New vegan. Very confused.

SammiC86

Hey everyone! I'm exploring the vegan lifestyle after watching Forks over Knives and Food Inc. I've been reading a lot of conflicting information and I'm confused as all hell right now lol. I absolutely love coconut oil and consume 3 tablespoons a day. I eat a ton of fresh fruit & veggies, and get a majority of my protein from powder (not a fan of beans or soy). My question is, to lose weight, do I really need to limit the coconut oil? I find that CO satiates me in between meals. I try to keep my macros pretty even (40% fat, 30% protein, 30% carbs). Am I overthinking this? Help!

Dragon303

I'm a big believer in calorie counts not fat counts so... I'm guessing that if you are staying within your calories you'll probably be ok weight-wise (but be aware that too much fat - even the healthy kind - can be bad for your heart.) Welcome to the veggie lifestyle - it gets less confusing as you go along

HotKanye

Yeah I agree with the above poster. Don't obsess about macros. Eat a good variety of foods and it'll work itself out. Welcome to Team Vegan!

fat2fitvegan

There are so many ways to be a healthy, fit vegan that I don't think you should obsess about whether or not coconut oil will be a detriment. If you want to eat coconut oil, include it in your calorie count and let your macros work themselves out based on a varied and balanced diet. If you're like me and dislike religiously counting calories, I watch my macros and let my calories work themselves out (again on a varied and balanced diet).

For more general nutritional information, I'd recommend reading up on Brenda Davis, Jack Norris, and Ginny Messina. All three are registered dietitians and do a really good job of just explaining basic tenets or controversies of vegan nutrition and health without necessarily pushing a certain diet or eating plan. If you are informed about nutrition and mind what your body is responding to, I'm of the opinion that you'll be able to make the smart decisions for your health and weight loss goals.

leecha2014

Agree with everyone, you will find as you go along there is a lot more confusion to come. Nuts good or bad? Avocados? Soy good for you bad for you. I honestly try to eat a balanced diet and count my calories. I love avocado, it is very good for you howver high in fat, I just track it. I love it. You enjoy coc oil so track it and monitor your results, it may be just fine for you.

Congrats on choosing a cruelty-free lifestyle and thank you.