calling all vegans - or anyone, really!

elleallegro wrote: »

hey, I'm a newbie vegan with about a month with several mistakes under my belt. if there are any of you out there who are vegan (or just knowledgeable about this stuff) and have lost weight, I'd love to know what worked for you. there's plant-based, fully raw, high raw, high protein, etc... I don't know what to believe!
thank you so much
elleallegro

I am a regular ole cooked food (with lots of tasty raw stuff), moderate carb, moderate fat vegan. Counting calories works for me. If you're looking for a good understanding of vegan nutrition, check out "Vegan for Life" by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina. It is the best available summary of vegan nutrition.

My personal take: veganism is easier to sustain when you don't make additional eliminations (oil, sugar, gluten [unless you are talking about an allergy or something like that]). I've been in the vegan community for nine years and I've noticed that people who make additional restrictions (going high raw/fully raw, limiting carbs, limiting protein, limiting fat, limiting gluten [without cause]) often tend to struggle with being vegan long-term -- your risk of deficiencies goes up, there are sometimes problems with energy or well-being, or you just get burnt out on the limited options available (banana smoothie for breakfast AGAIN?). These are the people who often turn up later claiming that "veganism didn't work for me."

Since weight loss works on a CICO level, you don't have to try any particular vegan plan in order to lose weight.