Skip to main content

The Planet Friendly Diet: Book Review


 
Although we are more than half way through January, resolutions for 2016 still seem to be a hot topic of conversation.  If losing weight is one of yours, you may be interested in this book review. 

I have heard some people claim that focusing on eating ethically can be an effective way to help people lose weight or recover from an eating disorder. As a therapist who works with people trying to lose weight, I can see how this might be the case. If you chose your food based on something beyond calories, fat, and whether it will make us lose/gain weight, then some of the emotions that trip us up in our weight loss efforts (shame, self-doubt, etc.) tend not to be as close to the forefront.  The focus is on doing good for animals and for the planet.  Doing good makes us feel good, its been proven.  When you feel good, you are more likely to make wise choices not clouded by emotional baggage.

So I was quite excited to be asked to review The Planet Friendly Diet because I thought this would tackle this whole issue.  Its written by Cat Smiley, a Canadian weight-loss coach and trainer in British Columbia, who leads weight-loss retreats for women.

Its a 21 day guide to weight loss using earth-friendly strategies also designed to maximize health. 

It starts with a day-by-day journal to track what you eat and your thoughts, feelings, etc.  This is a key component of weight-loss according to most experts, but in my experience many people are resistant to it because they think its going to be too much work.  Its not.  If you don't want to hand write it all, believe me, there's an app or 500 for that!

Following the journal section and framework, are the recipes, shopping lists and details.  Next, Smiley provides nutrition info and guidelines for the diet plan. 

The diet is 1,200 calories, which is very little.  Even though she advises increasing intake after 60 days to between 1,500 to 1,700 calories, I don't think many people will be able to stick to 1,200 calories even for 21 days.  If you do, no doubt you will lose weight though! I don't like that two meals a day are smoothies, one, because I think smoothies are gross, but two, I don't think they are particularly satisfying, at least not satisfying enough to replace 2 solid-food meals.

The recipes for the third meal are simple and varied, and I like that they are intended to be affordable and quick to prepare, something overlooked by many diet plans. The 21-day plan is gluten-free and vegan, but she then advocates incorporating some gluten foods afterwards if you know for certain you aren't gluten intolerant (most people aren't). I am very happy to say Smiley advises readers to stick with whole grains and avoid refined carbs.  A note to Canadians, when she talks about 'wheat' foods, that means refined wheat flour, and whole wheat, is, well, whole wheat. 

Smiley doesn't forbid animal protein once the 21 day period is over either.  She suggests choosing eco-friendly seafood, avoiding processed meats, and trying to eat vegetarian at least a few days a week.  This is great for those unwilling to go vegan permanently, but I suspect a lot of people in the vegan community will say eating any animal protein is both bad for the environment and unethical.  I like that she shows flexibility and clearly wants to accommodate the lifestyles of various populations.

The last section of the book contains information about different foods, macronutrients and action steps based on her recommendations. What I think is missing, is any discussion of what a person should eat in a planet-friendly way.  As the anthropologist, Margaret Mead once said, 

“It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet.”

Believe me, as someone who works with people to help them lose weight, I can tell you this is absolutely true!! So if Smiley wants to convince anyone to adopt a vegan diet, or even just a generally more eco-friendly diet, she's got to sell it to them.  I think this is a serious omission in this book.
 
So do I recommend The Planet Friendly Diet? I think it is going to be useful for anyone already interested in eating a plant-based diet, who is looking for simple, inexpensive, low calorie recipes and a bit of a structured eating plan...and can deal with eating a smoothie as a meal twice a day.
 
Disclosure: I was sent this book by the publisher but all opinions on this blog are my own.

Comments

  1. Just a great blog you have shared here with us. I really like the information you have posted here with us. Thanks for such a nice blog.

    I want to share something with all kidney cleanse diet or homemade detox cleanse aim is to get back to your fitness and always feel fresh to start any work in your corner.During Cleanse process you should feel better and get some fresh energy to do any work but not enough to get into gym & do some workout it behaves according to your routine.



    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Erica,
    Cat Smiley is in Toronto tonight at Chapters on Bay and Bloor if you wanted to catch up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Corrections! :) The book is not vegan. The evening meals are HUGE (most can not finish it). The smoothies are substantial with 330 calories each and made to reset your eating patterns by intermittent fasting. The plan is meant for weight loss, which means you will be absolutely fine on 1200 calories as you are in deficit having come from an excess.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I also have articles on health awareness have a look
    https://godocweb.com/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available.  My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic.  I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch.  I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat!  I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes.  You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste