Any vegans trying to lose weight?

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milktop
milktop Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I turned vegetarian 8 months ago and then turned vegan 4 months ago. At the time, I decided I needed to not worry about my weight, but just focus on making the transition healthily and smoothly without having something else to worry about. I basically ate whatever I wanted (except animal products, obvs), whenever I was hungry. My weight has remained exactly the same, which in some ways is a real treat, I've never felt so much freedom to eat whatever I wanted (houmous, pasta & crisps featured heavily) and not see my weight sky rocket! However, now I feel more settled into my new diet, I feel like now is the time to restart trying to lose weight.

Are there any vegans out there who are also trying to lose? I have about 25lbs to lose and want to do it gradually and healthily - I could really do with the moral support. I have a real weakness for carbs, crisps and wine and need to be reminded why they should not always be invited to the party ;-)

Replies

  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I would recommend eating lots of protein; nuts, beans and tofu. The protein will keep you fuller for longer compared to carbs.
    And just watch your portions.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I am done losing weight now, but I lost about 40 pounds last year. Gained the weight as a vegan, lost it as a vegan.

    I still ate carbohydrates, fried foods, and wine -- I just logged them to make sure I stayed within my calorie goal.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    Me, me, me! There's nothing wrong with carbs, by the way.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Eat some meat, as we were all designed to do! You'll be much healthier, and have less room for those nasty carbs! ;)
  • MattHarwoodUK
    MattHarwoodUK Posts: 7 Member
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    Another one here! I lost around 1.5 stone since becoming vegan, but as it was an ethical decision, I wasn't focusing on health. Now, I'm fanatical about fresh fruit and veg!

    Dive in to nutritionfacts.org and stack your plates high with as much veg as you can :)
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Hi! On my week 2 of veganism. I've lost 2.6 so far but I did it for health reasons. I am actively attempting carb cycling as avegan.
  • milktop
    milktop Posts: 4 Member
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    Oh I'm excited to see there are others out there! I think portions are an issue for me. And also planning ahead for lunches at work. There's very little around me in terms of variety, so if I don't prepare then I usually end up just eating a ton of bread and houmous.

    I went vegan for ethical reasons but hoped the health benefits would be a handy side effect. I definitely feel better but sadly will have to put in some effort to lose the weight, it seems.

    I need to be more consistent with logging on here...it helps me keep track.

    What are other people's goals? I'm going to weigh in on Monday mornings and aim for 1lb per week. Whenever I've tried more than that, I just end up miserable.
  • Querian
    Querian Posts: 419 Member
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    I have been vegetarian for a while now but this year decided to give up all animal products for health reasons to see if things changed for me. I'd like to lose about 45 pounds from my current weight. I weigh daily but my official weigh in is once a month on the 1st of each month. Whole food plant based no added oil approach with an open diary! So far I'm incredibly happy with this new approach, no complaints! I lost 5.1 pounds in January and I expect similar results this month, although my settings are for a half pound loss a week and is be happy with that result, too.
  • milktop
    milktop Posts: 4 Member
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    Well done on that loss! I would be delighted with that
  • BunnyBomb
    BunnyBomb Posts: 143 Member
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    I gave up meat, dairy and eggs for medical reasons in June 2014. At first I didn't gain weight, I lost, but as things stabilised and when I got lazy with exercise last year, I gained weight.

    I'm not strictly Vegan though as my Rheumatologist has advocated the Mediterranean diet for my arthritis, and darned if he wasn't right, so that means my diet includes some seafood. That said, I only buy those from renewable sources - thank god I live in Scotland, the salmon farms are only up the road!

    I also stay away from heavily processed food as far as possible, cook things from scratch and eat a lot of home grown vege from the garden. Though I wouldn't call myself vegan I'd say I've learned a lot about vegan food, by necessity.

    So far I've lost 15.4lbs in 40 days of MFP, so I'm half way to my goal. It's definitely possible to lose as a Vegan.

    The hard bit is managing the all-important protein, or so I've found. I don't eat fish everyday, so there are pure vegan days where I'm drastically under my protein goal. You can't eat beans for breakfast lunch and dinner lol! Well you can but...boo to that. I also don't care for tofu. To work around it I just plan for those days and allow enough spare calories to top up with a Vegan safe protein powder shake as a snack.

    Best of luck!

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