How To Lose Weight and Never Gain It Back

I understood that I was overweight when I had difficulties walking and crouching down. It was obvious that I had to lose weight, but I knew that it would be difficult, since I was already 58-years-old.

When I was younger I lost weight by counting calories and starving. However, I gained all the weight back. So, I didn't know what to do.

Certain day I watched a video online about a doctor who said that he stopped giving medications to his patients because he was able to cure diabetes and other diseases thanks to a vegan diet. I noticed that all his patients lost weight.

I started wondering why I was so fat if I was a vegetarian.

I had decided to become a vegetarian many years ago, when I understood that we are cruel and unfair because we kill animals for food. We could eat vegetables, without being violent.

However, I was not eating the right food. I used to eat too much cheese, which contains a lot of fat and salt and has practically no nutritious value. I also ate a lot of bread, which increases our weight and is not healthy because it’s made with various additives and preservatives.

I had to completely abandon all animal products. They are not good for our health, and even though we don't kill a cow to take its milk, this is a violation of its rights.

On the other hand, cows, chicken, and pigs live in horrible conditions, eating the wrong food and taking hormones to get fatter. This is why they are always sick and they take antibiotics all the time.

Meat and animal products are not beneficial to our organism as many people believe. Moreover, our teeth and our stomach are like the teeth and the stomach of vegetarian animals. We shouldn’t be carnivores.

I believed that I would easily lose weight by eliminating dairy products and bread from my diet, since I didn't eat meat, which contains fat, but my weight didn't change.

Then I noticed that I was adding too much sugar to my coffee, what was extremely fattening. So, I diminished the sugar, what was very hard in the beginning, but again, my weight didn't change.

I also had to avoid processed food because it contains sugar and chemicals. So, I stopped eating biscuits, chips, etc.

However, my weight was always the same: 85 kilos!

I had to lose 25 kilos to be thin according to my height, but nothing was working for me. This was really frustrating…

So, I looked for more information about how to lose weight. I watched the video of a man who lost many pounds thanks to a vegan diet. He opened my eyes when he said: ‘no oil’. With a vegan diet we don't need to count calories and bear our hunger. We can eat as many plants as we want, but with only a little bit of oil.

However, how to stop eating oil completely? I adored olive oil.

I was more than discouraged, but when I stopped adding oil to my food, a miracle happened: I finally lost one kilo!

So, I looked for recipes online and I found various oil free salad dressings that saved my life. They transformed boiled vegetables into very tasty dishes.

I also noticed that I could better feel the taste of all vegetables in a soup and I started really appreciating salads after eliminating oil from my diet.

My taste buds were conditioned to like the processed food of the food industry with a lot of oil, which increases our appetite and is bad for our health. I had to stop eating this food in order to like natural products.

After eliminating oil from my diet I managed to lose around two kilos per month. It’s better to lose weight slow, so that we may adapt to this change and avoid gaining weight later.

Did you know that one tablespoon of olive oil is produced by squeezing 44 olives? This means that oil is a kind of processed food. Besides this fact, it blocks our arteries. So, it’s not as healthy as many people believe.

Sometimes I add olive oil to my food because it’s tasty and it’s not unhealthy when we don't exaggerate. However, when I eat something fried, the next day I try to eat mainly salads and fruits.

Fruits contain fructose, which is not helpful when we want to lose weight, but fruits are plants. All plants are good for our body. Sometimes it’s nice to eat fruits instead of cooking, and they help us feel satiated for a while.

Fortunately, I could eat walnuts, almonds, and many other nuts that are filling and healthy, besides being high-fat foods, even though I shouldn't exaggerate. It was very good to have this alternative and eat something solid besides eating salads and soups.

I didn't exercise because I hate to go to the gym and I’m not good at sports, but I walked a little bit at least twice per week. That’s all I did besides following a vegan diet to lose 18 kilos in 9 months. I still have to lose 7 kilos to be really thin, but I’m feeling much better now. I’m already satisfied with my weight.

If you want to lose weight and never gain it back you must stick to a vegan diet for life. Otherwise, the weight will come back. A vegan diet is a lifestyle, and not merely a diet that helps you lose weight.

However, when you will verify how strong and motivated you feel by eating plants you will definitively stop liking junk food. And there are many recipes that can help you in this journey.

Moreover, the pleasure to easily walk and run, the pleasure of wearing nice clothes, and the pleasure of being healthy and good-looking are better than the pleasure of eating what is not good for you.

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Originally published on Medium:

https://medium.com/@chrissponias/how-to-lose-weight-and-never-gain-it-back-97d59cb29a2d