If you’re having issues with losing weight or maintaining it as a vegan, don’t fret as it’s not so uncommon as you think. It might come off as surprising to see or hear about a vegan being overweight or obese, but there are lots of vegans suffering from obesity.
Reasons Why You Might Not Be Losing Weight
Calories Overload
It does not matter that your meals consist mainly of only whole foods with plenty of veggies and fruits. If you’re eating more calories than your body needs, you will end up gaining weight. It’s basic math here. When your calorie intake is much more than what your body burns, you’re bound to add a few more pounds. The key here is moderation.
Insufficient Protein consumption
When you include a sufficient amount of protein to your meals, you get satiated for a longer period. You also get to develop and maintain your muscle mass which helps burn more calories by elevating your metabolism rate.
Unfortunately, a lot of vegans don’t eat as much protein as they should, which results in frequent hunger and craving for foods plus a slow metabolism. Both of this eventually leads to weight gain as you’re more likely to consume more calories and burn way less than you should.
Bad timing
While doing the right thing is good, doing the right thing at the right time is even better. When it comes to losing weight, eating the right meal at the right time could spell the difference between adding up on more weight or shedding some unwanted pounds off your body.
If you’re the type that loves to have your largest meal in the evening or night after which you head off to bed, it’s high time you made some changes.
Except you’re on a night shift at work, evenings are usually the time we’re less active. Less activity means a slower metabolism.
Eating light-weight meals for breakfast might also be bad for you as it might make you constantly crave for more foods to fill you up. A no-no if you’re trying to lose weight.
Eating a Lot of Processed Plant-Based Food.
Processed foods are usually calorie dense as they have high salt, sugar and fat content. Compared to their whole counterparts, they also don’t fill you up and keep you satiated for long, which makes you consume more calories eventually.
Consuming too much-processed food is setting yourself up for a weight loss failure.
Too Much Treats Than You Deserve
Think crunchy sweet potato chips with coconut ice cream in the afternoon, yummy, right? While there’s nothing bad in giving yourself some treat once in a while, letting it become a common practice is bad.
We are all guilty of this a lot; we hit the gym for an hour or two, get all sweaty and panting hard, and we think we deserve a treat. These treats are usually packed with sugar and in the form of soda and fruit juices, doughnuts, salted snacks (pretzels, chips), etc.
Drinking Too Many Calories
It’s much easier to consume a lot of calories when you drink your food rather than eat it. As healthy as smoothies and fruit juices are, drinking a cup or two could easily amount to consuming over 300 calories or even more which eventually adds up.
Effective Weight Loss Tips You Can Use To Lose Weight
Eat greens
Veggies are rich in fibers. Fibers make you feel full which reduces craving for sugary foods. Adding veggies to your meals also mean you eat less carb which also reduces your calorie intake. Veggies are also rich in antioxidant, vitamins and minerals that help promote weight loss.
Add whole grains to your meals
Whole grains are fiber rich complex carbohydrates that our bodies use for energy. Due to their richness in fiber, they’re filling and digest slowly, offering your body the glucose it needs to carry out its functions in a more even manner. Unlike refined grains, eating a meal comprising of whole grains can help you keep your blood sugar more balanced. A balanced blood sugar level encourages weight loss. Moreover, whole grains are rich in important nutrients whole grains give us.
Load up on your protein
There’s a reason why protein is a staple nutrient in a lot of weight-loss programs, and that’s because protein fills you up real quick and keeps you satiated for a longer period. Adding more protein to your food can give your metabolism a boost, reduce hunger and cravings for foods which result into a lower calorie intake.
You can get your protein from protein powders or shakes, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Avoid Vegan Faux Meat
Majority of the vegan meat or dairy substitutes called “faux foods” are high in calories due to a lot of processing they undergo to make them edible. They’re usually high in sugar, sodium, and fat, which go against your weight loss efforts.
Limit processed soy
Don’t confuse soy with its processed version. The former has a high nutritional value with a relatively low calorie while the latter has a lesser nutritional value than the former but more calorie dense.
If you’re a loyal fan or Soy, then go for the unprocessed version.
Exercise and Keep Yourself Hydrated
A healthy lifestyle, healthy food and exercise goes are key factors that go hand in hand when it comes to losing weight. Engaging in a moderate to high-intensity physical activities help to burn calories and also keep your metabolism high, all of which help you to lose weight. You could either engage in aerobic activities or perform High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
And don’t forget to keep yourself hydrated! Drinking water helps to keep your body cleansed, which improves fitness and overall health.
Stay away from sugar
Sugar is bad news. By now, you should know sugar is an archenemy of weight loss. So, do stay away from it.
Fruits over fruit juices
Fruits are rich in fibers, and everything good your body needs such as vitamins, anti-oxidants, and minerals whereas most fruit juices contain mostly sugars with no fibers. It’s also easy to drink a lot of calories when you drink fruit juices.
Final Thoughts
Losing weight isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes determination, sacrifice, mindful eating coupled with a healthy and active lifestyle to achieve your weight loss goals. So don’t give up. Successful vegan weight losers don’t quit!
Don’t forget to also share with us what effective weight loss tips worked for you. Ciao
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