A vegan diet excludes all animal products including meat, eggs, dairy and honey. With so many exclusions, it may seem like an easy task for a vegan to lose weight. There are, however, many high-calorie vegan foods that might undermine weight loss. These include nuts, nut butter, avocado, fried falafel, bread, pasta, French fries, oil, sugar and animal-free processed junk foods such as potato chips, crackers, cookies and candy. To lose weight on any diet--even the highly restrictive vegan diet--it is important to regulate your calorie consumption.
Step 1
Take an honest inventory of what you eat. How many calories per day do you obtain from vegan foods that are calorie dense or overly processed? How often do you snack? Do you really need the snacks you eat? Where can you cut back?
Step 2
Reduce calories: borrow a few tricks from raw food enthusiasts. Instead of grain-based pasta, use a spiral slicer to make a pile of low-calorie zucchini noodles. Instead of rice, use a food processor to convert cauliflower into a rice-like base for stew or stir fry. To make a lower-calorie hummus, use zucchini in place of chickpeas in your favorite recipe. Make sandwiches and wraps with leaf vegetables instead of bread or tortillas. Good wrapping vegetables include collard greens, Romaine lettuce, radicchio, lacinato kale and napa cabbage.
Step 3
Create meals with a low Glycemic Index rating by including foods that contain protein, fiber and fat. The Glycemic Index rates foods according to how quickly they cause blood sugar to rise and fall. Consuming foods with a low Glycemic Index rating helps stabilize blood sugar levels, which may help you to prevent food cravings and maintain energy levels. Many vegan meals are high in carbohydrates and low in protein, fat and, sometimes, fiber. If you are frequently hungry soon after you eat, adjust the glycemic rating of your meals.
Step 4
Reduce calories of a pasta-based meal by replacing regular noodles with shirataki noodles. Shirataki noodles are an Asian specialty noodle made from tofu or from the fiber of the konjac plant. They contain almost no fat, carbohydrates or calories. Look for tofu varieties in natural food stores and some supermarkets; those made from konjac can be found in most Asian grocery stores.
Step 5
Burn more calories by adding exercise to your daily routine. If you do not already exercise regularly, this may be the only step you need to take to lose weight as a vegan.
Tips and Warnings
- There are many easy and healthy ways to decrease the Glycemic Index of a meal. Boost protein, fiber and fat content of vegan meals by adding beans or bean sprouts, a handful of nuts or seeds, a scoop of peanut butter, a slice of avocado or a little olive oil. These additions may reduce your daily caloric intake by helping you to feel full longer after each meal.
- Keep serving sizes in mind when including high-calorie and high-fat foods such as avocado, nuts, nut butter and oil. A little bit goes a long way with these highly nutritious foods.
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