[VioletDolphin83]

I've been gradually going vegan for about 3 months now. It has caused me to lose about 1lb per week. During this time I haven't done anything else to lose weight. I'm guessing it's because I'm eating healthier. Is it normal to lose weight when going vegan? And if so, how much do people usually lose?

[nelie]

Whenever you cut things out of your diet that are calorie heavy, you should expect to lose weight. Cheese is a big one but I personally gave that up prior to being vegan. I don't lose weight as a vegan and I struggle with my weight just as much.

[BeachBreeze2010]

Yes, what nelie said - it's still about calories in/calories out. However a natural food/vegan lifestyle makes it a lot easier to eat fewer calories because it's less calorie dense - or can be. Stay away from the processed foods. Just because they are vegan doesn't mean they are healthy. And track your calories. But, yeah, I think eating unprocessed (clean) and without meat/dairy improves my health, makes me feel amazing and is a lot easier to stick to a lower calorie diet.

I eat the way I do for nutritional health. I calorie count to lose weight.

[Ahri]

I did lose a bit of weight when I went from vegetarian to vegan! Just make sure to eat lots of produce and protein and have the vegan "junk" food in moderation (such as the fake cheeses)

[merilung]

Like other ladies have said, it's calories in/calories out! I put on about 50 pounds rapidly when I went vegan, and I was obese to begin with, but this certainly isn't the case for everyone! I'd just be aware that you still may need to track calories at some point.

[thinkfit]

I highly suggest you check out the blog funeralformyfat! She lost 118lbs from becoming a vegan and working her butt off, and is currently recovering from skin removal surgery. She looks amazing which is inspiring, but more importantly, she has a ton of tips and resources for people looking to lose weight on a vegan diet.

[gittel]

I'm also aiming for a mostly vegan diet. (For now, I still eat eggs. Fish--herring, lox, tuna and sardines.)

However, the other day, I made my first ever batch of Scrambled Curried Tofu and Greens and enjoyed it with a Morningstar breakfast "sausage" and a low calorie/low carb Oat Bran and Flax Pita.

I've eliminated most breads...butter...cheddar cheese--big triggers for me. I made my first attempt at a vegan "cheese" sauce yesterday based on a recipe using nutritional yeast and other (some improvised) ingredients I found in Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (great resource BTW). I drizzled it on a pasta dish comprised of sauteed leeks, baby portobello mushrooms and peas. Delicious! (I've got lots of left over "cheese" sauce in the fridge.)

I have to say I am not saving any money at the grocery store by forgoing meat, processed foods and the like. I'm sure I spend more than average buying fresh vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and fruit week in-week out. I'm counting calories now and keeping a food dairy, too, because at first even though I had eliminated some foods I was putting weight on instead of taking it off!

[VioletDolphin83]

I guess I was losing weight because I was cutting out fast food so much when vegan. And the chocolate comes in much smaller portions so binging in general is a lot harder. I don't think I was eating enough protein and it was making me tired so I decided to go off the vegan diet until I can figure out how to get more protein in my diet. At the moment I eat meat about once a week and am closer to being ovo-lacto. I would love to go back to being vegan again one day, it would really help the weightloss.