Vegan diete

uzma61
uzma61 Posts: 5 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I was on low carb diet but got bored after one year and started cheating and in result gained 12 lb. Now switch to vegan and hope for the best.

Replies

  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
    If you vegan just to lose weight you're gonna have a bad time...
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    edited August 2015
    Why not just try calorie tracking? :|
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Why? A lot of the vegans I know are over weight. I'm a vegetarian (for 18 years) and I'm over weight. I'm just curious... Are you doing it for the animals, or to lose weight? I mean, honestly, if you're doing it as a diet, I'm not sure that you will get the correct nutrients and what-not. A lot of us can be very deficient...
  • Brin1956
    Brin1956 Posts: 168 Member
    Going Vegan is a big move and if you were bored with low carbs not going to work. Maybe a paleo diet would be better added to THM. There are lots of recipes online that would keep you going for both diets. I did a search for recipes on Pinterest.com and came up with lots. Find something that works for your lifestyle or it will never work. I find just calorie counting works. I just bought a spiralizator to make zucchini noodles etc.. I know I have to reduce my carbs but I need to find replacements for them.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    Why not just eat whatever you like at a calorie deficit?
    It works!
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    uzma61 wrote: »
    I was on low carb diet but got bored after one year and started cheating and in result gained 12 lb. Now switch to vegan and hope for the best.

    If you got bored with low carb and started cheating.... what makes you think you won't get bored with vegan, which is much more restrictive? You'd be much happier just weighing your food, and having smaller portions of all of the foods you like. Keep an accurate log of all your calories, and stick to a calorie deficit, and you will lose weight. If you're doing it while eating foods you enjoy, and not restricting yourself, there won't be any reason to cheat, or overeat.
    please read the first post in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
  • redd_87
    redd_87 Posts: 53 Member
    Ethical vegan here. If I wasn't in this for the ethical reasons, I think it would be difficult to maintain. Just my two cents, but I feel that you'll become just as bored (if not more so) with veganism as you did low carb.
  • tigershima
    tigershima Posts: 1 Member
    I'm vegan for health reasons first and then ethical reasons later. I am not overweight yet but I could be since I can still eat sugars and plant based fats and lots of nuts. Being vegan to lose weight might only help if you are severely overweight since animal fats tend to be harder to get out of the body but you can still end up overweight. That said I'm happy being vegan, it's a lifestyle not a diet :smiley:
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    tigershima wrote: »
    I'm vegan for health reasons first and then ethical reasons later. I am not overweight yet but I could be since I can still eat sugars and plant based fats and lots of nuts. Being vegan to lose weight might only help if you are severely overweight since animal fats tend to be harder to get out of the body but you can still end up overweight. That said I'm happy being vegan, it's a lifestyle not a diet :smiley:

    No. Just, no. Being vegan to lose weight will only help if you eat vegan in a calorie deficit.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I did lose a lot of weight quickly when I was practically vegan in Costa Rica, but that was because I had unlimited access to amazing fruits and vegetables and no access to high-calorie accidentally-vegan junk food like Oreos and Ruffles potato chips.

    Top 20 Accidentally Vegan Foods
  • GreenTeaPotato
    GreenTeaPotato Posts: 40 Member
    edited August 2015
    Wow. Lots of discouragement here.

    I've been vegan three years and do not find it "restrictive." It has opened my mind to a variety of foods I overlooked in the past. I've found it to be a healthier, cheaper way to live. And the ethical part is what keeps me committed to it.

    To be vegan for weight loss, concentrate on WHOLE FOODS, not processed junk like "vegan cheese," highly-processed soy "meat", Earth Balance "butter", etc. These things can be good for the transition when you're craving something meaty/cheesey. But to be healthy, you'll need to get used to enjoying whole grains like brown or wild rice, quinoa, barley, bulgur, millet and couscouse (there are too many to list), but don't be afraid of white rice or white pasta either. There's so much you can do with grains: casseroles, salads, cereals. Eat vegetables with your grains (spinach, beans/legumes, potatoes, corn, broccoli, beets, etc. there are soooo many). Eat some fruit every day and a little bit of nuts.

    Yes, a vegan can be unhealthy if they're eating junk food. Just like most people on the Standard American Diet eat too much processed, oily, sugary packaged food, very little vegetables and fruit, almost no whole grains, and too much meat/eggs/dairy (even USDA guidelines tell you to limit these), and wind up deficient in important nutrients (especially fiber), overweight, and prone to suffer from diseases of excess like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    If your sole concern is losing weight, just create a calorie deficit and you will lose. There is absolutely no need to cut out any type of food in order to lose weight.
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