The Plant-Powered Diet Transformation

When it comes to advice on healthy eating, particularly with a focus on losing weight, I offer my clients the chance to take my Plant-powered Diet Transformation course. 

This is a fully-supported series of 1-hour workshops that help clients to steadily transition from an unhealthy traditional diet to a healthful whole foods plant-based (WFPB) diet, which they will then be able to enjoy over the long term. 

What is a whole foods plant-based diet?

There isn’t one single definition of a whole foods plant-based diet, but most definitions highlight the following characteristics of the diet:

• A focus on whole plant foods – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
• The exclusion or limitation of animal foods (I personally exclude animal foods from my diet).
• The limitation of foods which have been processed, such as white flour, refined sugars and oils.
• The exclusion of ultra processed foods, which contain artificial chemicals such as flavour enhancers and emulsifiers.

Examples of meals that could form part of a whole foods plant-based diet are:

• Red bean chilli 
• Lentil Bolognese
• Vegetable masala
• Sweet potato curry 
• Mushroom and leek risotto
• Potato goulash

The evidence that a whole foods plant-based diet is best for weight loss

Michael Gregor MD points to a number of instructive studies in his review paper in the subject (1).  

In the BROAD study in New Zealand, overweight participants given advice on eating a whole foods plant-based diet lost on average 8.5kg over 3 months compared with a control group that didn’t receive any advice.  A further 3 months later the subjects were weighed again and had lost an additional 4kg in body weight.  This was without any restriction on portion size, which gives a clue to why the WFPD is more sustainable over the long term – it doesn’t restrict the amount of food that people eat.  Followers of the WFPB diet can eat high volumes of unprocessed plant foods because they are low in calorie density.

Researchers in Hawaii provided more good evidence that weight loss on a WFPB is possible without reducing the amount of food eaten.  Participants were told to eat a traditional Hawaiian diet, rich in whole plant foods, for 21 days.  There were no restrictions on the amount that they ate.  At the end of the 21 days the average weight loss for the group was 8kg.  Despite them eating an extra 4kg of food over the period, their calorie intake was down 40%.  More evidence that the low calorie density of whole plant foods is one of the keys to their healthfulness. 

Other health benefits of a WFPB diet

A review of the effectiveness of whole foods plant-based diets in Healthline (2), highlighted some of the further health benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet when compared to eating a traditional diet which included animal products and highly processed foods:

• A significant reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease.
• A 34% decrease in the risk of developing type II diabetes as well as better overall blood glucose control.  
• Lower risk of developing several cancers including; breast, pancreatic, rectal, colon, and colorectal cancers.
• Several different studies have shown that eating more fruits and vegetables can slow down cognitive decline, such as; a 20% reduction in the risk of developing dementia, slowing the decline in brain function.

In his book, Fiber Fueled (3), Will Bulsiewicz highlighted that a whole foods plant-based diet led to even more health benefits, including:

• Improved gut (microbiome) health 
• Stronger immune function
• Less brain fog

The aims of the Plant-powered Diet Transformation course 

By the end of the 10 week course, my clients can expect to achieve all or some of the following aims:

1. To lose body fat and/or to maintain a healthy weight.
2. To transition to eating considerably less animal foods and to vastly increase the amount and variety of plant foods eaten.
3. To make eating food an enjoyable experience and to eliminate post-meal feelings of bloating, lethargy, and low mood.
4. To break bad eating habits and to replace them with good ones.
5. To optimise the timing of meals and snacks to promote weight loss.
6. To be more confident at cooking a wide range of whole plant foods.
7. To make meal planning and food shopping a straightforward part of the weekly routine.
8. To introduce regular exercise as a key part of the daily routine or to optimise exercise for those who have already adopted it. 
   

What to expect each week

Here are the workshop themes, week by week:

1. Starting your plant-powered diet transformation; what is a plant-powered diet?  Your questions answered.
2. Making it personal – feedback on your food diary from the previous week
3. Cutting the CRAP – Calorie Rich And Processed foods; why they are bad for you and what to replace them with.  
4. Count plants, not calories – Increasing nutritious, low calorie density foods in your diet.
5. You can‘t outrun a bad diet – but adding exercise to a good diet boosts weight loss and improves physical and mental health.
6. It’s all in the timing – making time-restricted eating part of your daily routine.
7. Making a meal of it – managing your food intake at meal times.
8. SOS-free cooking – how to reduce the Salt, Oil, and Sugar in your meals and snacks and make them tastier.
9. Meal planning and long-term goal setting.
10. Ready for launch – Reinforcing the most effective changes to make and adding some new, effective tweaks.

The cost of the course

The Plant-powered Diet Transformation course costs £495.  For clients who also purchase a block of 10 personal training sessions for £400, and take them back-to-back with the healthy eating workshops, I offer a combined price of £795, a saving of £100.  

Want to know more?

Head to the Healthy Eating section of my website (click here) for further information and check out the detailed FAQs.  After that go to the Contact page and get in touch with me so that we can arrange for your free health consultation call.

References

1. Gregor, M; A whole foods plant-based diet is effective for weight loss: the evidence. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2020 Sep-Oct; 14(5): 500–510 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7444011/ (accessed 21/11/23)

2. Healthline: Whole foods, plant-based diets: a detailed beginner’s guide. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/plant-based-diet-guide (accessed 23/11/23)

3. Bulsiewicz, W; Fiber Fueled. 2020.  Published by Avery.