If I Eat a Vegan Diet, Will I lose Weight?          

This is a question I often hear. Contrary to popular belief, eating plant based or vegan does not guarantee that you will lose weight! In reality, there are plenty of overweight albeit happy vegans. What enables you to lose weight is what you eat, how it’s prepared and your activity level. If your sole purpose for adopting a vegan diet is to lose weight, I suggest you pay attention to what you are eating and doing.

Vegan bread (Dave’s Killer Bread, Uprising Bread, Silver Hills and the list goes on…)  is as delicious as its non-vegan counterpart but if your new diet consists of lots of bread with plenty of fried and/or  processed foods, losing weight will be difficult. Calories exist in almost all foods, plant-based or animal based, and regardless of which way you eat, unless you are wise about it, weight loss just doesn’t happen.

Most vegetables are pretty low in calories and because of this, you can eat them in abundance, feel full as a result and soon you will see your weight drop but again, pay attention to what you are eating. Vegans don’t exist on salad alone! Avoid eating mostly starches in one meal ie: pasta, potatoes, rice and bread. Variety and balance are important and a rule of thumb is to make sure you eat plenty of colourful foods for their anti-oxidant components as well as to keep your food intake interesting. There are plenty of essential vitamins and minerals in vegetables, nut milks and legumes. If in doubt, take a supplement and at Spud, you will find some of the healthiest ones from organic sources, always the best choice.

Although there are plenty of vegan dessert options, both premade and home-made, limit your intake of them to lessen the amount of sugar you ingest. No matter what the source of sugar in your food, it still provides your body with empty calories that are better added in other ways. As you do this you will find the craving for breads and sugars start to diminish and you will experience weight loss.

You may not be a proponent of going to the gym, but here in the lower mainland you can get out and walk, run, ride your bicycle or go hiking. The key here is to get outside, get fresh air and MOVE.

You may choose veganism for a multitude of reasons but if it is solely to lose weight, do your homework or you may be very disappointed!