FIVE REASONS WHY VEGGIES MAY HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT AND LIVE LONGER

As you all know on the HCG Diet, you are only allowed certain vegetables, and you are not allowed to mix vegetables during the 500-calorie phase of the diet. The following guidelines are perfect for the stabilization phase 2 or after the HCG protocol.  

Lose weight? Live longer? Your mom was right when she told you to eat your vegetables.

Vegetables help keep you full for longer.

The fiber and water in vegetables fill you up way more efficiently than eating processed carbs that are deficient in fiber. Combining vegetables with protein and healthy fats will keep you satisfied until it’s time for your next meal. 

Vegetables help prevent dips and spikes in your energy levels.

Once again, the fiber in vegetables helps regulate your blood sugar. If you’re eating all your allotted vegetables each day, you shouldn’t experience that late-afternoon energy slump (and cravings for sugar) that you may encounter when eating processed carbohydrates.

Vegetables help you live longer.

Numerous studies show that a diet rich in a variety of vegetables may help decrease the hardening of arteries, help lower cholesterol levels and help prevent inflammation, a component of many degenerative diseases including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Researchers believe the antioxidants (vitamins C and E, plus selenium and the carotenoids) may be partly responsible for this effect.

Vegetables are the ultimate food replacement.

You can’t go wrong when you replace junk food and processed carbohydrates, which are typically full of unhealthy fats and deficient in nutrients, with nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, which contain fiber, antioxidants and vitamins.

Vegetables help you lose weight.

Vegetables tend to be lower in calories, yet pack a way more powerful punch when it comes to keeping you healthy and full for longer. This all means you may tend to eat fewer calories, while still feeling satisfied, if not more satisfied, than when you rely on packaged foods and foods devoid of nutrients. 

Incorporating Vegetables

Initially, it may seem like a challenge to incorporate vegetables into your meals, but you have many options for every part of the day. Here are some suggestions:  

Breakfast

• Add spinach, onions, mushrooms, and a little tomato to your eggs and top with sliced avocado.
• Make a low-carb breakfast wrap using lean turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, spinach and avocado and wrap it all up in a leaf of romaine lettuce.
• Make lean ground beef hash by sautéing beef with scallions, red bell peppers and reduced fat cheese. 

Snacks

• Enjoy olives with a piece of lowfat cheese.
• Dunk celery stalks or cucumber slices into homemade roasted red pepper hummus.
• Wrap a couple slices of ham with a romaine lettuce leaf, and slice of tomato and cucumber.
• Top slices of tomato and cucumber with tuna or chicken salad. 

Lunch

• Pile spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms on a plate, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and top with a sliced, grilled chicken breast.
• Top a tomato with cooked lean ground beef or turkey (seasoned with chili and cumin) and reduced fat Mexican-blend cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbling. 

Dinner

• Experiment with your spinach salad; add different vegetables or dressings and top with grilled salmon, shrimp or lean steak.
• Stuff a half of a bell pepper with lean turkey or pork sausage, cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and top with grated cheese, no-sugar salsa, avocado or poached egg.
• Grill a lean steak, top with grilled bell pepper strips and onion and serve with a side salad and mashed “potatoes” (cook and mash cauliflower instead of potatoes, add lowfat milk until creamy.)