Any one can lose weight on ANY diet if they follow it carefully and stick with it, which most people don't do. I can't believe that anyone would actually promote any of the diets by the FAT and clearly very unhealthy authors. Paula Deen is a classic example of someone who has peddled dead animals and is suffering the consequences of it. That people would turn away from a kind, humane and animal loving lifestyle such as veganism astonishes me.

A novel and very different approach to motivate individuals toward healthier eating. I'd like to mention a couple of things on this. Some unfortunte individuals, like myself, are slow oxidizers. Our bodies are genetically designed to process food really really slowly. This means that consuming any food after a certain time of day will without question, make us gain weight. Even if an individual is a fast oxidizer, I think after a certain age, perhaps 45 or 50, eating after 6p.m. isn't a good thing. For more info. on when a calorie is not a calorie, Dr. Gabe Mirkin is a mine of info. on this. The body does not process caloric intake the same way after a certain time of day, the way it does, say, in the morning. I follow Dr. Barnard's belief that no oil is required in cooking. I get all my fat requirements from nuts, beans etc. Avocado is high in fat. No need to add oil which is after all a processed product. I substitute apple sauce in bread, cookie, and cake recipes. Many cookies don't react well to this except for the "Everything Oatmeal Cookies", a recipe from Pattycake Vegan Bakery. These are the only cookies I bake with applesauce and absolutely no sugar, using rather organic raisins for sweetness. They're yummy and great as a breakfast type bar treat. If you haven't already explored Dr. Mirkin's website I urge you to, and also PCRM website which is where Dr. Barnard and company has tons of great nutritional info.

It's an interesting window into veganism. What I found most interesting was
that, if you take out the meat is gross element to it, the whole foundation to
the validity of veganism seems to be based in an unquestioned belief that it's
better for animals & the environment. Whether that's actually true or not, for animals &
the environment as a whole, isn't considered at all (beyond the flip wildlife
killed growing all those soybeans comment).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-rettig/vegan-lifestyle_b_1690352.html

It must be understood that "animal rights" vegans would benefit their cause more by promoting the health benefits of eating vegan. The ethical argument is not going to be won because "animal rights" activists do not have superior numbers on their side and they are not acknowledging the difference between wild/farmed/pet animals. However, the health benefits of a vegan diet have medical and scientific justification which affects the majority of people. This is a numbers game. Victory is achieved by getting the numbers.

The worst idea I have seen in veganism is the notion of eating "clean". Anyone who has a smattering of understanding of microbiology knows how absurd that idea is. Fruits and vegetables are not "clean" fuels for our body. Hopefully they have plenty of helpful bacteria on them to contribute to our gut population. Refined sugar and refined fats are "clean" fuels and should be avoided because of that fact.

The biggest problem with the idea of eating "clean" is that it seems to lead to delusional aversions. People think their diet has led them to a type of piety where they become more sensitive to "unclean" things. They then can't tolerate certain smells or be around certain things or become nauseated by certain tastes. This might spiral into debilitating neuroses (anorexia, bulimia, hypersensitivities, etc.). Eating "clean" or "pure" or "perfectly" is the first sign of an eating disorder. It is healthier to occasionally and intentionally break the spell of such thinking than to allow it to have a pathological stranglehold.