— Nancy Bastidas

Welcome. So, um, you know, on one hand, there's a lot of, um, you know, talk about this effortless process of losing weight once you shift to a plant-based diet, you know, from the more calorie dense, um, animal, um, based diet, let's say. Um, but that, you know, it's not necessarily the case. And I think, uh, perhaps you've experienced this, Nancy, I certainly have as well. And one of the, uh, challenges, um, that we must be aware of, um, when shifting to a plant-based diet is if we incorporate, um, a lot of nuts and seeds, um, and, and other sources of fat and oils, um, we are then consuming calorie dense foods. And I've talked to a number of our students, um, that have put on weight after shifting to a plant-based diet. And so that's probably the biggest sort of area of caution. And, um, you know, we need to adjust our awareness so that we eat those foods, uh, in moderation. Um, and then otherwise, fill our plate with lots of, um, whole grains and greens and legumes, and enjoy all of that in, you know, different ways through different cooking methods and, um, you know, different recipes, different, different preparations, um, but then bring in those other, uh, energy dense foods, uh, in much smaller quantities, uh, or otherwise in moderation. Now, the other thing that is certainly important for me, now, I understand that, you know, we're all built differently. Uh, but for me, exercise is also very important. And, you know, going beyond weight loss or weight management, um, exercise, uh, itself is a medicine and provides many, many, uh, protective benefits. Um, that'll, that'll get you to a hundred, uh, versus, uh, simply losing weight without exercise. Okay? I think, um, the exercise portion of this equation cannot be overemphasized. And, uh, you know, this is where it's nice to sort of step back and evaluate your daily routine, your weekly routine, and, uh, try to do more things on foot to do, uh, take more trips on a bicycle. Um, perhaps use public transportation where you're, you know, walking to the bus station or to the train station and, uh, getting about in town on foot, carrying your shopping bags from the grocery store as you head back home. All of these little changes, uh, add up in a meaningful sort of way when it, uh, comes to the energetic balance, you know, the, the calories that we're expending versus those that we're taking in. Not to mention, again, all of the other deep benefits that, um, exercise imparts on us when we do this on a daily basis. Okay? So think about that, and, um, give it a try.