Vegan-ish Grandma Loses 100 Lbs From Simply Eating Less Meat: ‘Being Overweight Wasn’t My Destiny After All!’
By Allison Nemetz,
2024-08-26
Ever feel like being heavy is just in your genes? Andrea Kane can relate. As fat piled on her 4'11" frame, “I’d look at women in my family and think, This is just what happens to us, ” shares the San Diego grandmother, 50. Sure, she tried diets. And she’s actually been a Pilates instructor for decades. Yet Andrea would probably still be carrying 100 extra pounds if she hadn’t been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. “I was in tremendous pain, and no pill or shot was working.” Comfort food like burgers and pizza didn’t help either. So when doctors said dropping 10 pounds might provide some relief and a friend raved about plant-based eating, “I said, ‘Let me cut out red meat and see what happens.’ That’s all I did. I lost 10 pounds.” Her pain easing, Andrea hit the internet to learn more. She soon discovered the slimming, DNA-taming power of eating more plants. Keep reading for Andrea’s inspiring story and for proof from Harvard researchers that even semi-vegans essentially re-program their genes to get lean.
A semi-vegan diet can jumpstart big changes
As Andrea read that plant compounds can help reduce inflammation, rebalance hormones and reset her body, “I decided to try eating only whole plants for a little while,” she recalls. Initially, she stuck mostly with fresh juice and smoothies made from spinach, kale, berries and seeds; she was soon adding sweet potatoes, bean-based Indian dishes and a quinoa-barley salad.
Andrea hoped to feel instantly better. “But when you give up processed food, it’s a drastic reduction in sugar, processed carbs, oil and salt,” she says. Detoxing from them triggered cravings, headaches and fatigue so severe, it convinced her she was doing exactly what her body needed. “It took a month for the symptoms to fully subside.”
By then, she was down another 10 pounds, her pain dramatically better. “I suddenly got this burst of energy—and anything I ate was an explosion of flavor,” she says. “It seemed like my body was thankful, that weighing 230 pounds wasn’t my destiny after all.”
Plus, easy and delicious recipes to get you started
Countering weight-gain genetics with plants
After a Harvard study found that getting lots of bioactive compounds from plants like apples, berries, nuts and greens seemed to make folks resistant to weight gain , some members of the team wanted to learn more. “We decided to compare identical twins,” reveals research scientist Aedin Cassidy, Ph.D .
Cassidy and her team tested over 1,300 pairs of sisters, and it was clear that when one twin consumed significantly more plant compounds, “she carried significantly less fat mass than her sister with identical genes.”
Meanwhile, a Stanford team found twins put on a plant-based diet for eight weeks got cholesterol 20 points lower, cut insulin 20% more and doubled their ability to lose weight compared to identical siblings on a traditional diet. Scans also showed plant-eating twins became biologically younger than siblings with the exact same birthday and DNA!
Semi-vegan: Is it okay to be less strict?
Yep! “I always ate fish and added back a little meat,” says Andrea, who shed 20 pounds in two months and 100 pounds over two years. According to Plants First author Katie Takayasu, M.D. , Andrea’s approach works wonders largely because nutrient-dense plants “crowd out processed foods that drive overeating and chronic inflammation.” Turns out, inflammation isn’t just a big culprit in arthritis—it can also lead to obesity and many diseases .
Why? “Inflammation prevents our DNA from repairing itself,” Dr. Katie says. Eating lots of whole plant foods helps soothe inflammation and restore optimal health.
Dr. Katie adds that “when we eat fiber-rich plant foods, we're literally fertilizing beneficial bacteria that live in our guts.” Those bacteria not only help reduce inflammation, they’re linked to glowing good health and effortless weight control .
When going semi-vegan means you can eat breakfast twice
Andrea says once she was eating mostly plants, she was able to let go of rules that previously made weight loss unpleasant. “All that brain chatter constantly telling you to eat—that went away ,” she says. She began to trust her body to tell her when to eat. For her, it often meant eating not one but two breakfasts. “I have a smoothie early in the morning, teach a class, and then have another meal—maybe avocado toast or some of my partner William’s homemade banana-date bread.” She follows with a big lunch and dinner, eating a rainbow of good stuff: purple yams with pesto, bowls of fruit, giant salads with salmon, veggie stir-fries over brown rice. “You get so full eating plants, you don’t have to worry about cutting yourself off.”
Dr. Katie says the effect is due in part to how much volume plants have for relatively few calories, particularly when they replace low-volume high-cal processed foods. Plus, while processed foods stimulate hunger, plant nutrients set off biochemical processes that do the opposite. One study even found that plant-based eaters naturally consume about 689 fewer daily calories than other dieters—no weighing or measuring required!
“I’m pain-free and have so much stamina … and it feels easy!” — Vicki Sheerin
Semi-vegan success: Andrea proves her doctor wrong
“When I was growing up, we ate what was convenient. Nobody knew how much trouble processed foods can cause,” remembers Andrea. And many still don’t know. One of Andrea’s doctors put her on the scale and then sent her for a CAT scan to see if she had cancer. “She told me no woman over age 40 loses this much weight naturally.” Andrea’s scan was clear. She has a new doctor and has been maintaining her 100-pound loss for two years by eating about 90% whole plant foods. Her rheumatoid arthritis is in remission. She takes no prescription meds.
Folks often ask if she’s had weight-loss surgery or taken weight-loss medication. “The answer is no,” says Andrea, who owns Radical Change Pilates & Wellness in San Diego. Yet it sometimes feels like she did. “Not having cravings is a game changer, and that’s why people spend money on Ozempic, right? The best and cheapest way to do it is to just eat real food, mostly plants. And drink water, not soda. It has changed my body chemistry.”
Andrea’s message to women who see a bit of themselves in her: “No matter your age or your genes, plants give you power over your health. I’m proof you don’t have live with pain or weight gain!”
Delicious semi-vegan recipes
To slim down like Andrea did, make whole plants the centerpiece of every meal. Enjoy two breakfasts (one might be pre-workout, the other at midmorning) and then tuck in to a hearty lunch and dinner. Don’t worry about portions; just aim to eat until you’re pleasantly full and don’t need snacks. Initially, Andrea skipped sugar, oil and salt to help reset her taste buds; she limits animal protein to 4 oz. a day. Here are a few ideas to inspire you; find more at ForksOverKnives.com and DrKatie.com .
Easy smoothie bowl
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Blitz 1 ripe banana, 1 cup berries, 1 cup plant milk, 2 handfuls leafy greens or 1 cup cauliflower, 1 serving plant protein powder and 1 Tbs. chia seeds.
Herb avocado toast
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Top whole-grain bread with ripe avocado, an optional egg (any style) and fresh herbs. Enjoy with sliced tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Power brunch salad
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To power up an ordinary salad with plant protein, add 1 cup cooked quinoa plus optional sliced fruit and your favorite healthy dressing.
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