Would it be healthy to just eat organic fruits, vegetables, beans, tofu and rice?

[Rory17]

Hi ,
I was watching a Freelee video. I remembered a comment that said that Freelee only ate fruit (which isn’t true, if I’m right).
I would like to lose some weight. My weakness is chocolate and sweet things. I love chocolate and sweet stuff.
Thank you .

 

[Forest Nymph]

Um, if you're serious about doing a more restrictive food plan I would suggest Forks Over Knives rather than anything by Freelee the Banana Girl. Forks Over Knives is actually put together by scientists and doctors, and includes healthy fats like flax seeds, walnuts, and avocado. You'd actually get a normal amount of calories, it's just very focused on whole foods and no oil, so it would definitely help you lose weight if you have extra weight.

 

[Lou]

Freelee is (or was) a raw vegan. As far as YouTube Vegan role models go, she is far from the best.
Raw vegans do eat a lot of fruit. but that's not all they eat. the main thing is that they don't eat much (or any) processed foods. and for them, processing includes cooking.

It sounds pretty crazy but there is actually some good science and nutrition info to back it up. But don't for a minute think it's a good weight loss diet.

In order to get adequate amounts of protein, raw vegans have to eat lots and lots of food. Freelee's daily meal plan regularly went over 3000 calories a day. The reason she was so skinny was that she was a fitness instructor and an avid bike rider. So she burnt off all those calories.

There are also come nutritional negatives to raw food diets. Some of the best things in food only get released with cooking. A less extreme version of the raw food diet is the Raw Till Four diet (RT4). You eat raw all day but have a cooked meal for dinner. Most of the Whole Food Plant-Based diets are a compromise. lots of raw food but also include a lot of cooked foods. For instance, a good strategy in WFPB diets is salad for lunch and cooked veggies for dinner. In fact, if your goal is weight loss, your best bet is the WFPB diet. Fuhrman's Eat To Live has a 6-week weight loss plan.

BTW, chocolate is a drug. You are probably addicted to it. (I am too). It contains caffeine, fat, sugar and the alkaloid Theobromine. Other examples of alkaloids are cocaine, caffeine and, nicotine. Some guys with an MRI did some research and found that combining fat, sugar, and caffeine together makes your brain light up like it's on cocaine. If you ever wondered why Starbucks has a line out the door for $5 lattes - this might explain it.

The good news is that if you eat a WFPB diet and avoid fat and sugar your intestinal flora will adapt over time. Surprisingly gut bacteria who eat a lot of fat and sugar produce a hormone-like substance that when it hits your brain makes you think you want some more fat and sugar. The more you avoid fat and sugar the less you will crave it.

 

[veganDreama]

I wish you luck with your diet. Dark chocolate is actually quite good for you in small doses. As in a square of dark chocolate (70% or more). You can eat some junk as long as you only eat very small amounts or only eat them once every month so you have something to look forward to. That's what I do and I'm now 9 stone 4 (used to be 14 stone 11) so it's definitely Possible. You just need a lot of willpower to just eat junk in the right doses as not to put weight on. You also need to take exercise to help lose weight as well and green tea is also good for weight loss just don't mix it with food because it decreases iron absorption.

 

[Lou]

There are a couple of really good vegan weight loss plans. Dr. Fuhrman has a 6-week plan in his book Eat To Live. it is just a variation of the Forks over Knives food plan that Forest Nymph suggested.

Any good vegan weight loss plan is going to recommend a big reduction in sugar and oil. Fuhrman also recommends limiting grains, nuts, and seeds. And eating lots and lots of vegetables instead.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

“Would it be healthy to just eat organic fruits, vegetables, beans, tofu and rice?”
That’s a good start, and is probably as healthy as what many people eat, but to do even better; to have an even more balanced diet with even greater variety, consider using what you said as a foundation but adding a few things:

Use iodized salt (read the ingredients) for an iodine source.

Make sure your tofu is calcium set, otherwise the diet you mentioned looks potentially low-ish in calcium.

Consider some nuts and seeds – especially almonds (calcium) and walnuts (Omega-3) as well as ground chia/flax seeds (Omega-3).

Vegetables – a mix of different colours including some green is usually a good idea.


"Chocolate and sweet things." If you are a healthy weight, have no specific conditions that might be affected, and are able to eat in moderation without losing control, then why not keep eating them in smaller quantities.

Best of luck, and great you are eating (or considering) a plant-based diet.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Also, Rory17, the diet you mentioned looks very low in vitamin B12. Suggest take a supplement.

 

[TofuRobot]

Already lots of good advice above.... Without a doubt I believe that the closest you can come with a WFPB diet with minimal to no oil, sugar, or salt, the better your health will be. I would skip anything by "Freelee" and focus on info from Drs. mentioned previously, or Dr. Michael Greger, or Mic The Vegan, Esselystein, Neal Barnard, etc. As for B12, I supplement via a fluoride-free B12 toothpaste, and occasionally take some vegan D3 if you're not getting enough sunlight during the day. It is also so very true that your taste buds and your body adjusts to any changes in diet. You have to give it a few weeks, but definitely eliminating things like sugar and oil - you will be come *super* sensitive to those ingredients and you will eventually not like the taste anymore (outside of what's naturally occuring in plant foods).