Is Eating Meat Making You Gain Weight?

ByCaitlin Berens,SELF magazine

Attention meat-lovers! Piling your plate with animal protein could expand your waistline. The more meat people eat, the more likely they are to gain weight, a recent study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds.

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The researchers followed 370,000 people for five years and found that for every 250 grams of meat a person ate, they gained 2 killograms, no matter what their total calorie consumption or how much they exercised. The meat-weight connection was true in both men and women and no matter what kind of meat they ate--poultry, beef and processed meats were all linked with weight gain. Scientists blame meat's high calorie and fat content for the connection.

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But don't panic! There's no need to eschew animal protein altogether to stay slim. Try going veggie one day a week to start. Try out these SELF-approved tasty vegetarian recipes or one of these three meat-free meal plans. During the rest of the week, simply trim your meat portions at each meal (a serving is about the size of the palm of your hand). And if you are thinking of going veggie, do it healthfully by following this cool vegetarian food pyramid.

Tell us what you think! Could you go sans meat?


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Photo Credit: Condé Nast Digital Studio