Plant Based Meal Plan
Plant Based Meal Plan
A plant-based diet is often touted as the healthiest approach to eating, and its benefits extend way beyond weight loss.
Going plant based is not so much a diet as it is a general approach to eating. There’s no need to count calories or stress about meeting certain macronutrient goals each day. In essence, it’s simply about eating more plant-based foods.
Plant-based diets are also full of phytochemicals, compounds that help keep many of your body’s systems running smoothly. For instance, the anthocyanins in berries help protect vision; carotenoids in carrots and cantaloupe, and the isothiocyanates in brussels sprouts neutralize the free radicals that cause cell damage; and flavonoids in apples help control inflammation.
HEALTH IS BESPOKE
Detoxing while removing animal products is an issue that most people go through; it can last a week, a month, and for some people it can occur off and on every few months for a couple days as the body continues to clean itself out from old toxins, hormones, mercury, pesticides, bacteria, and other harmful things found in most all animal-based foods.
As your body cleanses itself from many sources of harmful animal protein stored in your cells, keep in mind that your liver, digestive system, kidneys, and lymph system are in major “cleaning house” mode. Be aware of this and know that because they’re sweeping all that out without you eating any more of those foods to slow the detox down, you’ll likely be a little (or a lot) more tired than usual, may experience increased bathroom time (which is a good thing!), and may even have headaches. It feels a little like the flu and can be exhausting in the beginning if your diet was especially toxic before. These are all signs your body is cleaning itself. Remember, the cleaner the food you give your body, the better it can use food to detoxify and supply you with nutrients for fuel.
Physiologically speaking, your body’s hormones also change when you quit eating animal products. As hormones change and stabilize, realize that emotional changes are normal. One unique thing to point out is that a plant-based diet can be very mind-clearing due to the way it sweeps out excess hormones from animal-based foods in the body. As it does this, the body can go through almost a shock emotionally and physically. If you are experiencing emotional changes, know that it’s completely normal.