A little background
My vegan weight loss before and after started in September 2020. Six months prior, the world changed and everyone was captive to staying indoors. Plans were canceled, offices closed and gyms were a thing of the past. At the start of the COVID lockdowns, I and my husband had only been living in LA for a few months. What was supposed to be a fun, new experience in a new city, ended up being a boring state of solitude.
I felt unmotivated, a little depressed, and bored out of my mind. My wedding was supposed to be in Sweden in July 2020, which ultimately was canceled. All of my motivation to be fit and healthy quicklydwindled. I didn’t see any reason to stay healthy and fit, so I slowly stopped working out and began eating more.
I WAS BORED!
Baking became a daily occurrence, I was eating out of the daily and snacking on anything in the cupboard. Don’t get me wrong, everything I was eating and making the deemed healthy but it was all very calorie-dense foods. Peanut butter was my new (and only friend) in LA and I was consuming it by the spoonful. Within 3 months, from March to July, I had gained 15lbs. I noticed the weight gain and tried to get back to a semi-normal workout routine but the diet pretty much stayed the same. Another two months go by, and I was up another 10lbs.
At that point, it was September and I stepped on the scale to find a reading of 132lbs. Now, this might not sound like a lot to most, but I am 5’2” and I had never been more than 125lbs. I knew that I could not continue down this path, so I stumbled upon a YouTuber named Plantiful Kiki. She promoted this whole food plant-based way of eating and lost 70lbs in the process. She followed a diet called The Starch Solution and I was intrigued.
How I Got Started
I purchased the book and read it in the span of two days. Veganism is something I dabbled with, in the past, but never to this extent. Over-consuming high-calorie foods and processed vegan junk, will not get you to your vegan weight loss goals.
Starting September 2020, I was committed and wanted to feel like myself again. Not only did I get back to my previous weight, but I also dropped another 10lb. Now I am in the best shape of my life, in my late 20s, and feel amazing. Now I’m going to share my top 5 tips for how I lost weight with ease and without going hungry. As a result, my vegan weight loss before and after was shocking!
Tip 1: Eating primarily whole plant foods (vegan)
This meant that processed food was either out of the question or only on special occasions. This might sound like a no-brainer, but when I really thought about what I was eating, I was eating more from a box than from the ground. Foods that I thought were “healthy”, like protein bars and powders, nuts, and other really well marketed packaged foods made up most of my diet. My eyes really opened when I read the Starch Solution and everything just started to click.
I simply started to eat foods in their whole form. Instead of potato chips, I ate potatoes, or instead of brown rice pasta, I ate brown rice. Food in its whole form is definitely key.
tip 2: Eliminate all oil
At first, this sounds very jarring and it might take a week or so to get used to but it was a game-changer. Oil is the most calorically dense food on the planet and can easily be adding 100s of calories to your meals. Purely by sautéing your food with water or vegetable stock, you cut out a lot of unnecessary calories. Instead of using oily salad dressings and sauces, you can make delicious dressings without the use of oil.
Eliminating oil goes hand and hand with cutting out processed foods. Many/ all processed foods are loaded with fat and oil, which is not conducive to weight loss. Like Dr. McDougal says, “the fat you eat is the fat you wear” and I couldn’t agree more! After I cut out all oil from my diet, the weight started to melt off. And guess what, I don’t even miss it! Food tastes fresher and I don’t feel bogged down after every meal. WIN!
tip 3: Trust the process!
Like anything new, it’s going to feel weird, uncomfortable and at times, frustrating. Following a whole food plant-based diet that focuses mainly on carbs definitely goes against the grain of most diets. It might seem unusual to be eating so many carbs and somehow lose weight, but trust me it works. Prior to eating whole food plant-based, with an emphasis on starch, I was eating the standard body-building diet. Very little carbs and tons of protein. It wasn’t working and I felt terrible.
I turned to a plant-based diet with my arms wide open, but it wasn’t always easy. Since this way of eating puts a lot of emphasis on veggies, you may feel bloated often. I sure did. I wanted to give up after a week in but I gave it time and my body got used to the excess fiber. After that, everything was smooth sailing. Just trust that eating more plant foods takes some time to get used to. I challenged myself to try whole food plant-based eating for just a month and I’m now going on 8 and I don’t plan on going back.
tip 4: Don’t let yourself get hungry.
Hunger often leads to bingeing, or overeating, or eating late at night, or some kind of inconsistency, so when you eat consistent meals at ‘fairly’ consistent times you flatten the calorie spikes by nipping hunger in the bud. (Lower your calories, get into a calorie deficit, lose weight. Hallelujah!!) By eating when you are hungry/ eating until you are full, you won’t feel the need to eat junk or overeat at your next meal.
BUT, if you struggle with inconsistency, creating habits that don’t need motivation, lack of willpower, or any bingeing, then routine and avoiding hunger are your number one priorities. You rise and fall to the level of your systems, so if you’re constantly struggling it’s time to evaluate whether you have any systems at all! Skipping meals or eating less food because you’re not losing, then eating ALL the ice cream that night. Um, not helping. Don’t let yourself get hungry! A great way to prevent this is to meal prep some staple foods, like potatoes, rice, chop up your veggies so when you do get hungry you can quickly whip up a healthy meal.
tip 5: EAT MORE VEGGIES!
My biggest and most simple step is to just eat more veggies!
You NEED to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, and decreasing the calorie density of your meals (calories per BITE of food) is the easiest and least painful way of doing it! Buy a vegetable that you love or at least like and stick with that. If you hate eating broccoli but love green beans, then just load up your meals with green beans. Eating something you hate is not going to get you to your goals because it’s not sustainable for you. Part of the journey is to make it as enjoyable as possible so you’ll stick with it.
Another great way to eat more veggies is to incorporate them into your favorite meals. For example, when making a pasta sauce, throw in a few veggies. By doing this, you are easily lowering the calorie density of your meal. Or you could just implement the 50/50 plate. I love doing this because it allows me to eat a large volume of food for very few calories which mean sustainable weight loss.
Those are some of my top tips when it comes to losing weight on a whole food plant-based diet. People want to overcomplicate things but honestly, it could not be simpler. You too can have an incredible vegan weight loss before and after pictures. Highly recommend taking pictures throughout your vegan weight loss before and after journey because the results are pretty incredible.
