Will I Lose Weight When I Go Vegan?

by Pia

Question: Do vegans get skinny from not eating meat and dairy products?

Answer:
Many people do lose weight when they become vegan, but it will depend entirely on the person. If you are adopting a healthy, well-balanced vegan diet that is based around whole fresh vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans, and nuts, and you are minimizing processed foods, white flours, and white sugars, and you have weight to lose, your body will likely lose weight.

I do not really recommend that people come to the vegan world simply to lose weight. In general, I'm not a huge proponent of "diets," and I prefer a lifestyle change. If you force yourself to restrict certain foods, your brain will inevitably work in the opposite direction and will start to create cravings for certain foods. It's far better to allow yourself the foods you want to eat in small quantities.

However, if you are looking for a lifestyle change, I can't recommend anything more than the vegan diet. People have amazing stories about their weight loss journeys and how they started by simply eliminating things like sodas, and continued cutting out meats and dairy products. Often after they start to feel better and lose weight, they learn more about the factory farming industry and realize that there's more to veganism than their own body, and that the connection to the world is a huge benefit. This oftens keeps them vegan long after they've lost the weight they originally carried.

I find that on a great diet like this, your body will return to its best possible weight. In some cases, that might even mean you will gain a few pounds.

You can read more about vegan weight loss here and about how to turn it a diet here. You can also learn from other readers about their weight loss battles here.

Hope that helps!

src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">