I have been a vegan for about 2 months now and let me just tell you- I love it. It seems as though my cooking world got way more interesting and I love being in the kitchen now! My favorite recipes are Tikki Marsala, vegan quesdillas, and a "chipotle" veggie bowl that I make at home.
I love this diet but I have gained about 6 pounds on it. I read to not eat salt (I use mrs. dash to begin with). I read to not use mock meats and tofu everyday (I use these once a week when I get a craving for chicken and I use gardein). I cut down on the amount of oil I use. I am already cautious about it as it because I follow weight watchers as well. I have been eating gluten free- brown rice, Israeli cous-cous, quinoa, and jasmine brown rice to help my belly go down. It seems to be growing outward by the day. I have been eating more raw- salads and carrots and hummus, etc too because it burns fat. I work out at least on hour a day in boxing and circuit training classes and I am very active on the weekends and take classes at my gym.
I don't want to give up vegan-ism because I love it- but it seems like I held a smaller weight when I was eating lean meats, fruit, veggies, and low carb. I am vegan because of moral and weight loss reasons and I don't want to give it up. Does anyone have tips to give me?
Although you are following WW, I think WW is possibly not best for vegans or someone who eats a lot of fruits. I'd suggest counting calories for a week or 2 as well to see how many calories you are eating.
I've gained weight pretty easily as a vegetarian... But not as a vegan... You said that you do WW and count points, but have you tried counting calories as well? Do you track your macros to see if there are some changes there? Those might be some things to look at... But as you well know, weight loss comes down to creating a sustainable calorie deficit... even if you are following a vegan diet...
This is probably just going to repeat what everyone else has said, but I went vegan in August while still on weight watchers and had problems with weight gain, too. Once I gave it up and moved to just counting calories everything started working out and the weight has been coming off again!
Lol I reached my highest weight as a vegan. I wasn't eating junk food either, multiple people told me I was the 'healthiest' looking vegan they ever saw. Eating healthy does not guarantee weight loss. I loved being a vegan (not possible anymore T_T). It totally makes you younger looking, its great for clearing up acne, and cutting meats and dairy makes you smell better. There are many many good reasons to stay vegan if you do it right.
That being said, how do you gain weight as a vegan? By overeating those totally healthy make your skin look awesome high density foods. Tortillas, hummus, couscous, brown rice, etc. all have ridiculously small serving sizes and high calories you really need to measure them out. I believe a serving of couscous is like half a cup, a cup of brown rice actually has more calories than white rice, and hummus is pretty close to peanut butter in calories if you make it right (and s***w the calories you definitely want to make hummus right). (T_T I miss all these foods so much). As good as they are 2 servings of any of these are already 400-500 calories.
Lots of awesome sauces are also going to cost you an arm and a leg in calories, especially if you buy them, and more especially if you buy them all natural.
So here are some tips:
Cut all the rich stuff (grains legumes) with low call veggies, they often go soo well together anyway. (Couscous especially, can you say tabbouleh?)
Watch out for condiments and sauces, just cause they're healthy doesn't mean they are low cal.
Do some strict portion measurements for the first week or two with any grains, legumes, sauces, nuts etc. You will probably find extralarge portion sizes that to be the main culprit.
Yes, you can gain weight by going vegan, I am up about 10 pounds from this time last year. I was already overweight when I went vegan last March (for purely ethical reasons), had heard all of the miracle weight loss vegan stories and honestly thought I'd be the same. Nope, not so much.
I also follow WW and think they key is really to focus on the *veg* part of vegan..WW has free veggies and fruit, yes, but I keep my fruit servings to 2 per day, and am going to avoid processed foods even if they are "healthy," whole wheat bread, etc for example.
I am not going back to eating meat so there has to be a solution.
I am a vegan/ vegetarian.. I only gain weight when I eat outside of the meal plan. Ex: hot wings, cheese cake, apple pie. Things like that. Make me gain 1-2 pounds. Other then that.. I have never gained weight eating vegan or vegetarian food. I agree you should count calories ; because eating too many calories if even vegan/ vegetarian food can make you gain.
I also calorie count my self. I am eating 1550 calories a day, so I can lose and not maintain my weight.
I am a vegan/ vegetarian.. I only gain weight when I eat outside of the meal plan. Ex: hot wings, cheese cake, apple pie. Things like that. Make me gain 1-2 pounds.
When you say, "hot wings" do you mean some type of meat substitute? Because chicken wings are neither vegetarian nor vegan. I do make some awesome cauliflower "wings" though, which are vegan and fulfill that craving for hot & spicy!
There are definitely vegan alternatives for all those things... Vegan "hot wings", "cheesecake", and and apple pie... I've had them all... Some better than others, so you can definitely still have all of those things with vegan alternatives... But I definitely see how those could lead to weight gain...
I went vegan at 19. I put on weight in my late twenties. I lost it again in my early 30s. I remained vegan throughout, and I didn't really change the sort of food I ate, either, just the quantity. Try measuring your food more carefully, and if need be cutting down on WW points (or switching to calorie counting), before you give up on veganism.
You're going vegan, gluten-free AND high-raw all at once? That sounds like an awful lot to cope with. I went gluten-free for a year, and even after years of being vegan, I found it tricky. Maybe just try one thing at a time, and concentrate on finding a diet that is satisfying for you but also causes weight loss?
Yes, you can gain weight by going vegan if you're a junk food vegan. I cut out animal products but went over to the vegan junk food side and was not healthy.
For a good vegan plan, check out Eat to Live by Dr. Furhman. Heavy on the produce.....
I was a ovo lacto vegetarian for four years back in my twenties I loved the idea, but I gained alot of weight because I substituted meat and fish for bread and pasta. For me that was a disaster. It kept me on a glucose roller coaster and I never felt full. You may not have the same experience.
Yes, you can gain weight by going vegan if you're a junk food vegan. I cut out animal products but went over to the vegan junk food side and was not healthy.
For a good vegan plan, check out Eat to Live by Dr. Furhman. Heavy on the produce.....
Actually, you can gain weight with any diet if you eat more calories than you burn. There are non-junk food things that are vegan but still high calorie like nuts. I don't eat baked items often, don't eat fried foods except extremely rarely, eat a lot of whole grains, legumes, veggies, fruit and some nuts and I gained weight. As a vegan, I still need to be diligent about my calories.
I've been vegan for over 2 months now, and I am losing weight steadily. I'll give you an outline of my daily food intake.
1/2 cup steel cut oats with 1 tbs of almond butter or a shotglass of nuts, and about 1/2 cup of almond or soy milk. Mid morning snack, fruit or veggies OR 8oz of homemade soy or coconut non dairy yogurt (my yogurt maker was a great purchase). Lunch is homemade soup with either a raw veggie salad or salad with a grain (quinoa for ex) mixed with veg's.
Afternoon snack is fruit or veg, and dinner is usually a pasta salad with some sort with vegs.
I add a protein like lentils or beans in with lunch and dinner. And I make sure to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
This diet combined with the gym 5 days a week is making me lose 2 pounds a week. I highly recommend it.
Anyone Gain weight as a vegan?
