New and Exciting Engine 2 Diet
If you are the one who has decided to go on a diet and lose weight, then you can opt to follow the Engine 2 Diet. Rip Esselstyn who is the author of the Engine 2 diet book has mentioned various ways of losing weight and reducing cholesterol in just 28 days. The Engine 2 Diet has the meals readily planned for you. You have to only shop for the ingredients as per the items that are mentioned in the diet plan and prepare easy meals. The items are available at most stores selling natural foods. Then along with this planned meal plan and with the planned exercise regime mentioned in the Engine 2 diet you can find yourself on becoming a new you. If you are a first timer, it is best you get the help from others who have opted to follow the Engine 2 Diet plan.
Your diet will mainly contain vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. These are all sources of low-fat protein. Esselstyn recognizes the fact that it is not easy to switch to this kind of diet immediately. He has, therefore, included fish and chicken in the diet for the transition period. Tofu, seitan, soy yogurt and veggie burgers are allowed, as well as whole grain crackers and whole grain pastas. The fat content in the food is less than 2.5 gms for every 100 calories. Make sure no oil is added to the food. Likewise, the sugar used has to be a natural sweetener.
In the Engine 2 diet plan you are required to consume less salt. This diet is a vegetarian diet and concentrates mainly on plant proteins. People usually tend to consume dairy products, meat and eggs which are considered as rich sources of protein. Proteins which exist in the form of chains are actually made up of around twenty amino acids out of which only eight amino acids can be ingested from the food that we eat. These amino acids are important for our body and as per the Engine 2 diet plan the plants also can give us the necessary amino acids. Carbohydrates provide energy and fuel to the body and our body absorbs at least 70 percent calories from the carbohydrates that we consume daily.
There are a variety of plants containing different quantities of amino acids. In the Engine 2 diet different vegetables containing different amino acids are put together in various quantities so that your body can get just the right amount of proteins. Non vegetarian foods also contain protein, but the proteins obtained in the vegetables are considered to be much safer. Carbohydrates provide energy to the body, and all the various bodily functions like breathing, exercising, the digestion process etc. all require energy to function. Both the simple and the complex carbohydrates are sugars and get converted into glucose after the digestion process.
The muscles and the liver can store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, but carbohydrates are stored in the blood in the form of glucose. The body system functions in such a manner that even if the body consumes excess carbohydrates, they are stored as fats in the body. Vegetables like beans, sweet potatoes, different whole grain breads and fruits contain health friendly complex carbohydrates which release sugar in the system in a controlled manner. These carbohydrates allow the body to use carbohydrates as fuel thus leaving you energetic throughout the whole day. And it has been proved beyond doubt by various researchers that even plants can give you all the required fat.
Other foods that give you simple carbohydrates, will give you a high and instant energy, but then get stored as fat. It is thus, these simple carbohydrates that really make us fat. The excess simple carbohydrates that are converted into fat and stored in the body are dangerous to our well-being. The fat content in some vegetables is as follows: Strawberries – 5% fat, broccoli – 8%, spinach – 11%, and bell peppers – 6%. The super food soybeans give us 41% fat. Different types of nuts are a good source of fat as well. The fats that plants provide are the good fats, either mono or poly unsaturated fats.
From various case studies of famous champions and athletes we are able to find that so many of them were on plant diets alone. The hugely competitive Martina Navratilova was on a constant plant based diet during her career. Esselstyn, the author of Engine 2 Diet book has stated various examples in his book. For example Tony Gonzalez won more than a thousand triathlons, by beating breast cancer. Salim Stoudamire, NBA player and Dave Scott have won the very famous Iron man triathlon which was held in Hawaii. So from these studies we can understand that we need not resort to eating only non vegetarian foods to obtain the best nutrients. Plants can also provide the same good nutrients which are released slowly in to our body system. Vegetarian food like the fortified soy milk can give our body a rich supply of essential supplements like Vitamin B12.
To enjoy good health, it is better if one can substitute fish oil with soybeans, flaxseed and walnuts and other leafy vegetables. Rich omega 3 supplements can be obtained from these and also from plankton. Plants contain high fiber content and are packed with nutrients. You may enjoy tasty food containing margarine, sour cream and butter which are all sources of high fat content, but then you will not be able to enjoy good health.
Taste is cultivated, so when you try out the natural plant foods, in the beginning it will seem a little different. Once you get used to it, you see that you feel fitter than ever before, and actually discover the true taste of these foods, and then you will realize the wisdom and happiness in eating a plant-based diet.
