Legumes have total Weight-Loss Super-Powers

So, you have decided it is time to lose that weight. You don’t feel the best version of yourself and have not had a loving conversation with your reflection in the mirror for a long time. You have made up your mind. It is totally time to change this. You are ready to go back to feeling amazing in your beautiful skin. To glow with energy. You can’t wait to up that spring in your step and feel lighter. However, you are inwardly cringing at the thought of cutting down your portion sizes, feeling deprived and battling against hunger and cravings. Counting calories has never worked for you anyway and you deeply distrust any of those weird diet pills, drinks or shakes – and as far as I am concerned you totally should!!!!

What if I told you all of your newly red-discovered body-love is possible by focusing on adding certain foods into your diet instead of everything you might take out? How would you feel about making legumes and pulses a substantial part of your I-feel-awesome-diet?

Let me share with you why beans and legumes are a total gamechanger when it comes to your empowered weight-loss journey:

  1. Legumes are high in soluble fibre which promotes regular bowel movement, slows down gastric emptying, reduces any blood sugar spikes that may occur after a meal, and increases gastric and intestinal bulking. All of these effects enhance feelings of satiety and decrease appetite.
  2. Legumes are high in plant protein which further promotes satiety and thus may help you to consume smaller portion sizes.
  3. Legumes are high in low-glycaemic carbohydrates which provides the body with a steady source of feel-good energy. This translates into balanced blood glucose levels and mood, increased feelings of fullness for longer, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
  4. Legumes are very high in health-boosting, beautifying micro-nutrients while being low in calories. Among these are powerful antioxidants that may help prevent cell-damage and certain kind of cancers.
  5. Legumes contain significant sources of resistant starch which promote colonic health and reduce the risk of bowel cancer. In addition, resistant starch which, like fibre, remains undigested until it reaches the large bowel boosts sugar and fat metabolism in the liver. This results in lowered blood markers for inflammation that have been linked to obesity and heart disease.

So, instead of solely focusing on all the foods you have decided to take out of your new healthy-licious diet, have you started getting excited about all the amazing pulses you are going to add into your diet from now on? Saying good bye to red-meat and cheesy white pasta has never been easier than when replacing those with all sorts and colours of the most delicious beans. I love the idea of nurturing my body with wholesome plant-foods that beautify me from the inside out and provide me with I-can-achieve-anything superpowers while trimming my waist line. Best of all: any of this goes without hurting our beautiful earth. Eating more beans and pulses does not increase soil erosion and greenhouse gas emissions, promotes overgrazing and deforestation or leads to the depletion of our water stores. Are you with me on filling your plates with chickpeas, lentils, kidney, pinto, black, soy, navy, mung or I-don’t-know-what-else-kind-of-beans? But what about my sweet tooth you may ask? Are you serious? Have you not yet tried making your cakes, cookies or chocolate desserts with chickpeas or black beans? Well, let me tell you, it for sure is time you did. I am serious, they don’t only taste insanely delicious but also leave you feeling amazing and are totally in line with your newly set goal of losing those extra kilos. Ready, set, go … pulses here we come.

 

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