(NaturalNews) Emil Oprisa describes himself as someone who once was the "embodiment of laziness," not doing much more than eating junk food and taking a taxi just to go to the grocery store down the street (1). Eventually, his six-foot frame was carrying around an unhealthy 328 pounds.

He knew that his health was in jeopardy, but it wasn't until 2012 when he enrolled in a masters school program in the Alps that the lure of hiking trails became his wake up call. Barely able to make steps that other people could with ease, Oprisa challenged himself and was soon able to tackle various inclines. Along the way, he lost an incredible 125 pounds and is now an avid hiker, runner and cyclist who weighs about 203 pounds (his goal is 185 pounds). However, he also says that adopting a healthier diet also played a significant role in his weight loss.

More vegetables and meat substitutes key to weight loss

Oprisa explains that losing so much weight meant letting go of very unhealthy eating habits, including chips which were his favorite junk food. "Now and then I would buy three bags and eat them all in a few minutes! Eventually, I got over them," he says. "I also gave up sodas and started drinking more water (1)." He says that initially cutting out processed foods was difficult, but he now realizes the health benefits in doing so and says he enjoys salads and "non fried stuff" greatly.

On his blog "Hiking to Fit," where he wrote a post called, "Eating Healthy on a Budget," Oprisa says that he's also increased his vegetable intake and has found very good meat substitutes such as mushrooms and lentils (2). Regarding lentils, Oprisa says, "I had a period last year when I ate a lot of lentils. I just discovered them and was hooked on them for about two months. I lost a lot of weight during that period! (2).

It's no surprise that he lost weight eating plenty of legumes; it's been shown that people who eat beans on a regular basis weigh approximately 6.6 pounds less than non-bean eaters, plus they're an affordable option to boot (3).

Sources for this article include:

(1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com

(2) http://www.hikingtofit.com/eating-healthy-on-a-budget/

(3) https://www.naturalnews.com/025175_cancer_WHO_risk.html

About the author:
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. >>> Click here to see more by Michelle