Wondering how to lose weight with a healthy vegan diet? Read on to find out!
Nowadays, more and more people are choosing veganism or a vegan diet as a show of solidarity against animal cruelty and exploitation. A vegan diet is one in which you actively avoid all sorts of foods that come from animals, such as eggs, meat, and dairy. In recent years, many individuals have also started following a vegan diet in hopes of achieving their weight loss targets.
But does a vegan diet even work in terms of helping you lose weight, and how can you maintain a vegan diet for a prolonged time without facing any deficiencies? The trick lies in being mindful about the sort of food you are incorporating into your meals and researching the possible deficiencies that you might face if you choose to go vegan.
Let’s learn everything you need to know about losing weight by going vegan!
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Is It Possible to Lose Weight with a Vegan Diet?
First things first, is it even possible to lose weight with a vegan diet? According to recent studies, going vegan might help you lose substantial weight. But how does skipping meat, eggs, fish, and dairy products help you shed some extra pounds?
Well, more research needs to be done on vegan diets and their impact on our bodies, but it is widely believed that going vegan allows you to reduce the number of high-calorie foods that you consume. When you are following a healthy vegan diet, you replace those foods with high-fiber, low-calorie alternatives that keep you feeling full longer.
But is this approach of cutting so many food choices out of your diet even healthy? Let’s explore!
Is a Vegan Diet Healthy?
Going vegan entails cutting some major food groups, such as meat and dairy, from your diet. This might seem like quite an unhealthy approach, and if you’re not careful about your nutritional intake, it can lead to some deficiencies in your body.
For instance, a major concern about going vegan is that it prevents you from getting the required levels of essential nutrients, such as vitamin B12. Since this vitamin is found naturally in animal products only, you will not be able to get any B12 while on a vegan diet. Becoming deficient in vitamin B12 can lead to anemia. However, an easy solution to ensure that you don’t face any deficiencies is to supplement your diet with vitamins and vitamin-fortified vegan foods.
Another significant point of concern that many people face after following a vegan diet is weight gain. It happens when you become a victim of yo-yo dieting, i.e., when you go through alternating cycles of losing some weight and then regaining it all or even more weight. It happens when you have trouble sticking to vegan-only foods. Yo-yo dieting can result in some serious health consequences, such as high blood pressure, heart diseases, diabetes, fatty liver, and more.
With that said, if you are committed to veganism and are careful about your nutrient intake, you can adopt a healthy vegan diet and lose weight. The key is to focus on nutrient-dense food instead of consuming empty calories. For vegans, such food choices will include whole grains, fresh fruits, veggies, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds. If you want your diet to be successful, you need to avoid vegan processed foods that contain unhealthy added ingredients, such as sugars, fats, sodium, starches, and food additives.
Now, let’s explore how you can lose weight with a healthy vegan diet!
Tips to Lose Weight with a Healthy Vegan Diet
According to research, a woman needs to consume 2000 calories every day to maintain her weight. If you want to lose weight, you need to limit your calorie intake to 1500 calories every day. It will help you lose one pound per week.
However, a calorie gained from eating junk food is certainly not the same as a whole-food calorie in terms of health and nutrition. Even if you stay below your calorie limit to lose weight, filling up on unhealthy junk food or processed foods with harmful additives will not be beneficial for you in the long run.
Additionally, there are many other factors that impact weight loss, including height, age, current weight, physical activity level, diet, metabolic health, and any medical issues that you might have. Even though you can’t control or manage all of these factors, you can surely control your diet and exercise.
Regardless of the type of vegan diet you end up choosing, here are some tips for healthy eating to lose weight:
Eat Lots of Protein
If you are going to follow a healthy vegan diet, you must consume about 0.41 grams of protein per pound of your body weight every day. This means that a 150-pound woman should have roughly 61 grams of protein every day. Since there are about four calories per gram of protein, the woman in this example will need about 244 calories from protein every day.
Protein will not only keep you healthy, but it will also keep you feeling fuller, which will help you fight unhealthy cravings. Some exceptional sources of protein in a vegan diet include tempeh, soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, tofu, almonds, peas, peanut butter, soy milk, cashew, almond butter, spinach, and broccoli. You can easily incorporate these foods into your everyday diet.
Control Your Portion Size
Portion size matters a lot in all diets. After all, at the end of the day, you don’t want to end up eating too many calories, albeit how healthy they are. It will foil your purpose of dieting. So, even if you snack on high-quality, nutrient-dense food, extra portions will add up and thwart your weight loss effort. A neat way to prevent that from happening is to keep an eye on how many calories you are consuming at every meal to keep yourself from going over your target calorie intake.
Be Vary of “Healthy” Drinks
Before you gulp down that store-bought vegan smoothie, take a look at how many calories it contains. Most people know that you need to steer clear of sodas as they contain a high amount of calories and way too much sugar. However, even drinks advertised as healthy can pack quite a calorie punch. For instance, 20 ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice contains about 279 calories! It’s better if you satisfy your sweet cravings by munching on the fruit itself, which does not contain as many calories.
It’s important to read labels carefully as well because many times, these drinks contain unhealthy ingredients that will act as obstacles on your weight loss journey. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s best to stay away from these types of drinks and stick to plain, old water. Not only is it hydrating, but it contains zero calories! If you don’t like drinking plain water, you can spruce it up by squeezing some lemon or lime into it.
Don’t Binge Eat Vegan Desserts
If you want to lose weight by following a healthy vegan diet, don’t eat too many vegan desserts as they also contain quite a handful of calories and not as much nutritional value as veggies and fruits. After all, just because a cookie has vegan on the label, it does not mean that it is healthy or that it doesn’t contain the same amount of sugar and oil as any other cookie.
In fact, if you want healthy vegan dessert options that are low in calories and don’t have any added sugars or fats, you should stick to eating fresh fruits. Otherwise, if you are craving a decadent dessert, it’s best to eat a small portion and save the rest for some other time.
Time Your Meals
If you happen to be one of those people who tend to graze throughout the day, you need to stop doing that. Timing your meals is key to promoting healthy eating habits and boosting your metabolism. As a rule of thumb, try to eat your meals at the same time every day to ensure that your stomach and mind follow a predictable pattern.
Moreover, if you have worked out, try to eat within 45 minutes of an extensive workout. It will help provide your muscles with the nutrients they need to repair themselves. Try to enjoy a heartier breakfast in comparison to your lunch and dinner. Lastly, make sure that you eat dinner early so that you don’t eat anything within two hours of your bedtime.
Pile Half of Your Plate with Nonstarchy Veggies
Vegetables provide you with the nutritional value that you need when going vegan. Plus, they are the least calorie-dense food group as they are full of water and fiber. Veggies average only 100 calories per pound and fill you up without making you gain weight.
Vegetables such as cabbage, kale, lettuce, and spinach are especially beneficial. They contain a compound known as thylakoid, which can help you fight unhealthy cravings and make you feel full. Meanwhile, nonstarchy veggies, such as zucchini and Brussels sprouts, have very few calories, which is why it’s ideal for a vegan to comprise 50% of their meals with nonstarchy vegetables.
Pile the Other Half with Whole Foods
To make sure that your vegan diet is as healthy as possible, avoid loading up on simple carbs, such as white bread. Instead, consciously try to incorporate whole grains, such as wild rice, quinoa, and oats, into your diet. You can also load up the other half of your plate with plant-based proteins, such as beans, legumes, lentils, and chickpeas.
Cut Back on Oil
If you want your healthy vegan diet to work wonders, try to cut back on oil as much as possible. One cup of oil contains almost 2,000 calories, which is far more than the number of calories you need to ensure weight loss. Another major negative about using oil is that it doesn’t contain any fiber. Hence, it doesn’t contribute to satiety.
It’s why you must try to incorporate recipes that use minimal to no oil in your diet. For instance, if you want to use salad dressing, then opt for ones that are prepared without using any oil. Learn to sauté veggies with vegetable broth instead of oil. Bake your meals instead of cooking them on the stovetop with lots of oil.
Avoid Processed Vegan Foods
If your plan is to lose weight, then you must actively try to avoid anything processed, even if the label says that they are vegan. If you can’t let go of processed food, then at least try to read the label carefully so that you don’t get duped into consuming food that will ultimately harm your weight loss goals.
As a rule of thumb, the more ingredients you don’t recognize, the worse the food is going to be for your health. It’s best to stick to companies that you have researched and can trust implicitly to produce high-quality, low-calorie vegan food.
Eat Lots of Fiber-Rich Foods
One of the healthiest ways to lose weight is to adopt a low-calorie diet that is high in fiber. The best way to do that is by eating whole foods, such as whole grains and legumes. Oatmeal with fruits and whole pasta with roasted veggies are excellent examples of healthy, fibrous, nutrient-dense meals. It also opens up a world of possible food combinations that you can’t try so that you don’t get bored of eating the same food day in and day out.
Exercise Regularly
Lastly, make sure to incorporate exercise into your routine. Regular exercise combined with healthy, nutritious, low-calorie food will ensure that you lose as much weight as you want. Opt for workouts and physical activities that you enjoy performing so that it is easier for you to stick to a routine.
Ideally, come up with a workout routine r set of activities that cover endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. However, don’t hesitate to start small to build your endurance. If you have limited time, find creative ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. For instance, choose to walk up the stairs instead of opting for the elevator. Walk or ride a bike to your workplace if possible.
The Bottom Line
To sum it up, a healthy vegan diet can certainly help you lose weight. The key lies in being smart about the type of foods you are consuming. Opt for lots of nutritious whole foods that are rich in fiber and low in calories. Eat fresh veggies and fruits and combined them with whole foods such as rice, quinoa, and oats.
Don’t forget to supplement your diet with the necessary vitamins, such as vitamin B12, so that you don’t have to deal with any deficiencies due to your diet. Avoid loading up on processed foods or refined carbs and drinking store-bought healthy drinks. They will only lead to weight gain. Instead, develop healthy eating habits and drink water to satiate your thirst.
Lastly, you will benefit from turning to a reliable and expert nutritionist and health care advisor to ensure that your diet will contribute to your wellness instead of becoming detrimental to your health. Also, don’t forget to incorporate exercise into your everyday routine to reach your weight loss goals quickly!
