Do You Really Think Following a WFPB Diet is a Radical Way to Lose Weight?

A common reaction many overweight or obese people have upon learning about a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet is that it is a radical method to lose weight. It seems that the reasons for this reaction are the same reasons that make a WFPB diet effective as the healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off.

Transitioning to a WFPB diet is a systemic change that treats the cause of chronic disease. This systemic change requires a lifelong effort on the part of a client or patient. For many people, the change seems so monumental; they have doubts that they can muster enough effort to meet the challenge.

In contrast, even though bariatric surgeries such as Laparoscopic Gastric Banding, Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomies require following strict protocols pre and post surgery, these procedures are becoming more and more popular. I’ll never understand why people don’t consider procedures that disrupt or mutilate perfectly functioning organs as radical. Perhaps it’s because they concentrate on who they perceive is giving the most effort. The surgery is something the surgeon does – all the patient has to do is lie down.  They may not give enough thought to what is actually being done to their bodies and the post surgical effort required of them to maintain the weight that they lose.

It’s probably the same reason people will resort to taking drugs to help with weight loss. Although almost all weight loss drugs come with the disclaimer that the drug should be taken in conjunction with a healthy diet and regular exercise, this disclaimer is often written in such small font, it is barely visible. Popping a pill doesn’t take much effort so weight loss drugs can be very seductive.   So seductive, that people often ignore the many known side effects of these drugs.

In the case of Fen-Phen, a once very popular weight loss drug, heart valve damage was a side effect that was missed during the clinical testing of the drug.   Fen-Phen was eventually withdrawn from the market.

I recently saw an advertisement for a new weight loss drug called Belviq. Click here for the the two minute ad.   I can’t imagine that anyone in their right mind would think about taking this drug, but hundreds of thousands, if not millions will. It’s not because the majority of obese people seeing this ad will ask for this drug, but even a small percentage of viewers who decide to give the drug a try is a large number of people. Pharmaceutical companies have the means to reach millions of people, so it becomes a numbers game. Even the most successful WFPB promoters (ie Dr John McDougall, Dr Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr, and others) don’t have the reach of pharmaceutical companies – not even close.

So the small percentage of people who don’t feel that taking Belviq is a radical method to lose weight will result in many people suffering one or more of the  side effects mentioned in the ad.   I find it especially troubling that heart valve problems were mentioned as a potential side effect. Could this be Fen-Phen all over again?

Unlike drugs and surgeries, the most likely side effect of weight loss from following a WFPB diet is a life of optimal health that is long-lasting and full-functioning. In other words – a Plantastic Life!