I Follow a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet and in this blog I want to give you my quick fire, no faff advice for people wanting to transition to this way of eating. Before we delve into the guide let me explain what a WFPB diet is and how it can be different to a Vegan one.
There are different opinions on what a WFPB Diet is but for me it's about what you are including in your diet where as Vegan is about what you exclude from it.
Vegan is totally plant exclusive. No animal products or products derived from animals.
This includes all meat, diary, cheese, eggs and honey. But a vegan diet isn't necessarily healthy, for example you can eat vegan junk food like Oreos, ice cream, chips, vegan cakes, vegan cheese etc.
WFPB (Whole Food Plant Based) the name says it all you eat predominantly whole foods in their natural form or minimally processed and choose plants over animal based products. Most people when talking about a WFPB diet will mean totally eliminating animal products (like I do) this isn't necessarily accurate. Approaching this diet as a practice instead of a hard rule will usually reap better results and a more enjoyable way of eating. Your WFPB probably won't look exactly like mine ... and that's fine.
TIP 1: Crowd, don't cut!
crowd out don't cut (then try to plug the holes).
Focus on pushing meat out of your diet by introducing nutritional plant based foods and meals rather than just cutting out all animal products before you have the knowledge, skills and habits in place to do it healthfully and maintain it.
Changing your diet can be a stressful and complex thing to do, don't add to that by trying to do it over night.
Progression not perfection should be your goal. Try some of the following:
Add some plant protein to your plate and reduce your animal protein portion.
Simplify things and tackle the change one recipe at a time. Find a single recipe that you like, get the ingredients in and make it. Keep adding meals to your weekly meal rotation and removing the meat ones until you have completely transitioned.
Cut animal products from meals you typically eat alone like your breakfast, then in time lunch and finally tackle the family dinners.
Meal prep. When I cook a meal I make sure to have leftovers that I can freeze. When I get home late or don't have the energy to cook I always have a selection of meals in the freezer I can turn to.
When cooking for guests or family do naturally meat free meals or ones you can just add meat to during plating up. This means you don't have to cook multiple dinners.
TIP 2: Meat alternatives are not the answer!
Try to make meals that are naturally meat free rather than just switching out your sausage or burger for a plant based version. Meat alternatives can be a nice treat every now and then or a get out of jail free card when eating with others but remember these foods are not whole foods and therefore should not play a big role in your diet.
They tend to be high in salt, fat and sometimes preservatives and other unhealthy ingredients.
So go for the bean burrito, lentil dhal or chickpea pasta.
TIP3: Know your macros.
Most people who are focusing on general health and fitness aim for the following:
For men, 0.9g of protein per kg of body mass
For women, 0.8g per kg of body mass
(If you are a senior citizen, an athlete or a bodybuilder you protein requirements may differ.)
Where to get protein from:
Legumes: beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas.
Tofu and Tempeh
Soy milk
Chia and hemp seeds
Qhinoa, brown rice, oats.
Nutritional yeast
Plant based protein supplements (protein powder)
nuts
seitan
Eat plenty of the above foods and you should have no problem hitting your protein quota.
TIP 4: Know your micros.
A WFPB diet is one of the most healthy and nutritiously complete ways of eating. Rich in key nutrients and packed full of compounds and metabolites like phytonutrients and flavonoids. This way of eating has been linked time and again with great health outcomes decreasing our risks of suffering from chronic lifestyle diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many others.
But there are a couple of nutrients that will need to be supplemented and a few others that you may want to consider supplementing or just being mindful of in your diet.
(If you are curious as to why we need to supplement on a WFPB diet if its supposed to be healthy then message me and I'll send you some great resources explaining it.)
First the must haves:
B12, 250-500mcg Cyanocobalamin
Vitamin D, 1000-2000IU Vitamin D3
For me both these are absolute must haves if you are eating a plant exclusive diet in the uk. But some may feel they are able to maintain vit D levels without supplementation.
An optional recommendation:
Omega-3, 250-500mg or more of EPA & DHA Algae oil
I personally get more omega-3's now than I did before I was WFPB as I can't stand the taste or smell of fish. This is one of the more expensive supplements on the list but for me because of many health and protective properties of omega-3's I feel it is worth the investment and still cheaper then eating fish.
I would still recommend you eat plenty of foods containing ALA and reduce your omega-6 intake as we tend to have poor omega 3/6 ratio's (to much 6 & to little 3) to do this eat more chia seeds, flaxseed & Hemp seeds and cut out margarine and seed oils (use extra virgin olive oil) also remember most junk food contains corn or other vegetable oils.
Nutrients of focus:
Iron, foods to eat: pulses, dark leafy greens, tofu, tempeh, chia seeds. Improve your uptake of Iron by eating Vitamin c rich foods with your iron (bell pepper, tomatoes, oranges, green chilli, strawberries, broccoli, potato, lemon) and avoid foods that inhibit iron uptake an hour before or after eating (red wine, tea & Coffee)
Calcium, foods to eat: fortified plant milk's, extra firm tofu, chia seeds, Kidney beans, tahini, kale, oats, quinoa, broccoli, edamame beans.
Selenium, this one is simple eating a single Brazil nut daily will give you all the selenium you need. other foods are: baked beans, porridge, mushrooms & spinach.
This may seem like a lot but realise that this guide is to hopefully help you to be as close to a nutritionally complete diet as possible. The standard diet is a far cry from nutritional complete and in fact is even a major contributor to many of our biggest killers.
Finally this is just a tip's page and the recommendations are sweeping and not customised for any individual so although a great resource, before making any diet changes check with your GP or a registered dietitian.
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