantscom. Forward slashp I e Now mistake number four you're still stuck in dieting mentality and it's robbing you of your joy. Counting calories, keeping up with macros, weighing yourself, portion controlling, even though whole plant foods are the lowest calorie foods by nature and the highest in nutrient density. You've got to let these miserable dining ways go, because they are not serving you well, they're not enjoyable and so they're never going to last it's kind of like a magician's card trick or an illusionist card trick.

Speaker 2: 15:23

Mm-hmm, they've got you looking one way while he's throwing the, you're like if they make something disappear from their hands, like a little handkerchief or something. They distract you one way as you throw it away, or if they were doing a card trick, they pull something out of their sleeve, whatever it is.

Speaker 1: 15:41

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: 15:41

That's what dieting mentality does. It distracts you onto something else. That's really not a value. It takes you away from what is the whole plant foods, the things with the nutrients, the fiber, all those things that fuel your body. Well, all the things that we talk about here, the dieting, it takes you away. It's almost like it locks your mind in this little prison, mm-hmm, of all the numbers and the mentality of. I must deprive myself Everything that we talk about here.

Speaker 1: 16:14

And so the sad thing is you come to whole food, plant based living and you try to apply those same dieting methods to this. So you think I'm gonna eat whole plant foods but I got a portion, control them out, and I've got to keep weighing myself and I need to Be careful about nuts because they're gonna make me gain weight, and I need to Count calories and plug this into my little app that's gonna tell me how many points it is and all this craziness.

Speaker 2: 16:40

And then what's gonna happen? If you've done this before, all those negative Associations that you have tied with the dieting in the prior experiences are going to come creeping in to this experience. That's good and it's different. That makes so much. It's not the same, but it's still going to poison the well. You're still gonna start feeling that sense of dread or misery is like. Had so much promise with this, and now I'm just back in the same boat where I was here I am again.

Speaker 1: 17:07

It's crucial to create the lifestyle you love, using the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet if you want the Freedom you were born to live in. It's how we dropped over 70 pounds together without even trying to lose weight, all while building the plant-based lifestyle we love. It's how Brenda did it. Our client Brenda went from a size 12 to a size 4 Without even trying. She just started finding her new favorite.

Speaker 2: 17:35

She didn't even realize, until she went clothes shopping with a friend.

Speaker 1: 17:38

Oh that's. That's such a fun story. I wasn't even gonna bring up the story, but I love it so much. So she goes shopping with a girlfriend and she's picking up these clothes, thinking, oh, these clothes are kind of loose on me now. She hadn't been weighing herself. She took our advice, she hadn't been weighing herself. So she gets there, she's shopping with her friend, her friends, picking up all these small clothes for like a Four or six and eight. She's going, no, no, no, no, I'm like a size, probably maybe a size 10 now Maybe I've lost down to a 10 and she's trying them on and they're falling off of her. And so she learns that she's a size 4 to 6, somewhere around there, depending on the brand. Right, and it's crazy. And she didn't even realize and she had so much freedom and was loving her lifestyle and she was saying I have so much energy, I've. Her neck pain was severe, it was gone, she wasn't having that digestive issues anymore and now she has all this energy, she's just enjoying her food. And she said she's the one that coined the term for us I've gained food freedom, anita Jared, this is amazing. I am living in this freedom. I didn't realize what a whole food hat on me, how I was thinking about it all the time. She's like now I have to actually remember to eat because those foods, those addictive foods, have lost their hold. These foods are not addictive. God's foods are not addictive. You enjoy them. You think about them from time to time like I'd like to have that meal again or that meal again. But it's different. It's a physical addiction that you get to these other foods, especially things like dairy, which hit your dopamine receptors. They hit your craving centers because they were created to do what. What was the cow's milk created to do? To bring back the calf to the cow so that grows and puts on weight and becomes a cow. Okay, so it does those same types of things to you, where it keeps you coming back, where, if you like cheese, like I did, you become the dairy queen. I love cheese. I mean, I would talk about it almost like a drug addict. I hate to pit it that way, but it really was how. I love cheese, I love sour cream, I love butter. Oh, I just can't imagine my life without those things. But you come into plant based and we show you how to eat the creamy, cheesy things. You can still have your nacho cheese, you can still have greatable cheese, you can still have all these things and they're so quick and simple to make. When you know how I mean, it really is like a no brainer. It's amazing how easy this is. People laugh about it all the time inside the membership, like Anita this is nuts. Why did I not know how easy this could be? I mean, I wouldn't didn't believe it until I tried it, but it's true. It is so freeing in so many ways. So this mistake number four is you're still stuck in the dining mentality and you're trying to put that on to this way of living. Christie's no longer doing that. She's in here and she's already said you know I've met my goals for myself already not weighing myself, not with those same dining ways and she is thriving and she's posting. These are the people that we see gaining results. If you're in power plant society and you're not regularly posting and you're wondering why am I not getting quite the results I'm looking for, start posting what you're doing. I don't care what the meal looks like, I don't care if it looks like trash on your plate. Post what you did If you liked it, if you didn't like it, ask questions, share your results. You don't even have to spend a long amount of time. If you're in pie, same thing, do it post, because I promise you you are going to get insight and inspiration that you would have never gained before. People will chime in, they will support you, they will urge you on and you are just going to go farther than you would have ever gone before, faster than you ever could have imagined.

Speaker 2: 21:53

And I wanted to add one extra thing here. Even if it is just somebody saying, wow, that looks really good, it is affirmation of what you're doing, that you're not alone. You get so much, I must like energy or invigoration from just some of those simple comments, and don't underestimate the power of that, because again you start to realize I am in community, I'm not just watching something, you're participating, you're becoming part of that, and then it just really rockets you to success, I believe.

Speaker 1: 22:24

Absolutely. I agree 100%. And I've got to bring up Lainey as well, because Lainey came in she wasn't even trying to lose weight, she didn't, it didn't cross her mind, she wasn't thinking about it. She's like my weight's okay, I just want to really set myself up where I don't get sick in the future. And she dropped weight and she posted that and the other day she told us I am at my high school weight and she's in her 40s. She's like I cannot believe this I actually weighed myself and what she doesn't usually do, and she said I'm at my high school weight in my 40s, like I never would have thought this would have happened. And she's thriving, and she's loving it. And look, I've got to bring up Curtis one more time. Props to you, brother, because, listen, curtis has not only reversed his diabetes, he has lost a lot of weight in the process of just learning how to find these new favorite meals. The last he told us 40 pounds so far and he's still losing. I'm pretty sure he's still losing.

Speaker 2: 23:20

And one last thought before we move on to mistake number five, because we're talking about, with the dieting mentality, how we get distracted from these whole plant foods. I just I had the thought our father is good, he has created excellent foods for us.

Speaker 1: 23:36

Yes.

Speaker 2: 23:37

These whole plant foods are full of nutrients, are full of what gives our body what it needs to thrive and to heal. We were designed to heal and we stopped that or we inhibit that by our food choices. Our father loves us. He gives us what is good, and that is in the form of whole plant foods. So don't let the dieting mentality rob you of that Right.

Speaker 1: 24:04

What a great point. What a great point. And we let other things come in and take the place of these foods that were created to help our bodies heal.

Speaker 2: 24:12

Yes.

Speaker 1: 24:13

And so we've got the sabotaging foods in there and we're not getting the things that God wanted us to have these delicious whole plant foods. And these things lose their hold on you. They lose their hold. You get food freedom, and then you're looking forward to some serious pomegranate. You're discovering how to open up a pomegranate and eat the seeds and you're thinking this is amazing, why am I not having this before? And you're discovering spaghetti squash and you're thinking where has this been? This isn't limiting. Yeah, that's another lie we believe. Oh, this is going to limit me. I'm going to have limited food choices. I'm only going to be able to eat a little steamed broccoli and some steamed cabbage. That could not be farthest from the truth. Now you'll reach a point where you'll love those foods and you'll enjoy them plain, or you might want a little tiny bit of sauce on them. You won't need as much fancy stuff later on down the road and you won't miss the other things. You'll get to where simpler is even better for you. I mean, it starts out simple with the recipes and the unrecipes and it just gets simpler as you go. Anyone who's in pops listening to this right now is going yes, man, preach it, sister, because that is how it is. It just gets simpler and simpler as you go. You learn your go to favorites. You get to where you don't even need a recipe. You have more end recipes. You're building those list of favorites and before long you're thriving and dieting isn't even on your radar.

Speaker 2: 25:32

And you love it. You're not just doing it, but you are actually loving it. I don't think love's too strong of a word, cheer it Because you start enjoying the foods and the flavors and the experience.

Speaker 1: 25:42

You know I force you to do whole food plain based. You know you don't love it. You just eat it because it's all out, kick right.

Speaker 2: 25:49

No.

Speaker 1: 25:51

I enjoy it. You feel deprived.

Speaker 2: 25:53

Oh, I'm just wasting away.

Speaker 1: 25:55

Y'all listen. If brownie batter, hummus with apples makes you feel deprived, I'm talking fudgy. It is like chocolate caramel covered apples.

Speaker 2: 26:06

We use this example a lot because it's such a fantastic example. It's so good Because, honestly, we could take hummus off the end of it and just call it brownie batter and nobody would know. They would never know.

Speaker 1: 26:16

It tastes that good, but it's made of all whole ingredients and every single one of them is good for you and there's no guilt, none, and we eat it and we love it and we feel great and we move on with our days. It's just wonderful.

Speaker 2: 26:32

Yes.

Speaker 1: 26:33

It is so freeing. Mistake number five eating too close to bedtime. This is a timing issue. Listen, when you do this, you're setting your body up for less than optimal sleep, and we all know how important sleep is. When your sleep is an optimal, it actually messes up your hormones. Grelin is more readily produced when you don't get enough sleep.

Speaker 2: 27:00

So whenever we don't sleep well it puts us in more of a stress mode. It messes up the release of cortisol, which normally spikes in the morning and then declines as the day and the night progresses and the morning spikes again and of course cortisol goes up when we have a stress response. It helps our body deal with that stress short term Well. When you don't sleep well, you have the abnormal stress response. Grelin is part of that. Grelin gets released. It is a hunger hormone. Now it actually does a lot of other things in the body as well.

Speaker 1: 27:32

And by that you mean, it makes you feel hungry.

Speaker 2: 27:34

It makes you, yes, it stimulates hunger. It's released by your GI tract in the stomach.

Speaker 1: 27:40

So when you aren't sleeping as well, your GI tract increases its production of Grelin with poor sleep.

Speaker 2: 27:48

And increases the amount of food that you intake.

Speaker 1: 27:51

And therefore what Jared's saying is you're going to eat more, All right, so you don't sleep well because you ate too late. And that happens because when you eat late your body's in digestion mode. It can't relax. So you're not sleeping well. You're not entering as deep of a sleep because your body is busy digesting your food. So if you eat too late, your body's busy digesting its food. Then your sleep is interrupted. And when sleep is interrupted, your body makes more Grelin, which is the hormone which causes you to feel hungry. So, you're going to feel more hungry and you're most likely going to overeat. So here's what you want to do. It is best to stop eating three hours prior to bedtime so your body isn't revved up digesting during a large portion of the night when it should be resting. When you stop eating earlier, your body's truly able to rest instead of being about the business of digesting that food. You ate late in the evening. Find some evening time activities that you enjoy Read a good book, call a friend, visit with a loved one. Replace the time that you would have been eating late with something else you enjoy. Preferably not screen time, though, because that is also going to interrupt your sleep. You want to turn that screen off several hours before bedtime at least one hour before bedtime, and even then in the evening time, make sure you either have blue blockers on your eyes or you've got something like Flux on the app that will turn on the warmth of your screen. You don't want blue light coming through, because it actually does trigger your eyes and your brain to stay awake, so you're also not going to sleep well, then, and Grelin can be increased, and that's a whole another problem. We don't want you to do screen time in place of it, but find your replacement for eating in the evening Eat until you're satisfied until that three hour before bedtime mark, and then stop eating and find some other things you enjoy doing so that your body can slow down and start to rest. Maybe it's a great time for you to learn. Grab a new book, things like that. These are five of the mistakes that we see people make that cause them to struggle with losing weight on a plant-based vegan diet. Number one not eating whole plant foods. Number two oil is hiding in their food and they don't realize it, so they're eating a lot more oil than they realize, or eating oil at all. Why not just cut it out? You'll do so much better. Step number three telling yourself you can't enjoy meals you really like if you're on a whole food plant-based diet. That's a lie, it's just not true. The fourth mistake is you're still stuck in dieting mentality and applying it to your whole food plant-based journey. And mistake number five eating too close to bedtime. All right, friend, there you have it Five reasons you're struggling to lose weight on a plant-based vegan diet. Join us inside Podcast Insider's experience to get even more tips and training and to make all the podcast episodes searchable. That's at poweronplantscom. Forward slash PIE. We'll look forward to seeing you on the inside and getting to know you more. I hope you have a fantastic day, sunshine, and we'll see you on the next episode.