We all try different diets to lose the extra pounds. Have you ever tried skipping the meat options? The following reasons might convince you to do exactly that.

• Meat is high in calories:

When compared to vegetables and fruits meat is very high in the number calories per serving. One pound of lean meat has 276 more calories than a can of garbanzo beans. If you repeat this alteration twice in a day you already have taken 552 fewer calories only by skipping meat. So the result is simple. If you continue to do this over a week you can easily be a pound lighter in one week. If you add exercise to this new diet routine your fat burning rate will get expedited and you could be easily losing two pounds in one week.

• Meat is full of chemicals, pesticides and hormones:

Not many people know how full of chemicals, pesticides and hormones meat is. Cows are given lots of hormones in their food to make them grow faster. They are given antibiotics to keep them from falling ill. Lots of pesticides are used on the crops to keep them from being destroyed by pests. The pesticides become part of the cows’ bodies when they eat that as their food. All these harmful substances form a part of the cows systems and meat we eat simply is full of them. This reason alone should be enough to make us limit the amount of meat we eat.

• Meat is being over consumed:

Americans eat four times the amount of meat they used to eat fifty years ago. This has led to many problems health and otherwise. Meat if eaten in excess can lead to high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes. Mass production of meat also has a negative impact on environment. It contributes to soil erosion problems and water and air pollution as well.

It might be difficult for you to go meat less right away. But you can try to bring this change more gradually in your food and menus. Try to skip meat once a week and eat something else instead. You could replace it with chickpeas or lentils or anything else that you might fancy. It also, might be helpful for you to know that meat is not the only source of proteins. This is perfect marketing done by the industry that we all tend to think meat is the only source for our proteins. Green vegetables also have protein in them. So there are other ways to intake your proteins rather than from meat only. If you are eating a well a balanced diet you are getting enough proteins. Examples of this would be diet comprising of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, lentils, legumes and whole grain products. However, if you are an avid junk food eater then that would be another story altogether.

If you are serious about losing weight do give this a try. Try limiting your meat intake by eating it in smaller portions or replacing it with some other kind of protein rich food item. When you try it you will come to know that it is possible to live without meat and there are many other food items as tasty and rich in flavor as meat can be. Every time you skip meat you will be well on your way to limiting your calorie intake. You will also be saving your body from the harmful chemicals and will be lowering your risk of heart problems, diabetes and obesity. Add some exercise to this recipe and your waist will shrink at an even more rapid rate.