Vegan diet but not achieving weight loss?

nemercer2014
nemercer2014 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone I wanted to throw this out there. I've been vegan for a few months now for health reasons and am confused at why my weight has actually increased. I aim for 60% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein on a 1600 calorie / day diet, 35 grams fiber and eliminated most oils from my diet. I love to cook, so most of my carb calories come from vegetables, I do drink / eat a significant amount of soy products as well. I noticed however that my sugar intake is quite high and possibly that is attributing to it ? Sugar from dried fruit and raw fruit mainly.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can modify? The only thing I can't cut out is caffeine or I might die.

Replies

  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
    Unless you're a vegan for ethical reasons, I suggest you start eating meat/animal products.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Do you weigh everything you eat with scales?
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited August 2016
    Well, first of all vegan doesn't mean weight loss.

    i need to know:
    1. height
    2. current weight
    3. weight goal
    4. activity level (non exercise)
    5. activity level (exercise per week)
    6. how you're tracking (weighing, measuring, using guestimations)

  • nemercer2014
    nemercer2014 Posts: 3 Member
    So to clarify I didn't become vegan to lose weight, but was more of an added benefit that I read largely comes with being vegan.

    Anyways,

    1) 5'10"
    2) 180 wanting to lose about 20 lbs
    3) I have an office job so I'm sedentary but I workout mainly cardio 4 times a week (vigorous exercise)
    4) I'm tracking weight via scale not measuring
    5) I don't weigh my food normally but do log everything into this app to determine caloric intake and such

    Thank you for the feedback
  • nemercer2014
    nemercer2014 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you, I'm going to weigh food (I already have a scale ) and see what impact that has. Appreciate the suggestion !
  • chelsea7162
    chelsea7162 Posts: 97 Member
    Try lowering your calories to 1400 and sticking to it. This way if you aren't fully accurately logging you'll probably be around what you want your calories to be at.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited August 2016
    Okay, so here's the deal.

    On the days you aren't working out your maintenance is closer to 1980-2010 calories. On the days you're working out you can add a few hundred onto that.

    If you think you're eating 1,600 (which is a small 1/2 pound a week loss) you are likely eating over this and undoing your deficit.

    If you've lost nothing, i'd say that you are probably eating around that maintenance number. This is especially the case if you haven't been weighing your food. It's super duper easy to over eat a few hundred calories when you aren't weighing.


    I mean, if you chose a banana from the database for example.... i've had bananas as small as 80 cals and as big as 150. I've had apples as much as 130 vs. the MFP entry saying 80. You get the point, very small changes equal BIG discrepancies.

    The caffiene, sugar, etc. are irrelevant. It all comes down to calories.

    edit: I also agree i'd drop down to 1,400 just to account for that.
  • littlechiaseed
    littlechiaseed Posts: 489 Member
    You're probably still eating too much or not logging your food properly. A vegan diet won't make you lose weight in itself. You still have to watch calories. And be sure to have a varied, balanced diet whatever your food preference is.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    nemercer2014 wrote: »
    Thank you, I'm going to weigh food (I already have a scale ) and see what impact that has. Appreciate the suggestion !

    ^ That's where I'd start ^

    If you don't see results within about 1 week of doing this I would make a reduction to your calorie intake by about another 10-20%.
  • jessica_sodenkamp
    jessica_sodenkamp Posts: 34 Member
    I've been eating high carb/low-fat vegan for the past two years. Within four months of starting, I had lost almost 30 pounds (which was all I wanted to lose). I've maintained the weight loss. It's key to eat wholesome foods still--just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy. Whole, ripe, fresh, fruits & veggies; grains, legumes. Very little processed foods, restaurant foods, and nuts/seeds/oils. My macros are 80/10/10, and with me and most people I know who have eaten this way, if you follow those proportions and eat wholesome foods, you don't have to put a cap on calories. I experienced my weight loss when I was eating between 2500-3000 calories (without regular exercise). So if we could lost weight eating THAT much, imagine if you applied the ratios to a smaller caloric intake :)
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    jessica_sodenkamp wrote: »
    I've been eating high carb/low-fat vegan for the past two years. Within four months of starting, I had lost almost 30 pounds (which was all I wanted to lose). I've maintained the weight loss. It's key to eat wholesome foods still--just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy. Whole, ripe, fresh, fruits & veggies; grains, legumes. Very little processed foods, restaurant foods, and nuts/seeds/oils. My macros are 80/10/10, and with me and most people I know who have eaten this way, if you follow those proportions and eat wholesome foods, you don't have to put a cap on calories. I experienced my weight loss when I was eating between 2500-3000 calories (without regular exercise). So if we could lost weight eating THAT much, imagine if you applied the ratios to a smaller caloric intake :)

    You must do some massive exercise :D

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