How to lose weight on a vegan diet and still get adequate nutrion?

[Jenny]

Hi there!

The title pretty much spells it out.
I am a vegetarian transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. I have been on a 90% vegan diet for a while now. I want to lose 3 kg (about 6 lbs), but I find it very difficult to. According to CRON-O-Meter I can consume about 1500 calories a day in order to lose the weight I want to. Now I have two issues with this:

My first issue, is that I find it hard to get all of my macro and micro nutrients every day. Even if you get some exercise in, I can only eat around 1700/1800 calories. I find it hard to eat a lot of different types of food in a day to get the adequate amount of protein, B vitamins and some minerals such as calcium and iron.

My second issue, is that I am never really satisfied. As I am typing this right now, I've stuck to my diet plan all day. I am however nowhere near satisfied, and to be honest quite hungry. I like to get some exercise in as well to burn some calories, but I don't think it's too great to exercise while being hungry.

My question to you all is, if you have maybe experienced something similar and if you have any tips for me. I am curious to know! Thank you.

- Jenny

 

[Plant Muncher]

Jenny, Welcome! This is kind of a quiet forum. It may take a bit to get a conversation going.

I really can't relate because dieting is not the reason I became vegan. I have lost a lot of weight as a result of becoming vegan but it wasn't really my goal when I became vegan. I can say that I am never hungry. I don't count calories. I mainly think about portion size if anything.

I hope someone here has a similar experience as you described to share.

 

[Jenny]

Jenny, Welcome! This is kind of a quite forum. It may take a bit to get a conversation going.

I really can't relate because dieting is not the reason I became vegan. I have lost a lot of weight as a result of becoming vegan but it wasn't really my goal when I became vegan. I can say that I am never hungry. I don't count calories. I mainly think about portion size if anything.

I hope someone here has a similar experience as you described to share.

Thank you! For me losing weight wasn't the reason to become vegan either. Like you I used to not count calories. Which worked great for maintaining weight, but not for losing it. I hope to come across someone with a similar experience as well!

 

[Buff Veggie]

Hello, Jenny! You are correct, exercising while being hungry is not good for anything. I find that my motivation nosedives when I am hungry and don't have energy. This can be for a few reasons such as lack of protein, no diversity in your diet (too many veggies), or maybe you are doing the wrong thing at the gym/when you run. I wrote a blog article about How To Fix Common Vegan Fitness Mistakes I think you would get some value out of it!

I also have a Free Beginner's Guide To Plant-Based Fitness that might interest you!

 

[amberfunk]

Make sure you're not using a lot of oil. Eat more veggies and fruits to become full and add beans to your diet if you haven't already. Results are not immediate. I don't count calories and I've lost 30lbs in two months by being vegan.

 

[Jenny]

Hello, Jenny! You are correct, exercising while being hungry is not good for anything. I find that my motivation nosedives when I am hungry and don't have energy. This can be for a few reasons such as lack of protein, no diversity in your diet (too many veggies), or maybe you are doing the wrong thing at the gym/when you run. I wrote a blog article about How To Fix Common Vegan Fitness Mistakes I think you would get some value out of it!

I also have a Free Beginner's Guide To Plant-Based Fitness that might interest you!

Thank you! Very helpful.

 

[Jenny]

Make sure you're not using a lot of oil. Eat more veggies and fruits to become full and add beans to your diet if you haven't already. Results are not immediate. I don't count calories and I've lost 30lbs in two months by being vegan.

I found out about oil being very dense in calories recently! I've definitely been using too much.
Those are fantastic results btw.! I am not expecting much weight loss, I am already at a decent (and healthy) weight. Just want to lose a couple of pounds. But I guess those last pounds are always the hardest to lose

 

[Mark Mywordz]

Hi Jenny
The answer to your problem is quite simply to eat as much as you want but in the very short term to restrict what you eat quite severely. The detail is all here: http://www.thefitindian.com/the-fastest-indian-vegetarian-diet-to-lose-weight/
In the West we have focused too much on what food is good for us and we have overlooked the benefits of eating in a more strategic way. I am sure that some people will dismiss the Indian vegetarian GM diet as unhealthy, overlooking what most of us are doing wrong (me included). We are simply eating too much of the wrong things and too much of the right things. The IVGM diet is NOT a diet for the rest of your life. It should last simply 5 to 7 days and in that time you will lose on average a pound every day. I have done it 4 or 5 times and it works. Moreover it is actually not a vegetarian diet, it is VEGAN!
Will you regain the weight lost after a while? Maybe. The solution is simple. Go back on the diet for a few days. However I find it has changed my eating habits so that the interval between diets is getting longer and longer.
Is it healthy? Definitely not as a permanent way of life. But the reality is that your present vegan diet is not healthy as a permanent way of life, because you are overweight. The IVGM diet is also vegan and is also not sustainable as a long term diet. But it will address the problem you face now in a very effective way and will do you only good in the long term.
Go and buy a load of lovely fruit now!

 

[Jenny]

Hi Jenny
The answer to your problem is quite simply to eat as much as you want but in the very short term to restrict what you eat quite severely. The detail is all here: http://www.thefitindian.com/the-fastest-indian-vegetarian-diet-to-lose-weight/
In the West we have focused too much on what food is good for us and we have overlooked the benefits of eating in a more strategic way. I am sure that some people will dismiss the Indian vegetarian GM diet as unhealthy, overlooking what most of us are doing wrong (me included). We are simply eating too much of the wrong things and too much of the right things. The IVGM diet is NOT a diet for the rest of your life. It should last simply 5 to 7 days and in that time you will lose on average a pound every day. I have done it 4 or 5 times and it works. Moreover it is actually not a vegetarian diet, it is VEGAN!
Will you regain the weight lost after a while? Maybe. The solution is simple. Go back on the diet for a few days. However I find it has changed my eating habits so that the interval between diets is getting longer and longer.
Is it healthy? Definitely not as a permanent way of life. But the reality is that your present vegan diet is not healthy as a permanent way of life, because you are overweight. The IVGM diet is also vegan and is also not sustainable as a long term diet. But it will address the problem you face now in a very effective way and will do you only good in the long term.
Go and buy a load of lovely fruit now!

Thank you. I'll look into this. I would like to point out though that I am NOT overweight. Just want to lose a couple of kg's to get to my 'ideal' weight. So I don't if I'll get the same results with this diet as someone who's overweight..

 

[Mark Mywordz]

Thank you. I'll look into this. I would like to point out though that I am NOT overweight. Just want to lose a couple of kg's to get to my 'ideal' weight. So I don't if I'll get the same results with this diet as someone who's overweight..

Hi Jenny
A couple of kilos is a lot for someone to shed if they already have a healthy BMI. However I can assure you that my experience is that the IVGM diet works regardless of your weight. I have friends who have used it to good effect also. It's basically just a matter of eating just fruit and healthy vegetables for 5 to 7 days. To my surprise I found that when I could eat only fruit for a day, I actually ate less (in terms of calories and carbs) without trying. The diet trains you to eat only when you really need the food.