KATHY FRESTON

Personally, I enjoy a bowl of brown rice for breakfast most of the time.

Though I'm vegan and advocate that others eat a plant-based diet, I know that many people aren't quite ready to take that step in whole.

So if you serve a whole chicken to your family like grandma did, you may be serving them 10 times as much fat than the days of yesteryear. That's a whole lotta fat, and big trouble for the waistline.

Most diets would have you cutting things out from your diet; they are about denial and discipline.

You can do something as simple as drinking two cups of water before a meal to fill your belly a bit so that you don't overeat, or change up your cheese from dairy to nondairy.

I grew up in Doraville, Georgia and I ate barbecued ribs and chicken fried steak, and all kinds of cheesy grits, you know, and I never even thought twice about it.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you feed yourself what your body needs when it needs it, that's love. So give your bod some TLC and sit down and enjoy a good, substantial breakfast.

We've all seen chicken portrayed as the low-fat, heart-healthy alternative to red meat for years, but it no longer adds up. You might want to lean away from eating birds and lean toward more plant-based options of protein like black beans, lentils, tofu, chickpeas and whole grains.

I was weaned on chicken-fried steak and hominy grits with goopy gravy all over. I loved meat and wore fur.

We all thought of chicken as lean, protein-rich food that's good for weight watching, but the truth is chicken might actually be making us fatter!

Here's the secret to weight loss: It's all about crowding out, not cutting out.

Hunger and self-control do not go hand in hand.

And check this out: If every American had one meat-free day per week, it would be the same as taking eight million cars off American roads in a year.

You don't need to stick to tough rules or overnight changes; you need not rely on hardcore discipline that makes you hate your life. You need only focus on progress, not perfection. Lean in to the process of losing weight, and it will happen easily.

My favorite meal is I'll make like a three-bean soup and I freeze half of it. But I'm also a big fan of meat alternatives, so I can still have my chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans, but I just have the chicken from a plant-based thing.

What you want is to rev up your metabolism so that you are burning fat and calories, not preserving fat and calories.

When you gradually add in nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods, you simply stop feeling cravings. You run out of space in your belly for the old junk. Instead of craving, you feel full, fulfilled, and content.

The reason fiber helps us control our weight is that it fills the belly yet yields few calories since fiber is, for the most part, not something that we can digest.

I think that food ties us to our community and our traditions, and it's the thing that makes us feel good and connected.

I missed a tuna-fish sandwich with mayo on toasted wheat bread more than anything. Six months after I went vegan, I snuck into a deli and took one home. And, of course, it wasn't nearly as good as I fantasized. It tasted, well, fishy.

So if you're rooting around for something to eat, grab an apple while you're looking, and usually by the time you're finished eating it, your hunger will have been sidelined; it's crowding out at its best!

I drive a car that has pleather seats.

Whole foods like grains and beans release their sugar very, very slowly because of the fiber in them, and they don't give you a sugar rush. They feed your cells as needed, and as a result, you have loads of stable energy that powers you through the day.

If you want to feel more comfortable and happy, work on making the people around you more comfortable and happy.

Animal agriculture takes up an incredible 70% of all agricultural land, and a whopping 30% of the land surface of the planet. As a result, farmed animals are probably the biggest cause of slashing and burning the world's forests.