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Refined carbs give us a cheap high and a fast crash, like sugar or drugs. Whole-food carbs, by contrast, deliver a slow, even dose of energy, keeping us feeling fuller longer.

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Here’s a handy guide from PCRM:

Instead of sugar, have fruit. Yes, fruit is sweet, but it has little effect on blood sugar.

Instead of white breads, favor rye or pumpernickel. Yes, even whole wheat can cause problems of inflammation.

Instead of white baking potatoes, have yams and sweet potatoes.

Instead of typical cold cereals, have steel-cut oatmeal (the long-cooking kind) or bran cereal. Rice and pasta are fine. Although whole grain pastas are best, even white pasta has a low glycemic index. But make sure you skip the meat and cream sauces and stick to a low-fat tomato sauce.

Meat alternatives are also okay. They are naturally lower in fat and calories and, because they look and taste like the foods we grew up with—bacon, chicken, hot dogs—they can help wean you off meat.

And how about this interesting tidbit from Dr. Barnard: meat stimulates insulin release. Whereas it is common knowledge that refined carbohydrates cause the body to release a lot of insulin, recent studies show that meat also causes a “distinct, sometimes surprising, insulin spike. In fact, beef and cheese cause a bigger insulin release than pasta, and fish produces a bigger insulin release than popcorn.” Personally, I was thrilled to hear this, because I love nothing more than a bowl of whole grain pasta with veggie sausage, peppers, and onions!

Junk the Junk

Of course, just because a food is technically vegan doesn’t mean it’s good for you. If you want to lose weight, you have to stay away from junk food. You know what junk food is. I don’t have to explain it to you. Anything that’s really sweet or fatty or super-addictive is junk food. Period. Even if it’s vegan.

If you find yourself obsessed with some kind of munchy that you know isn’t good for you, simply stop bringing it into the house. Some foods just have a crazy power over us and we’re better off not exposing ourselves to their temptations.

In much the same way, before you consider having “just one piece of chicken” or “only one slice of cheese,” consider that these particular foods are quite literally addictive. In the case of dairy products, there are casomorphins to consider. These are compounds produced in your digestive tract after you eat cheese and other dairy products. That’s right, the root of the word morphine is in there and for good reason—cheese is really habit forming. Not only because the creamy, fatty texture is so comforting, but also because when the milk protein breaks down during digestion, it’s converted to something chemically similar to morphine and you just want more. In the same way an alcoholic can be set off by just one drink, someone who can’t give up cheese might want to consider dairy their trigger for out-of-control eating.

According to a 2009 study at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, fat from certain foods actually makes its way into the brain, where the fat molecules signal the body to overcome appetite-suppressing hormones. And also consider that you literally overstimulate the pleasure center in your brain with fatty, sweet, or salty food and just as with drugs you need increasingly more of these rich substances to feel satisfied. And in much the same way as a drug addict might feel, you get strung out by the constant craving and remain hopelessly unsatisfied. Just watch how your behavior unfolds after you eat certain foods; if it is out of control, ditch those foods. A moment of good flavors is not worth the roller-coaster ride it’s apt to put you on. It may be difficult for the first few days of withdrawal, but your taste buds will adjust if you give them half a chance.

Forget about Calorie Counting

Here’s some of the best news of all. When you eat a plant-based diet, you don’t need to obsess about calories or grams of protein; you need not weigh your food or eat according to your blood type. You need