Here’s How to Shed Those Extra Pounds on a Vegan Diet

With the side effects of consuming an animal-based diet becoming apparent by the day, vegetarianism has become quite popular around the world.

A vegan diet provides some significant health benefits, including decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It can also help an individual shed those extra pounds, which might not be possible with a non-vegetarian diet.

Moreover, the journey of vegan fitness allows one to leave a positive impact on the environment and save thousands of animals from the slaughterhouses.

However, many often question as to how a vegan diet can help them lose weight.

It is time we understand in-depth what exactly the vegan diet is.

Vegan Diet – An Intro

As the name suggests, the vegan diet excludes all animal products, including fish, meat, and poultry.

Some individuals take to a vegan diet owing to religious or ethical reasons. Some choose it after knowing the various health benefits, including decreased risk of many severe medical conditions such as diabetes.

However, the diet has four major types depending on the end goal of the food menu.

• Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian – The diet permits the consumption of eggs and dairy products. However, it does not allow the consumption of meat, poultry, and fish.

• Ovo-Vegetarian – Permits eggs but excludes dairy products, meat, poultry, and fish

• Lacto-Vegetarian – Allows consumption of dairy products but excludes meat, eggs, poultry, and fish

• Vegan – Excludes all animal-based products. It also prohibits the consumption of dairy products, eggs, and honey

The other two types of a plant-based diet include the Flexitarian, which consists of some animal products, and Pescatarian, which includes fish and not meat.

A vegan diet concentrates on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds for providing daily nutrition. Moreover, these food items have more amounts of fiber, micronutrients, and fewer calories and protein in comparison to animal products.

To better understand how a vegan diet can help one stay healthy and fit, one should look for a renowned vegan personal training professional.

Nevertheless, the benefits always depend on the type of food chosen to fulfill the daily dietary requirements.

Unfortunately, consuming processed foods will provide minimal benefits when compared to unrefined and whole plant-based foods.

However, when it concerns making the right decision to benefit the person in the long run on a vegan diet, there are bound to be some hurdles.

The Hurdles to Losing Weight on a Vegan Diet

Although the vegan diet provides some significant benefits, some factors can prevent this from happening.

With that said, let us now check out what these factors are.

1. Consuming Large Portions without Enough Protein

The consumption of unnecessary calories will always result in weight gain. Moreover, when on a vegan diet, chances are you will eat more than necessary. It is an expected scenario, notably when you are skipping out on the protein.

Protein quickly helps one feel full by minimizing the levels of Ghrelin, the hormone responsible for the regulation of hunger. In other words, it will lower the overall calorie intake and help with weight loss.

However, if you are not consuming enough protein, then you will eat food to feel full, which will interfere with the final goal of shedding that extra stomach fat. It is a common occurrence for many starting their journey towards a vegan diet.

2. Overconsumption of Calorie-Rich Food

When moving from animal-based to a plant-based diet, your intake of high-calorie food will increase. The vegan diet includes nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut, and nut butter, which are highly nutritious foods.

At the same time, these provide a minimum of 9 calories per gram, as compared to the four calories per gram of protein and carbs.  A typical example is two tablespoons of peanut butter, which has a massive amount of 191 calories. Moreover, 148 out of these are just pure fat.

Unfortunately, you might end up consuming more of these food items, which no vegan weight loss coach will ever recommend.

3. Too Many Refined Carbs

Foods such as pizza, pasta, or bread contain refined carbs, which you might overeat during a vegan diet. Moreover, these are much widely available and, at times, are the only vegetarian dish at a restaurant.

However, food containing much of refined carbs will always lack in fiber, and would never satiate you, as compared to a whole-grain diet.

Due to the consumption of refined fats, your body gets a whole load of excess calories along with refined carbs, which can initiate the release of extra insulin responsible for blood sugar. Nevertheless, these will also lead to unnecessary weight gain.

However, this does not mean that you lose all hope in the idea of vegan fitness because we have some great tips for you to lose those extra pounds with this diet.

With that said, pay attention to the information mentioned below to lose weight while eating a plant-based diet.

1. Fill Half Plate with Non-Starch Vegetables

We recommend that you choose high-fiber veggies, including cauliflower, leafy greens, and mushrooms, which will help one stay full and minimize the intake of unnecessary calories.

2. Choose Complex Carbs

The plant based nutrition coach recommends stomach-filling foods, which can include starchy vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fruits in the vegan diet.

3. Consume Whole Foods

At all costs, start the consumption of unprocessed food items as whole fruits and vegetables. These do not contain any unnecessary ingredients, which might become a hurdle in losing weight.

4. Include Protein in Each Meal

A vegan diet having high-protein foods like beans, seeds, eggs, dairy products, nuts, and soy foods will always help you in losing that extra weight.

Endnote

An animal-based diet might provide you with ample protein, but that is not all your body needs to stay fit. The vegan fitness gives you the golden opportunity to not only have good health but also keep the ecological balance by preventing animal slaughter. At the same time, you also reduce the carbon footprint in the environment, which is a fact to be proud of.

Author Bio

Gabriella Allerton is a full-time mom cum avid blogger who loves to write on fitness and health. She believes in the power of the vegan diet, and how one can make a contribution to the environment by leaving out the animal-based diet. When not writing blogs, you can catch her spending time with her family and enjoying a vegan smoothie.