Will Going Vegan Help You Lose Weight

People go vegan for lots of reasons: to reduce their environmental impact, to address animal cruelty concerns, to improve certain health markers, and even to lose weight. In fact, at the time this was published, more than 228, 000 Instagram posts had been tagged #veganweightloss.

Animal products, like dairy and eggs, vegans pass on them all—even honey (which is produced by bees) and gelatin (a common thickener used in packaged foods, which is made from the bones and skin of farm animals).

That leaves vegans to eat nutrient-rich fruits and veggies, protein-packed beans and legumes, hearty whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil and avocado. But it also allows them to load up on not-so-healthy but still-technically-vegan foods, like sugary snacks, white bread and pasta, and junk foods like potato chips and French fries.

Going Vegan Really Isn't A Magic Diet For Weight Loss

This begs the question: Does a vegan diet for weight loss really work? Here’s what you should know about going vegan if shedding pounds is your ultimate goal.

When you fill your plate with healthy foods, going vegan can serve up some serious health benefits, according to a review of research and position statement from the American Dietetic Association. People who follow plant-based diets have lower cholesterol, body mass index, and blood pressure, along with decreased rates of type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer.

What makes a vegan diet so healthy? Cutting red meat and dairy from your diet is one way to decrease your intake of saturated fat, which is known to raise your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association. Plus, plant-based diets tend to emphasize satisfying fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, and a vast variety of plant compounds (including antioxidants) that have disease-fighting properties.

Vegan Weight Loss

But switching to a vegan diet won’t automatically make you healthier. “Probably the most common mistake people make on the vegan diet is thinking everything vegan is healthy, ” says Julie Devinsky, RD, a clinical nutritionist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. After all, French fries and Skittles are both vegan and no one is going to tell you to start making a meal out of candy and carbs.

If a vegan diet helps you swap out empty calories for nutrient-dense foods, then absolutely. “For many, weight loss on a vegan diet results from the combination of avoiding unhealthy foods and replacing those options with healthier ones, ” Devinsky says.

In other words, if you’re accustomed to grabbing take-out every night, making your own vegan tofu and brown rice bowl at home can help you lose weight because you are totally in control of the cooking method and what goes in it.

Top 4 Ways Going Vegan Can Aid In Weight Loss

Still, certain vegan trade-offs can actually make you gain weight. To lose weight on any type of diet, you need to cut the number of calories you’re consuming. One of the easiest ways to do that is eat fewer refined carbs and more lean protein, which will keep you fuller for longer between meals.

When you don’t eat any meat, though, eating more protein can be tough, because your options are more limited, explains Nancy Rahnama, MD, a board-certified bariatric surgeon in California. So a vegan eater might end up downing a bowl of carb-rich pasta instead of a plate with protein-packed chicken breast.

Both Dr. Rahnama and Devinsky recommend filling half your plate with veggies before you add anything else. That way, you have built-in portion control for the rest of your plate: fats, proteins, or whole grains.

The Myths Surrounding Eating A Vegetarian Diet To Lose Weight

“For most carnivores, the meal centers around proteins—vegans can sometimes shift the focus and often fill up on breads, pasta, and rice, ” Devinsky says. But going vegan shouldn’t mean ditching protein, since it can help you stay full longer (and you’re bound to experience hunger pangs once you start dropping pounds). “Consider legumes such as beans and peas as additional ways to get adequate protein, ” Devinsky says. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating about 5.5 ounces of protein each day.

At the end of the day, healthy foods also contain calories. Even if your snack is vegan (and a high-quality, nutrient-dense food), extra portions will add up and stall weight loss efforts, says Robyn Goldberg, RD, a nutritionist in California.

To make sure your vegan diet is healthy, avoid loading up on simple carbs (like white bread). Instead, opt for whole grains (like wild rice, oats, and quinoa) or simply swap for sources of plant-based protein, like lentils, beans, or chickpeas.

Today In Things We Already Knew: Going Vegan Could Help You Lose Weight

Foods like avocados, olives, and nuts are rich in satiating mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which can help you reach a healthier weight, Dr. Rahnama says.

Just because a decadent-looking cookie has vegan on the label, doesn’t mean it’s any healthier than a non-vegan one. “A vegan cookie may not contain butter or eggs, but most contain vegetable oils and sugar, ” Devinsky says.

This won’t do much for your waistline. “I see many patients who have gained weight after starting a vegan diet—many start eating deserts without guilt, simply because they are labeled as being vegan, ” Dr. Rahnama cautions.

Reasons You're Not Losing Weight On A Vegan Diet & What To Do

The same less-is-more strategy goes for processed foods—even if they’re vegan. “If you are going to have a packaged vegan food, be wary and read the label carefully, ” Devinsky says. “The more ingredients you don’t recognize, the worse it is.”

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Macaela MacKenzie is a journalist covering women’s equality. Her work focuses on sports, the gender gap across industries, and breaking down stigmas in women's health. She has over2, 000 bylines for outlets including

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Will A Vegan Diet Help You Lose Belly Fat?

While many people decide to go vegan due to the treatment of animals, there is an increasing number of people who are choosing a plant-based or vegan diet for the purpose of losing body fat and weight management.

And for relatively good reasons. Omnivores have the highest prevalence of being overweight and obese compared to people following a vegetarian, vegan, or semi-plant-based diet. A massive study with 103, 455 men and 270, 348 women between 1992 and 2000 found a positive association between total meat consumption and weight gain: an increase in 250 g/day of meat led to a 2kg gain after 5 years, even when adjusting for the calorie increase.

In observational studies, people with plant-based diets generally have lower body weights compared with omnivores. And there have been several studies that look into using plant-based diets as a strategy for weight loss.

The Vegan Diet For Weight Loss Is Trending. Here's How To Do It

A 2016 review of 12 clinical studies found significant weight loss among individuals assigned to a vegetarian diet: they lost an average of −2.02 kg more than the participants assigned a non-vegetarian diet. The review went further and found that vegan diets lost more weight than vegetarian diets: an average of −2.5 kg vs. −1.5 kg, respectively.

Data indicates that vegans consume less energy than omnivores. This is because there’s a higher prevalence of low calorie dense foods in a plant-based diet.

Calorie density refers to the number of calories compared to the weight of the food. For example – 100g of cheddar cheese has about 400 calories, while 100g of peeled carrots has about 30 calories.

Lost 100lbs By Going Vegan

Whole plant-foods contain mostly water and are high in fibre which gives them low calorie density compared to their volume. Eating these ‘low energy per bite’ foods helps give you that feeling of fullness and satisfaction while maintaining low caloric intake which can be helpful for weight management.

Essentially – you can eat the same volume of food or more on a vegan diet, but with less calories than a typical omnivorous diet.

Plant-based diets can be an effective way to lose weight. This is because they are typically lower in calories compared to an omnivore diet, and the fibre can help maintain fullness during dieting.

How Going Vegan Helped These People Lose Weight

But the main thing you need to lose weight is an appropriately sized calorie deficit – i.e. you’re using more energy than you’re consuming from food. That isn’t exclusive to a vegan diet but could be easier to achieve via eating solely plant foods.

Along with fat loss, plant-based diets can improve dietary quality and are associated with reduced mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease and cancer and may be especially beneficial for those with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, lipid disorders, or heart disease.

A poorly constructed diet high in refined

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