Ah, summer: the season for sippin’ margaritas, driving with the top down, and—gulp—slipping into a bikini. Not ready to bare your gams and flaunt your abs? We can help.
Check out these six plant-based diet books and get fit in time for summer. Eating vegan, you’ll not only look better—think clear skin and a toned bod—you’ll also feel better, with extra energy and strength to devote to surfing, water skiing, or ocean-side strolls.
21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart
Did you wait ’til the last minute to put down the brownies and pick up the weights?
Not to worry.
Author Dr. Neal D. Barnard has a plan that will improve your health in three weeks flat, helping you shed pounds and lower your cholesterol.
His plant-based diet focuses on reducing your appetite and cholesterol levels and boosting your metabolism—all by choosing the right foods and tweaking your eating habits.
Skinny Bitch
Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin don’t mince words: “You are a total moron if you think the Atkins Diet will make you thin,” they remark in a chapter of Skinny Bitch.
Sharp-tongued and witty, these women take a rare approach to dieting: They make it fun. Burn calories while you laugh through their book, then put your weight-loss plans in action with their guidance, kicking off a new lifestyle that incorporates whole grains, fruits, and veggies. Psst … for the man in your life, consider the pair’s manly manifesto, Skinny Bastard.
The Kind Diet
Blonde bombshell Alicia Silverstone may have played a dim-witted daddy’s girl in Clueless, but the vegan actor and activist is no dummy. Advising dieters through personal anecdotes of swearing off meat and dairy products, Silverstone’s book makes the perks of a plant-based diet—weight loss, clear skin, high energy, and smooth digestion—ring loud and clear.
The Kind Diet makes cruelty-free cuisine a possibility for people at all levels of compassionate consumption, from flirting with veganism to becoming a cruelty-free superhero.
The Way of The Vegan Meathead: Eating for Strength
In this book, competitive powerlifter Daniel Austin shows you how to build some serious plant-based muscle. It includes a meal plan that surpasses protein requirements for strength athletes, and other important nutritional and training information to become your stronger self. Use the code PETA at checkout, and 15% of the sales will go towards supporting the work we do for animals.
The Lean
Vegans aren’t born munching on vegan Boca burgers and gulping down soy strawberry yogurt—the lifestyle is a choice. For author Kathy Freston, that choice came in her 30s after three decades of chicken fried steaks, barbecue ribs, and vanilla milkshakes. Now she’s living proof that anyone can make the switch to a cruelty-free diet. With a “baby-steps” approach to dieting, Freston makes slimming down through vegan eating easy. Her step-by-step guide will ease you into your weight-loss goal, nudging you across the finish line with exercise ideas, recipes, and real-life testimonials.
By Any Greens Necessary
Riffing off the famous words of Malcom X, this vegan guide for African-American women tells ladies how to look their best, ward off health problems, and slim down while keeping their curves.
Eighty percent of African-American women are overweight, putting them at an increased risk for heart disease, strokes, and diabetes. With more than 40 recipes and menus to help you transition to a vegan lifestyle, author Tracye Lynn McQuirter shows the path to changing that statistic.
Written for African-American women but applicable to women of all backgrounds, this book is a must-read for anyone transitioning away from an omnivorous diet.
Crazy Sexy Diet
Want a great ass? Kris Carr has you covered.
Steering women away from negative body image, Carr’s book focuses on renewal and repair through a balanced, plant-based diet.
With the help of a slew of experts, Carr lays out a “crazy, sexy diet” plan of whole and raw foods, organic green drinks, and healthy smoothies. Replete with a 21-day cleanse guide and simple recipes, this ticket to slim is as empowering as it is insightful.
Getting fit isn’t just about slimming down—it’s also about building muscle. For vegan eaters looking to tone glutes, quads, and triceps, try …
Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness
A go-to guide for trainers, athletes, and anyone looking to build strength, Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness provides vegan meal guides, training regimens, and advice on where to find vegan services and equipment.
Need someone to spot you at the gym? Share your copy with the guy in your life and make the switch to vegan living together. Bonus? Vegan men make better lovers. Just sayin’.
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