I went vegan and GAINED weight?!?!
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karenscfld wrote: »Vegan eating is mostly cabs. I would be HUGE if I went vegan. I would think a very strict calorie intake and high energy output is the only way to lose weight no matter what sort of diet you choose. The only problem with vegan, you body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves.
No one thinks you need to undertake vegan eating, or at least I don't.
Vegan eating can be calorie appropriate. As long as one's eating (of any style) is calorie appropriate, one's weight will respond as expected. There's nothing inherent in veganism that - distinct from other eating modes - means "your body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves."
Calories are literally "energy source via food you eat". They determine weight management results.
Yes, vegan diets can be relatively higher in carbs. (But vegan keto is a thing. Not a thing I personally would recommend, because it's quite restrictive, but people do it.)
In actual practice, human bodies generally prefer burning carbs to converting them into stored body fat (de novo lipogenesis); they'd rather store fat intake as fat because there's no conversion needed, so it's an efficient thing to do, very beneficial in our evolutionary context of food scarcity.
None of that matters when in a calorie deficit: If a person is eating less than they burn, their body will burn stored fat (or other body tissue, at an extreme) to make up the difference.
Possibly, if a person knows very little about vegan nutrition, they should avoid giving advice about vegan nutrition?20 -
karenscfld wrote: »Vegan eating is mostly cabs.
Assuming you mean carbs, and are not thinking vegan is all wine ;-), that's not necessarily true. You can do a variety of macros eating vegan.I would be HUGE if I went vegan.
No one is saying you should, but no, not if you ate at a deficit (or maintenance) -- calories are what control weight gain or loss, not carbs, and not whether one eats vegan or not. You are making the same mistake (in the reverse) as OP seems to have initially.The only problem with vegan, you body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves.
The energy source from the food is the cals, so vegan or no makes no difference. It's illogical to claim one can somehow run only on the foods eaten (and not body fat) at a deficit just because one is eating vegan. Again, the same basic mistake in the reverse as someone who thinks you cannot gain eating vegan.11 -
Fat vegan here! (Well, getting better lol) Bread, pasta, nuts, and oils are all very high calorie foods. But, it is doable! I'm down 64 pounds since starting my journey and I've been vegan for over 2 years. It just take proper planning!19
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karenscfld wrote: »Vegan eating is mostly cabs. I would be HUGE if I went vegan. I would think a very strict calorie intake and high energy output is the only way to lose weight no matter what sort of diet you choose. The only problem with vegan, you body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves.
Just like non-vegans, vegans can follow a high, moderate, or even low protein diet.
Vegans lose weight just like non-vegans -- with a calorie deficit. Even vegans on a high carbohydrate diet will lose weight with a calorie deficit.10 -
Possibly, if a person knows very little about vegan nutrition, they should avoid giving advice about vegan nutrition?
Advice I wish more would take to heart around here. It's sometimes discouraging to see the same few myths about vegan nutrition again and again (probably a frustration that is not limited to vegans).
Of all the bizarre myths about vegan nutrition, the ones that posit that our bodies somehow process energy differently are some of the most perplexing. I eliminated some foods, I didn't become a different species.
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karenscfld wrote: »Vegan eating is mostly cabs. I would be HUGE if I went vegan. I would think a very strict calorie intake and high energy output is the only way to lose weight no matter what sort of diet you choose. The only problem with vegan, you body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves.
I think you misunderstand Veganism. There’s more to it than just no animal products, especially if you need to lose weight.
An important factor in vegan weight loss is calorie density. A cup of beans and a cup of tomatoes will have very different calorie totals. So in order to get 100 calories of tomatoes, you get to eat a LOT more, which leads to SATIETY. Not feeling like you’re starving is a huge helper in keeping going with a caloric deficit.
Check out these resources:
Forks Over Knives
The China Study
Chef AJ
Dr. MacDougal
That being said- I am still struggling. I am in the caloric deficit recommended by every weight loss calorie calculator I could find, and yet the weight is not coming off. So the oft touted “calorie deficit for weight loss” is not my experience.
Advice from Vegans (especially WFPB ones) would be gratefully accepted.
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aubreeshelley wrote: »karenscfld wrote: »Vegan eating is mostly cabs. I would be HUGE if I went vegan. I would think a very strict calorie intake and high energy output is the only way to lose weight no matter what sort of diet you choose. The only problem with vegan, you body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves.
I think you misunderstand Veganism. There’s more to it than just no animal products, especially if you need to lose weight.
An important factor in vegan weight loss is calorie density. A cup of beans and a cup of tomatoes will have very different calorie totals. So in order to get 100 calories of tomatoes, you get to eat a LOT more, which leads to SATIETY. Not feeling like you’re starving is a huge helper in keeping going with a caloric deficit.
Check out these resources:
Forks Over Knives
The China Study
Chef AJ
Dr. MacDougal
That being said- I am still struggling. I am in the caloric deficit recommended by every weight loss calorie calculator I could find, and yet the weight is not coming off. So the oft touted “calorie deficit for weight loss” is not my experience.
Advice from Vegans (especially WFPB ones) would be gratefully accepted.
Sometimes I go intentionally for the food which is very calorie dense. Especially if that density comes from fats. Like, eating a handful of nuts often leads to me being fuller than, say, eating several times the amount in low calorie vegetables. - Yes,you have to be careful with nuts and avocados, but they may help keeping you full for longer.
Now, do you weigh your food or use measuring cups, spoon-fulls, etc.? I started weighing (most of) my food now, because it is really easy to underestimate calories. Like, if the database says half an avocado has x calories, but it turns out they think half an avocado weighs 100 grams, but your half actually was 120 you got a lot more caloriss than planned. And if you, like I do, use avocado as your spread of choice instead of margarine those calories can add up to ridiculous amounts.5 -
aubreeshelley wrote: »karenscfld wrote: »Vegan eating is mostly cabs. I would be HUGE if I went vegan. I would think a very strict calorie intake and high energy output is the only way to lose weight no matter what sort of diet you choose. The only problem with vegan, you body has lots of energy source via the food you eat so it doesn't need to go after the fat reserves.
I think you misunderstand Veganism. There’s more to it than just no animal products, especially if you need to lose weight.
An important factor in vegan weight loss is calorie density. A cup of beans and a cup of tomatoes will have very different calorie totals. So in order to get 100 calories of tomatoes, you get to eat a LOT more, which leads to SATIETY. Not feeling like you’re starving is a huge helper in keeping going with a caloric deficit.
Check out these resources:
Forks Over Knives
The China Study
Chef AJ
Dr. MacDougal
That being said- I am still struggling. I am in the caloric deficit recommended by every weight loss calorie calculator I could find, and yet the weight is not coming off. So the oft touted “calorie deficit for weight loss” is not my experience.
Advice from Vegans (especially WFPB ones) would be gratefully accepted.
If you think you're in a deficit and you're maintaining your weight, then you aren't actually in a deficit. The issue is either that you're making some logging errors that are causing you to underestimate how much you're eating (this can often be solved by double-checking database entries and using a food scale to measure solid foods), you're overestimating how active you are, or you could be one of the people who simply burn fewer calories and need to go lower than the calculators estimate to reach a deficit. Calorie calculators are based on population-level information -- even if they're accurate for the vast majority, some people are going to need more and some people are going to need less.
That said, for most people, focusing on the accuracy of your logging is going to do the trick. It isn't that a calorie deficit creates weight loss isn't true in your experience, it's that you're not yet in a deficit.
(Note: I've been vegan for fourteen years, lost 40+ pounds through calorie counting in 2015, and have been maintaining that weight loss ever since. I am not WFPB).14 -
This is an 8 month old post, but, OP, you’re eating more calories than your body burns. No foods are exempt from calories. You can overeat anything.5
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what does WFBP stand for please?0
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paperpudding wrote: »what does WFBP stand for please?
"Whole Food Plant Based," it's a term used by people who avoid animal products but also add extra restrictions to their diet beyond that, often around oil, salt, sugar, and various kinds of processed foods.3 -
I know someone who is vegetarian and is morbidly obese. He eats tons of pasta, rice, and white bread, and things like that. So I'd try to stay away from processed stuff, maybe that would help?1
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Im plant based (98% vegan) and I'm 41, its defo not easy to lose weight, Im 5'4 and 138lbs, cutting 500 Kcals so intake is 1500, if I workout, I will eat a bit more but weight isnt shifting yet (I've been mainly just doing physio due to injury, and work is busy, retail, but its not a workout) I have been injured which I feel is slowing down the results. Managed to lose a couple kilos a year ago, but I was training more then as my back wasnt as bad and Im now trying to shed another 10lbs or so if possible. 1500 Kcals isnt a ton of food, and like others have said its very easy to bump up your Kcals if adding oils or eating pasta. I feel your struggle.. add me if ya like
So many people have already said it, but it's the calories.
My diet is about 95-97% plant-based on a calorie basis and I have to watch my calories like a hawk. I am the world's best vegan cookie chef, let me tell you. I give almost all of them away when I make them, too. :-)
I wish the OP all the best. I love my vegan friends and a lot of them are thin, but that has to do with how much they eat, not what they eat.4 -
silverpl2525 wrote: »I know someone who is vegetarian and is morbidly obese. He eats tons of pasta, rice, and white bread, and things like that. So I'd try to stay away from processed stuff, maybe that would help?
It's not the processed food that's the problem. It's eating more than the person's maintenance calories, no matter where or how the food came to be.10 -
Im plant based (98% vegan) and I'm 41, its defo not easy to lose weight, Im 5'4 and 138lbs, cutting 500 Kcals so intake is 1500, if I workout, I will eat a bit more but weight isnt shifting yet (I've been mainly just doing physio due to injury, and work is busy, retail, but its not a workout) I have been injured which I feel is slowing down the results. Managed to lose a couple kilos a year ago, but I was training more then as my back wasnt as bad and Im now trying to shed another 10lbs or so if possible. 1500 Kcals isnt a ton of food, and like others have said its very easy to bump up your Kcals if adding oils or eating pasta. I feel your struggle.. add me if ya like
So many people have already said it, but it's the calories.
My diet is about 95-97% plant-based on a calorie basis and I have to watch my calories like a hawk. I am the world's best vegan cookie chef, let me tell you. I give almost all of them away when I make them, too. :-)
I wish the OP all the best. I love my vegan friends and a lot of them are thin, but that has to do with how much they eat, not what they eat.
Samples or it didn't happen.
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silverpl2525 wrote: »I know someone who is vegetarian and is morbidly obese. He eats tons of pasta, rice, and white bread, and things like that. So I'd try to stay away from processed stuff, maybe that would help?
As mentioned earlier, I am someone who is not a vegetarian and I eat plenty of pasta, rice and bread.
And I am not obese, but maintaining at a BMI of 23.
What helps is eating correct amount of calories. That's it.
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I'm not vegan but have a veggie/ vegan cookbook and we enjoy the recipes but are always a little shocked by how many calories are in some of the dishes! Lots of carbs, as well as nuts and added oil... cheese and dairy in the veggie ones too... it does mount up!0
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silverpl2525 wrote: »I know someone who is vegetarian and is morbidly obese. He eats tons of pasta, rice, and white bread, and things like that. So I'd try to stay away from processed stuff, maybe that would help?
It's not the processing, it's the calories.13 -
janejellyroll wrote: »silverpl2525 wrote: »I know someone who is vegetarian and is morbidly obese. He eats tons of pasta, rice, and white bread, and things like that. So I'd try to stay away from processed stuff, maybe that would help?
It's not the processing, it's the calories.
Yep, over the years I've experimented with just about every way of eating, from WFPB to carnivore, and it really does come down to calories for weight management.
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Yeah, me too. I went vegan several years ago for the ethical issues. I reached my heaviest whilst vegan....I think it's because it's easier to eat a LOT when it's all plant based due to lower satiety. I have recently started eating fish on some days and I really notice the different in how much I feel I need to eat on these days.5
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