SpeedReader Summaries - The 22 Day Revolution by Marco Borges: A Summary and Analysis

Introduction

T HE 22-DAY REVOLUTION is more than just a diet program. Its a radical plant-based nutrition program designed to transform you, mentally, emotionally, and physically, in a mere 22 days.

Why 22 days? Well, common wisdom tells us that it takes 21 days to create good habits or replace bad habits, so The 22-Day Revolution is specifically designed to empower and teach you to create habits that will lead to a lifetime of superior health and disease prevention, along with the long-term maintenance of your ideal weight.

If youve never tried a plant-based, or vegan, diet before, youre in for a treat. Vegan diets, contrary to the beliefs of many, dont involve listlessly chewing on kale and celery all day. No, instead, a well-designed vegan nutrition program is hearty, delicious, satisfying, and will leave you without any cravings or hunger pangs. And lets not forget that vegan diets have been proven to lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes and decrease cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Marco Borgess 22-Day Revolution is groundbreakingthe manifesto of one of the most well-known physiologists of our time. He lays out in clear detail all of the fundamentals of beginning a plant-based diet, tips for making the most out of the program, easy, delicious recipes, and a 22-day meal plan.

M ARCO BORGES IS AN exercise physiologist, life coach, and the founder of The 22-Day Nutrition . He has directly changed the lives and bodies of famous clients, like Beyonc, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Shakira, and Pharrell Williams with his trailblazing methods and expertise. In fact, Beyonc is such a believer of his program that she partnered with Borges to launch 22 Days Nutrition, Borgess vegan home delivery meal service. Borges is also the author of Power Moves: The Four Motions to Transform Your Body for Life .

The book youre reading right now is not meant to be a substitute for The 22-Day Revolution but, instead, a supplement. We recommend using it to quickly refresh yourself on the key principles found in Borgess book and to bolster your understanding of the material with the analysis and additional resources we provide.

B ORGESS 22-Day Revolution diet plan is a plant-based program, the primary objective of which is fast, healthy weight loss and the prevention of disease. Its basic principles are fairly simpleeat until youre about eighty percent full and craft a diet plan that consists of eighty percent carbohydrates, ten percent fat, and ten percent protein. The plan also prescribes thirty minutes of exercise per day and, of course, drinking lots of water. The aim of the program is to learn to listen to your body, understand the difference between emotional and psychological hunger and real, physical hunger, and long-term weight loss.

Why A Plant-Based Diet?

Main Concepts

A PLANT-BASED DIET is the most effective way to lose weight quickly and permanently. In fact, a plant-based, or vegan, diet has been proved to be more effective for long-term healthy weight maintenance and disease prevention than diets containing processed foods, dairy products, and meat. (Get a more complete list of what you should and shouldnt eat here.) What does it mean to eat vegan? It means that you dont consume any animal products at all no meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, or even honey

Youve probably heard that vegetables are the absolute key to health and weight loss. However, most modern diets do not give vegetables the priority they deserve. Many of our meals involve no vegetables at all, consisting of just breads and meats, or, if they do include vegetables, contain only those vegetables that are starchy and carb-heavy, like potatoes and corn. This is a problem, because a meal with no vegetables will always be less healthy, less filling, have less fiber and fewer vitamins, and be higher in calories and fat than one that focuses on vegetables. Furthermore, vegetable-sparse diets are more often processed, high in refined sugars and simple carbs, and high in unhealthy fats and cholesterol. These are things that are linked to all sorts of diseases, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, hormonal imbalances, and so on.

Picture what you would consider to be a perfectly healthy diet. What types of food does it focus on? Your instincts are probably correctnutrition plans that give vegetables the starring role will always be more waistline-friendly and healthy than diets that focus on heavy meats and processed foods.

Our Take

The switch from eating as an omnivore to eating as an herbivore brings with it all sorts of physical, social, and economic challenges. It can be difficult to give up some of the foods youre used to eating, like cheese, meat, and butter, and your friends and family may not necessarily be on board. Plus, eating vegan can make grocery shopping and eating out a little more complicated. Going vegan means that youll have to override taste preferences that have been implanted on your brain over a lifetime. It takes a lot of motivation and discipline to change these deep-seated habits.

Still, the benefits of eating a vegan diet are undeniable. If you follow the program, you will inevitably lose weight, especially if you switch from a diet in which you consumed a lot of sugar, processed foods, and fatty animal products. And youll obviously find it very easy to get your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Plus, studies show that people who eat vegan have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower body mass indexes, lower risk of diabetes, and lower risk of dying from heart disease and cancer. Interestingly, vegan diets are also associated with lower instances of arthritis, and studies indicate that vegans live an average of 3 to 6 years longer than non-vegans.

Its up to you to determine whether the benefits of going vegan outweigh some of the difficulties. Of course, its important to remember that any life-changing course of action is, by definition, going to be difficult. And if you do decide to go vegan, youll be in good company. Everyone, from Beyonce to Ellie Goulding to Jennifer Lopez has gone plant-based.