Please tell me of your experiences with weight loss or gain when going vegan.
Thanks!

Initially when I went vegan, I lost 20 lbs. I had already lost 140 lbs at that point so losing another 20 was a big deal. Unfortunately, I gained those 20 lbs back and have been maintaining at a 0-10 lb loss after going vegan (if that makes sense). There are a lot of things that are high calorie and vegan and you still need to learn portion control and I personally have issues with food.

Also, during my 140 lb weight loss, I rarely ate a lot of the high calorie non-vegan foods. I rarely ate cheese which was a big food item for me prior to losing weight. I also didn't eat things like sour cream, butter or cream cheese. I also had stopped eating high fat meats. I was also already following a high veggie, whole foods diet at the time. So the biggest change was probably getting rid of meat since I didn't eat a lot of dairy and didn't eat many eggs.

After going vegan, a lot of my trouble foods were still around including bread, dried fruits and nuts.

LOSS. Comparatively for me, a big one. Began the Vegan thing in October and have lost 17 lbs since then, which for my remaining weight loss was a huge difference.
One thing to note: in addition to cutting out all animal products I also cut out white flour and sugar. The grains I eat are oats, quinoa and polenta.
Sugar is fruit and occasionally honey in my tea. Also cut out caffeine.

I feel amazing-- I'd go for it! Let me know if you have any more questions.

A loss.

But keep in mind it isn't so much vegan or not as it is healthy and lower calories than before or not.

Coke, fries, and twinkies can be vegan. I wouldn't have lost that way.

A.

i am losing. i went vegan first for weight loss, and second because i was so sad about factory farming. i wanted my voice and my dollar to reflect my beliefs.

However, i feel like any other dieter-i have to watch my water, i have to limit processed foods, i have to shoot for zero white carbs and limited whole grains and i have to stick to mostly "whole" foods, and i have to exercise. If i don't, i will not lose weight, i will maintain or gain a few here and there.

So i do lose-but it still requires plenty of effort!

-fm

My experience:

So, when you are vegan, everything you eat literally 'runs through you' - I mean, my bowel movements are frequent and regular (in a good way). For me, the whole "high protein" that is often advocated at 3FC to avoid hunger is hard - I mean we have not rotting meat carcass in our colon, slowing down the digestion process! So, because of my more frequent hunger, I find calorie counting a must!

Then, another problem: whenever you first become vegan, exploring new recipes is extremely exciting! So, cooking more leads to eating more! Another reason to use calorie counting.

I never lost any magical 'vegan' pounds, unfortunately - but maybe I was having too much fun cooking?

But, I can say, I LOVE and appreciate absolutely everything I eat. I'm having a love affair with veggies, fruits, and grains. Also, because of my higher carb count, I find that my jogging is more enjoying and easier than when I was eating the chicken breasts. My skin is also free of acne.

Thanks for all the replies and info, everyone. I know I will have to count cals as a veg*n, but I hope to feel fuller on less calories, get more fiber and vitamins and eat more whole foods. I also hope not eating dairy will clear up my allergies.

I was allergic to cats for the last 5 years, went vegan a few months ago and by the second week I was sleeping with my boyfriends cat! It was such a dramatic and quick change for me, even if I did gain weight (about 5 pounds, vegan cookies are delicious too!) it was worth it. Go for it!!!

Wow! That was fast results. I have been working eating vegan today. I have suceeded with eating vegetarian. I think it will be a little bit of a process to figure what I can and cannot eat. Like for lunch I bought an Amy's frozen Mac n Soy Cheez...well turns out it contained milk derivatives. Why have milk product in a soy cheese dish?

Many soy cheeses contain Casein. It is because they are for the lactose intolerant people. Amy's does have a vegan Mac n Cheese, it is their gluten free one. Also, on the back of every Amy's product, it will say vegan before the list of ingredients if it is vegan. On the front, it will also generally say Non-Dairy. Their website also lists their various products and tells you which ones are vegan.

That sounds like an excellent start though

This has been my problem. When I was at college I was on a mealplan and was able to easily eat a large variety of vegetables, brown rice and beans every day. It filled me. Now that I'm at home and finding it harder to cook for myself and get all those in, especially the protein, and I never feel full anymore. It's making me overeat somewhat too. I need to make myself start cooking more brown rice and beans! And I'm just having too much fun cooking!

I decided to go vegan and it is definitely helping me to lose weight. I too am cutting out a lot of the processed stuff and eating more whole foods. That is a big helper in the weight loss department. Now if I could just get over my carb and sugar addictions I'd be all set!

This is the way it works. This is where I want to be. I struggle because I'm the 'cook' in the house and although my daughter eats what I put in front of her for the most part my brother has his own ideas on what he wants. Of course he is a grown man and can either deal with what I make or make his own. HOWEVER he has taken us in with kindness and I do all I can to keep him happy. Thought getting full time regular work would be more pleasing for him and myself its in progress.

Anyway I did 2 weeks where I was 80% or greater RAW and nearly vegan and felt great and lost quite a bit. Of course it came back when I started eating the old way. I'm working to make our meals all whole from scratch with fresh when possible frozen when need something quicker(no chopping peeling etc.) and its helped with the way I feel some but I know fresh raw fruits and veggies make me feel so great.

I had a brief fling with veganism a long long time ago. I have been a "regular" lacto ovo vegetarian for years and years, but veganism didn't work well for me - back then at least.
I think I'm a bit sensitive to insulin, and I was eating way too many carbs and easy quick foods and was constantly hungry, nibbling and thinking about food. I missed my plain yoghurt and my cheese so much.
I definitely did not lose any weight, but that's probably mostly due to the vast quantities of food I was eating. With calorie counting I'm sure it would be a different matter alltogether.