New Vegan and Not Losing Weight

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hellonikki123
hellonikki123 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If anyone here could give me some insight, I'd appreciate it. Over the past year I've been under a trendmous amount of stress. Between the stress, a decrease in exercise and poor eating habits, I've gain around 10 lbs. On January 1st (because I am totally cliche) I began tracking my food intake very diligently (I use a food scale for accuracy) and exercising. It's been almost 3 weeks and although, I feel great, I've lost no weight. I recently switched from vegetarian to vegan and my diet has been mostly plant based. Has anyone else had this experience? Any insight as to what I am doing wrong? Should I just be patient or do you think I need to make some kind of change?

Any help, advice or even support in the form of friends would help.
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Replies

  • getstrongkaylen
    getstrongkaylen Posts: 137 Member
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    Although I am not vegetarian or vegan, I do have a few friends that are. I have one who switched because she thought she would lose alot of weight, but she has actually gained. The problem for her was that she was eating alot of starches (pasta, bread) and she would go overboard on the vegan cookies, sweets and treats.... That may not be your problem, but that's a suggestion!
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    I gained weight when I transitioned to a vegan diet. Give it time, logging accurately and consistently. You don't have a lot of weight to lose, it's going to take time.....

    PS it's not the 'carbs' it's too many calories.
  • Will32283
    Will32283 Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Did you really think you were going to lose weight because you are vegan now? Honest question.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Will32283 wrote: »
    Did you really think you were going to lose weight because you are vegan now? Honest question.

    That's the myth that P.E.T.A. perpetuates. It's one of the many, many, many issues I have with that org.
  • Will32283
    Will32283 Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    Will32283 wrote: »
    Did you really think you were going to lose weight because you are vegan now? Honest question.

    That's the myth that P.E.T.A. perpetuates. It's one of the many, many, many issues I have with that org.

    I love the fact that people who start eating "healthy food" think they that is going to make them lose weight automatically.

    OP - You can gain on "healthy food" just like you can with what 99.9% of MFP call junk. Food is food.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto. Ect is a lifestyle choice, you lose fat by consuming less calories then you burn. Regardless of what those calories taste like.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Camo_xxx wrote: »
    Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto. Ect is a lifestyle choice, you lose fat by consuming less calories then you burn. Regardless of what those calories taste like.


    Yes.
  • ButterflyMyles
    ButterflyMyles Posts: 2 Member
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    I've been vegan for years and in that time I've been obese, overweight, healthy weight and overweight again! People seem to think vegans just eat grass or something, you can still have lots of high fat, calorie laden foods as a vegan. Going vegan in and of itself will not make anyone lose weight, as others have said, though there can be other health benefits. I'm not assuming that you, OP, just went vegan because you thought you might lose weight, I'm just saying some people do and it isn't the case, at all!

    I think you are doing everything right, just give it time, and don't give up! If you are burning more than you're taking in you will lose weight. Also think about the other 'non scale victories' - eating well and moving more help you to feel more vibrant and energetic, de stress, improve your health, lower cholesterol and maybe take some measurements as well? I know in the past where I have incorporated a work out programme whilst also cutting calories, I found the numbers on the scale really slowed down compared to when I was just dieting alone ( in total I lost around 70lbs over two years or so), and sometimes even went up, but I felt smaller, fitter and stronger. It was very disheartening and confusing. Now I don't obsess so much about the numbers on the scales. After a very stressful year myself I also put on some weight (thankfully not all of it just a stone or so!) and restarted this whole weight loss thing on new years day too :) I just want to fit comfortably into my (UK) size 8-10 stuff again, after working so hard to get there in the first place!! But maybe leave longer gaps between weighing yourself, also are you logging your exercise and eating back all the calories? Maybe don't eat back all of them, the app isn't amazingly accurate in terms of calorie burn. Hope that helps!
  • hellonikki123
    hellonikki123 Posts: 13 Member
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    Will32283 wrote: »
    Did you really think you were going to lose weight because you are vegan now? Honest question.

    My reason for becoming vegan actually has nothing to do with my weight. It was completely an ethical issue for me and something that's been weighing on my heart for a while. I've been a vegetarian (no meat, no fish) for 17 years. Reading Jonathan Saffron Foer's Eating Animals just gave me that final push. I guess I should have stated that upfront. I was actually wondering if this decision was making it harder to lose weight which is why I proposed the question.
  • hellonikki123
    hellonikki123 Posts: 13 Member
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    Camo_xxx wrote: »
    Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto. Ect is a lifestyle choice, you lose fat by consuming less calories then you burn. Regardless of what those calories taste like.

    I agree, but as I stated in my post, I've been tracking my calories very carefully (weighing and measuring my food).

  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    You're going to need to open your diary if you expect to get meaningful advice...
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
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    If you're maintaining and assuming you're tracking your calories accurately, then you're activity isn't set right and/or you aren't tracking your exercise calories correctly. the difference inbetween slowly losing, maintaining and slowly gaining is a real fine line. like as low as 100 calories a day.
  • hellonikki123
    hellonikki123 Posts: 13 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    I gained weight when I transitioned to a vegan diet. Give it time, logging accurately and consistently. You don't have a lot of weight to lose, it's going to take time.....

    PS it's not the 'carbs' it's too many calories.

    Thanks!! And thank you for a kind response.
  • hellonikki123
    hellonikki123 Posts: 13 Member
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    ButterflyMyles wrote: »
    I've been vegan for years and in that time I've been obese, overweight, healthy weight and overweight again! People seem to think vegans just eat grass or something, you can still have lots of high fat, calorie laden foods as a vegan. Going vegan in and of itself will not make anyone lose weight, as others have said, though there can be other health benefits. I'm not assuming that you, OP, just went vegan because you thought you might lose weight, I'm just saying some people do and it isn't the case, at all!

    I think you are doing everything right, just give it time, and don't give up! If you are burning more than you're taking in you will lose weight. Also think about the other 'non scale victories' - eating well and moving more help you to feel more vibrant and energetic, de stress, improve your health, lower cholesterol and maybe take some measurements as well? I know in the past where I have incorporated a work out programme whilst also cutting calories, I found the numbers on the scale really slowed down compared to when I was just dieting alone ( in total I lost around 70lbs over two years or so), and sometimes even went up, but I felt smaller, fitter and stronger. It was very disheartening and confusing. Now I don't obsess so much about the numbers on the scales. After a very stressful year myself I also put on some weight (thankfully not all of it just a stone or so!) and restarted this whole weight loss thing on new years day too :) I just want to fit comfortably into my (UK) size 8-10 stuff again, after working so hard to get there in the first place!! But maybe leave longer gaps between weighing yourself, also are you logging your exercise and eating back all the calories? Maybe don't eat back all of them, the app isn't amazingly accurate in terms of calorie burn. Hope that helps!

    Thanks for your response. Congrats on losing 70lbs. I will try eating back less of my exercise calories. This might account for some of the slowness.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    hellonikki123 wrote: »
    ButterflyMyles wrote: »
    I've been vegan for years and in that time I've been obese, overweight, healthy weight and overweight again! People seem to think vegans just eat grass or something, you can still have lots of high fat, calorie laden foods as a vegan. Going vegan in and of itself will not make anyone lose weight, as others have said, though there can be other health benefits. I'm not assuming that you, OP, just went vegan because you thought you might lose weight, I'm just saying some people do and it isn't the case, at all!

    I think you are doing everything right, just give it time, and don't give up! If you are burning more than you're taking in you will lose weight. Also think about the other 'non scale victories' - eating well and moving more help you to feel more vibrant and energetic, de stress, improve your health, lower cholesterol and maybe take some measurements as well? I know in the past where I have incorporated a work out programme whilst also cutting calories, I found the numbers on the scale really slowed down compared to when I was just dieting alone ( in total I lost around 70lbs over two years or so), and sometimes even went up, but I felt smaller, fitter and stronger. It was very disheartening and confusing. Now I don't obsess so much about the numbers on the scales. After a very stressful year myself I also put on some weight (thankfully not all of it just a stone or so!) and restarted this whole weight loss thing on new years day too :) I just want to fit comfortably into my (UK) size 8-10 stuff again, after working so hard to get there in the first place!! But maybe leave longer gaps between weighing yourself, also are you logging your exercise and eating back all the calories? Maybe don't eat back all of them, the app isn't amazingly accurate in terms of calorie burn. Hope that helps!

    Thanks for your response. Congrats on losing 70lbs. I will try eating back less of my exercise calories. This might account for some of the slowness.

    That might be accounting for all your slowness, especially if you're using MFP's exercise burns. They are notoriously iffy. I've heard so many warnings about them and exercise machines on the forums that I'm leery of eating back any of mine even though I know I should.

    What sort of exercise do you do? Depending on the type, heart rate monitors can be a good indicator of calories burned.

  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    hellonikki123 wrote: »
    Camo_xxx wrote: »
    Vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto. Ect is a lifestyle choice, you lose fat by consuming less calories then you burn. Regardless of what those calories taste like.

    I agree, but as I stated in my post, I've been tracking my calories very carefully (weighing and measuring my food).

    Perfect ! The proof is in the pudding as they say. How much fat have you lost so far ?
  • lilbea89
    lilbea89 Posts: 62 Member
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    I feel like honestly any major change in diet can stall your weight loss, make you bloated, mess with what your digestive system is used to. This happened to my mother as well. She made a conscious effort to eat more fruits and veggies and cut back on junk food and it totally messed with her digestion and bloated her out. It went away eventually it was just a transitory period. I know it doesn't really help much but I thought it might be nice to hear its happened to other people too. You can feel free to add me if you like, it'd be nice to have a "new" vegan as a friend. My fiance and I are finishing up the last of the dairy in our house (we'd feel bad throwing away all that food) and have a D-date of February 1st when we're gonna make the transition!
  • hellonikki123
    hellonikki123 Posts: 13 Member
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    lilbea89 wrote: »
    I feel like honestly any major change in diet can stall your weight loss, make you bloated, mess with what your digestive system is used to. This happened to my mother as well. She made a conscious effort to eat more fruits and veggies and cut back on junk food and it totally messed with her digestion and bloated her out. It went away eventually it was just a transitory period. I know it doesn't really help much but I thought it might be nice to hear its happened to other people too. You can feel free to add me if you like, it'd be nice to have a "new" vegan as a friend. My fiance and I are finishing up the last of the dairy in our house (we'd feel bad throwing away all that food) and have a D-date of February 1st when we're gonna make the transition!

    Thank you so much! Hearing that does actually help a lot! It gives me hope. :)
  • Robin1109
    Robin1109 Posts: 231 Member
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    Fellow vegetarian here - but not quite vegan. This group might be interesting for you: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores

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