In this post, I am going to cover my top tips (and tips per experts) on how to lose weight on a whole foods plant-based vegan diet. Plus, I am going to share my experience on how I easily lost the 25lbs of Covid weight without going hungry.
I’m the type of girl that thrives on eating big voluminous meals. When I realized that I put on an extra 25lbs in 2020, I knew that I need to go on a diet but I hated the idea of eating tiny portions.
Whether you are a cereal dieter or just wanting to drop a few lbs, I am going to cover my top tips for losing weight without going hungry as a vegan.
This post goes over 7 things to avoid weight gain on a vegan diet
- Cut out all oil
Now, I’m not trying to scare you but this is my number one tip when it comes to weight loss. In the calorie world, oil is the most calorically dense food on the planet. Per pound, oil is about 4000 calories. 4000 CALORIES!! If you look at veggies, for example, they are only 200 calories per pound. I remember I would give a hefty pour of the oil into my pan for nearly every meal. That was easily adding about 200 calories per meal without it really making that much of a difference in taste. Admittedly, it took me about a week to get used to cooking without oil but once I got used to it, I’ll never go back. To quote Dr. John McDougal “the fat you eat is the fat you wear” and I couldn’t agree more. Once I ditched the oil, the weight started coming off easily.
2. Over Consuming Nuts
This is a huge one for me. Going back to the oil, “the fat you eat is the fat you wear”. I would eat nuts, specifically nut butter, by the spoonful. There was a point where my husband and I would go through a jar of peanut butter in a week. Just the two of us. While nuts are healthy and have great nutrients in them, they are extremely calorically dense. Peanut butter might be my favorite food but if I wanted to lose the weight, it had to go. Now, I eat nuts very sparingly, never as a snack and more as a garnish. To get my peanut butter fix, I use powdered peanut butter which has 90% less fat than normal peanut butter. Not exactly the same but it gets the job done. Highly recommend trying PB Fit.
3. Processed foods
Another game-changer for me was cutting out the process junk foods. In the world we live in today, there is more variety of junk foods, especially vegan junk foods, than ever before. Just because something is labeled “plant-based”, “low sugar”, “fat-free”, ect does not constitute it as healthy. I was so blinded by the marketing of some of these products that I would eat them in excess and wonder why I was gaining weight. Any type of processed food is made to taste good! They want you to enjoy their product so you buy it again and again. I’m not saying you can never have these fun foods ever again, but in terms of weight loss, it will be a lot easier to cut them out for the time being and focus on whole foods.
4. Liquid calories
I’m not just talking about soda or juices while avoiding those as well. But I’m talking about those aesthetically pleasing smoothies. Instead of chewing the fruit in a smoothie one by one, you are guzzling them back at lightning speed. You can jam-pack a lot of calories in a glass without even realizing it.
5. Undereating
It sounds silly but it’s TRUE! I used to be the girl that would only pack a salad for lunch (pre-covid) and end up buying some pre-packed junk food an hour later. I think salads are great for weight loss when they are paired with the most substantial plant food, like a baked potato. The big salad will do a great job of diluting the calories in a meal but it’s the starch in a potato or rice that is going to help you feel full and satisfied.
6. Eating out
Eating out is super fun and a great way to get out of the house but it also is hindering your weight loss. When you go out, you don’t truly know what your food is being cooked with. Most of the time, they use an excess of oil and salt which not only adds added calories, but also makes easy to overeat. By limited eating out to once a week or even every other week, you will drastically cut back on the extra calories.
