I went vegan last May, after years of vegetarian. I ate a pretty carb heavy diet, and it showed. Activity wise, I train to do at least one race a month, any from 5k-1/2 marathon distances. Made the choice to cut back on the junk vegan foods, and started using the happy herbivore meal plans and cook books for meal planning, and started measuring and recording my calories. Dropped 20 since Christmas time, and still dropping (hoping another 10-15?)

It takes some adjusting I think. I really love the blog fatfreevegan. The food is always delicious, and pretty filling too. I went vegan while I was pregnant and ate all the carbs without really worrying about how much I was eating. lol. Gained a tad too much. Part of it is learning what to cook that fills me up. This morning (I don't do breakfast) I had brown rice, seitan, and veggies. All told 503 cals and 33 g protein. It was delicious and that will keep me full for quite awhile. I have to balance calorie dense things with high volume things.

A few things I would recommend: a wonderful way to approach vegan "treats" is with superfoods that are really good for you. For instance, I make delicious, creamy smoothies. If you like smoothies, get a really good blender. I have a Nutribullet. You can get it at Target or Amazon, it costs $100 but is soooo worth it because you can add greens to your smoothies and not taste them. If I am craving chocolate, I make one using all kinds of good for you stuff. First, put a cup of unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk in the Nutribullet, along with a couple of handfuls of baby spinach, baby kale, etc. and blend. Then take sliced up, then frozen banana I put in a ziplock overnight, then I add chocolate Vega protein powder (available at Whole Foods or Amazon, it tastes the best and is super healthy), and frozen raspberries and strawberries. You can add chia seeds, maca powder, flax seeds, even a little avocado or almond butter but it's not necessary if you are trying to keep the calories low. You will have a delicious chocolate smoothie that is high in protein, fiber, micronutrients, and you can feel good about drinking it! Another good product is PB2 powder. It is a very low (almost no fat) powder made from peanuts, they have chocolate PB2 as well, and it is great in smoothies. Also if you like peanut butter, check out Better'n Peanut Butter, available at Trader Joe's and Target, in the peanut butter aisle, it is made from defatted peanut flour, is very low fat and low calorie, and still has protein, and actually I like it a lot better than regular peanut butter! It is great spread on a slice of Ezekiel bread or a Wasa rye cracker, or with some celery sticks.

For a general plan of how to eat Vegan for optimum health, I totally recommend Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He's also got a new book out called "The End of Dieting," Whenever I eat this way the weight just falls off. If you adhere strictly to his 6 week plan you can lose 15-20 lbs in 6 weeks, pretty much guaranteed. I'm going to start on April 1st if you'd like to check it out, go to his website http://www.drfuhrman.com/ He is a good friend of Dr. Oz and was on the show a couple of days ago discussing his new book. There is a link to the video on the website. There is an Eat to Live group here on MFP also, which I just joined. It is very strong and active, and full of health food vegans. Dr. Fuhrman recommends aiming for 1 lb raw veggies a day, 1 lb cooked, 4+ servings of fruit a day, a couple of cups of beans/lentils, and only 1 serving a day of whole grain carbs. If you eat this way, you will be full and satisfied and will only lose unhealthy weight or maintain the good weight you are at (for those at goal weight). It is a ton of veggies, but I love veggies so I am in luck! Plus with green smoothies, you can sneak in quite a bit extra and not even notice them. The Nutribullet is good for blending soups too with lots of veggies in them. Good luck I hope this helps!