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Starting Your Plant-Based Diet

3/1/2014

21 Comments

 

by Carly Asse

Unsupersize Me
Heart Healthy
Unsupersize Me was one of the most challenging projects I have ever taken on in my life! It is without a doubt one of the greatest success stories I have ever been a part of!  For those of you who are not familiar with the project, Unsupersize Me is the documentary film in which Tracy Ryan loses 200 lbs in one year on a plant based diet and training regimen at Zen Fitness. I will explain in these next 2 blogs how we did it. There will be 2 parts to this topic, the nutrition aspect and training regimen.This article is about the nutrition aspect.

The first step was to clean out Tracy’s fridge. What a project that was! It was no surprise that her fridge was riddled with mostly dairy and meat products, the #1 “No-No” of Unsupersize me. I also found many processed foods, which are basically foods that are not in their whole form and have been tampered with preservatives and other unhealthy additives that cause us to gain weight and get sick. So, we filled up about 3-4 huge trash bags with all the of the foods Tracy could no longer eat.  It is not unusual to find these items in the fridge of one who is obese.  It takes a lot of food to maintain that mass. There was very little left for Tracy to eat after I ransacked her fridge and we now joke about it, because at the end I was worried that she would not have anything to eat!! We quickly ended that concern by heading to Wards grocery store to load up. Tracy was ready to get healthy and eager to get started!

I still remember the smile on Tracy’s face as we walked into Wards and I told her, “you can have anything you want in the produce section and eat as much as you want.” No portion control, no counting calories, no restrictions! Those rules all lead to ravenous eating and failure. Those who attempt to restrict their calories and portions only succeed for a short period of time, and then usually gain more weight than was lost to begin with! That is the beauty of the plant based diet! You can eat unlimited fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, seeds, and legumes. So we loaded up her cart with plant based foods and began our journey to good health!

Picture
The final step was teaching Tracy how to prepare all of these bright colored plant based foods! I wanted Tracy be prepared at work and anytime she was wasn’t at home, because that tends to be the biggest challenge to most people.So, I told her to fill a HUGE bowl with all the fruits and veggies and nuts she could fit in it, and try to finish it everyday! She never did finish it, but she got close many times! The next step was dinner. Tracy quickly learned that she could make many different tasty dishes with veggie stir fries, asian dishes, Indian curries, Italian pastas (yes she can eat pasta! It’s Vegan!), salads, and fruit smoothies. Tracy and I started our Iron Chef battles to challenge each other to become better cooks and also to have fun with cooking! The Vegan Iron Chef titles were shared by both of us, and we both won in the end because of the tasty new dishes we got to try! 

In the end, the Unsupersize Me nutrition plan ALWAYS WORKS! I have watched it work for many different people over the years, but no example is more clear cut than that of Tracy Ryan. The plant based diet is low in calories but dense in nutrition, so you feel satiated but at the same time can consume lots of food (my favorite part!). You don’t have to count calories, measure carbs or fat, or control portions.You simply eat WHATEVER plant based whole foods you want, WHENEVER you want to! Still having doubts? Tracy lost 17 lbs in the first week,10lbs in the second week, and 100lbs in 3 ½ months!!! And, it’s easy to do!! So what are you waiting for!? Get healthy now!!

21 Comments
trisha
3/11/2016 02:02:41 pm

Can you have any type of sugar in your coffee, and can you drink coke zero

Reply
Kimberlee Hicks
6/13/2016 03:34:08 am

No Coke zero. It is full of horrible chemicals. I would think only a little honey in coffee or maybe some xylitol or stevia.

Reply
Angie
7/12/2016 05:16:37 am

No

Reply
wendy carlson
4/13/2016 03:37:32 am

I am inspired by this video. While the idea of going meatless feels a little daunting I am willing to give it a go. I can relate relate to Tracy, I am in the same boat she was in. Weighing 335 lbs right now. I struggle with food prep and am looking for quick and easy ideas I can make for dinner and breakfast.Workday is easy, the fruit and nut bowl is a fantastic idea, I am doing that now! Also, curious about sagging skin with such extreme weight loss in that short of time-frame. Are there any exercises/diet you would recommend to combat this inevitable side effect?

Reply
Kayla Nickles
4/18/2016 08:54:03 pm

I am going to start this plant based diet. I have a few friends and family who are going to as well. I think the support system will help tremendously. This story really inspired me to change my eating habits. I hope I can stick to it like Tracy did !!!

Reply
liz MIRAMONTES
5/5/2016 09:01:51 pm

How are you doing?

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Chyanne Gaona
4/23/2016 01:55:38 pm

Is there a good beginner vegan cook book you recommend to get started with?

Reply
Sunshine
5/2/2016 03:25:08 pm

Vegan college cookbook may be good for you. Very simple easy recipes

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Becca
4/30/2016 11:25:33 am

I watched this documentary and was completely inspired so I decided to go vegan my biggest challenge is I'm out of the house alot and don't know what to eat. My fiance is joining me in this journey but it's hard because she doesn't like many fruits and veggies, there's maybe a handful of fruits and veggies she will eat. I still will continue this journey it's just trying to adapt to a few bumps on the road . Good luck to anyone doing this I really would love to hear from some of you guys. Tracy Ryan you are an inspiration.

Reply
Anja
5/2/2016 03:00:27 pm

My daughter and I watched the movie this past weekend and it has gotten me extremely motivated and inspired. I'm still wavering about going fully vegan so quickly, but Tracy made it look so easy. There are a couple of things I'm not sure about when it comes to food - like, baked potatoes, or potatoes in general are discouraged a lot of the time on other diet plans.

Reply
Marianne Harrington
5/6/2016 04:58:42 am

I accepted this challenge after watching "unsupersize me" 2 weeks ago! I am totally vegan and loving every minute of it! With the combination of a vegan life style and exercise I am proud to say that I am down 12 lbs. in just 2 weeks! Tracy's story so inspired me.. I made a life change! The first diet that has ever worked for me! I thank you all!

Reply
A new ME!
5/9/2016 09:23:36 am

I am starting this plan today. I have watched the video and excited about this new lifestyle.

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Mary Sabedra
5/14/2016 03:21:42 pm

I watched the movie about 2 weeks ago and I was so inspired by it. I was so happy for the both of them..... just to achieve what they did TOGETHER is absolutely amazing! !!! There's 4 of us in my family & I'm the only one going vegan. That is hard and being so new at this is discouraging but I'm not going to give up.

Reply
Paty
5/24/2016 07:21:35 pm

My coworker told me about this movie and I am ready to go. I will start tomorrow and am going shopping now. I live in Ontario California in case anyone want to join in on supporting one another.
Truly inspiring.

Reply
Paty
5/24/2016 07:21:50 pm

My coworker told me about this movie and I am ready to go. I will start tomorrow and am going shopping now. I live in Ontario California in case anyone want to join in on supporting one another.
Truly inspiring.

Reply
Paty link
5/24/2016 07:22:04 pm

My coworker told me about this movie and I am ready to go. I will start tomorrow and am going shopping now. I live in Ontario California in case anyone want to join in on supporting one another.
Truly inspiring.

Reply
Katie link
5/28/2016 09:16:45 am

What was her workout routine? I know it was kind of vigorous. I'm trying to find it online and having trouble.

Reply
Lyssa
6/5/2016 06:58:49 am

I believe he said 30 minutes weight training and 30 cardio a day.

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Melissa
6/25/2016 04:51:55 pm

I watched this yesterday. I have been a vegetarian for over 23 years however not remotely healthy. This inspired me to go vegan. Fresh and vegan.

Reply
Veronica
7/6/2016 11:32:56 am

Carly said this would be a 2-part article - where is the second part, the fitness regime? thanks!! Just finished watching the movie - great job!!!

Reply
linda
1/26/2019 01:13:56 pm

i have watched the movie three times and i have hard time changing to plant base diet but i need to each time i watch the miovie i am more motivated

Reply



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