Beans offer protein and healthy carbs.
Proponents of low-carb diets say that carbohydrate-rich foods make us fat. But vegetarians, and especially vegans, eat diets high in these foods and research shows that they tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters.
That doesn’t mean that a vegan diet will automatically make you lose weight. Like everyone else, vegans who want to shed pounds need to make wise food choices regarding the carbohydrates, fat and protein in their diets.
The Carb Connection
Carbohydrates cause increases in blood glucose and in insulin, a hormone that helps cells take up fat and glucose for energy. Insulin isn’t evil; cells would starve without it. But big spikes in insulin production have been blamed for weight gain. The key to controlling insulin levels is not to avoid carbohydrates, but to choose those with a low glycemic index (GI). These are carbohydrate-rich foods that cause smaller and more gradual elevations in insulin. They can help delay hunger and promote use of body fat for energy.
Fat and Weight Control
Ounce for ounce, fat has twice the calories of protein and carbohydrates, so when you shun fat, you are likely to decrease calorie intake. But over the long term, people have problems sticking with very low fat diets. Some recent research suggests that including moderate amounts of fattier foods in meals helps people feel more satisfied and therefore, more likely to adhere to a lower calorie menu. So including a little bit of fat in your diet may help you lose weight and keep it off.
Plant Protein for Weight Control
There is some evidence that protein has greater satiety value than either carbohydrate or fat—that is, it can help you feel satisfied with fewer calories. Boosting protein intake during weight loss may also spare muscle tissue resulting in loss of more body fat.
It’s easy to get these effects in a vegan diet by eating more protein-rich plant foods like beans, soy products, and nuts. These foods represent the best of all worlds: They are high in protein but also rich in many protective compounds like fiber and phytochemicals. They also have a low glycemic index.
Tips for Healthy Eating for Weight Control:
• Include a good source of plant protein with each meal or snack. Some evidence suggests that protein helps keep hunger at bay. But a diet high in animal protein is unhealthful so choose plant foods that are rich in protein. These foods are low in saturated fat and they provide antioxidants and other compounds that are important for health.
• Don’t let your diet get too low in fat. Some people find that they are more satisfied when they add some high fat foods, like nuts, peanut butter, olives, or avocado to meals.
• Choose foods with a lower glycemic index. The easiest way to do this is to concentrate on eating whole, unrefined plant foods. It doesn’t mean avoiding foods that contain carbohydrate. I shared some tips for specific food choices here a few weeks ago.
• Don’t go too long without eating. If you find yourself getting hungry often, then plan your intake around five or six small meals or large snacks rather than two or three bigger meals. It’s harder to eat reasonably when you are famished.
• Eat plenty of fiber. Foods with bulk and weight seem to be the most satisfying according to satiety experts.
• Exercise. It is absolutely crucial for burning fat for healthful weight control.
• Manage stress and get enough sleep. There is some evidence that both stress and fatigue affect hormones that encourage your body to store fat.
• Get enough calories. If you are losing more than 2 pounds a week you are most likely losing muscle tissue. Slow weight loss—1/2 to 1 pound per week—is the best approach.
On Wednesday, I'll share some sample menus that can help vegans lose weight. Be sure to check back!
Comments
I'm vegan, and although weight-control wasn't my reason to choose this type of diet, it was definitely a great surprise! Not only did I lose weight and keep it off, my overall health improved greatly.
I have been a vegetarian for almost 20 years now. I have always been a big guy (I was on the football team in high school and I weighed 220, and had size 13 feet). Now, I am 37, and I am still a vegetarian, but I now going above 340. I have watched my diet, and I don't eat fast food at all, never drink soda (coffee, tea, milk or water is all that I drink), eat snacks moderately (takes me about 2 - 3 weeks to eat a quart of ice cream, or a couple of weeks to go through a bag of pretzels or tortilla chips) I have tried low carb, low fat, low calorie, and now my wife has suggested high protein, and I have been doing that for about a week now, and I have gained 5 pounds. I am also relatively active, as I ride my bike to the park with my kids, and I am a construction worker who regularly lifts heavy loads, and has to generally carry them up and down stairs. does anyone have any advice?
Scott - My friend had the same problem and went to see a Naturopathic Physician (N.D.) and is finally losing weight! No traditional doctor could figure out what was wrong w/ her.
To find a licensed googlethe American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
Best of luck!
I have tried being a vegan many times and everytime I do I gain weight by leaps and bounds. When I go back to the animal products I loose weight. When I go back to a strict vegan diet and start eating grains, potatoes and beans I turn into Fat Albert. I have been told by farmers that is why they feed grains to livestock...it fattens them up. Why would it be any different for us.
Scott-
Sounds like you may be both insulin and leptin resistant. I'm also sorry to say that your vegetarian diet may be to blame. I don't mean to attack anyone's religion or identity here, but these types of diets are simply not species appropriate. Humans are part of the food chain....at the top. Our bodies and digestive systems were created and evolved on animal foods. This has been verified by science and anthropology. Human's do NOT digest cellulose. Grains and legumes including soy are full of anti-nutrients (meaning they bind to critical vitamins and minerals and prevent absorbtion). Soy is a goitrogen which can permanently damage your thyroid. If you consume soy and are gaining weight, this could be your problem. Go back to a primal/paleo diet (caveman) that human's were intended to eat and see what happens. BTW, saturated fat is not only NOT evil, it is critical for human health and well-being including benefitting the thyroid. Do your own research and learn the facts.
Kim:
We're omnivores. Also, we evolved over millions of years- just because an adult individual chooses to eat only plant-based foods during it's lifetime doesn't mean that that individual's body will somehow malfunction or suffer. It is the quality and variety of the diet that is vital for nutrition and health, not the source of protein. Animal protein is certainly more complex and easier to absorb, packing 'a bigger punch' per gram, but this in no way means that a person can't be perfectly healthy on a well-balanced plant-based diet either. You must also allow for individual differences in biochemistry and physiology. Two meat-eaters for example can follow the exact same dietary regime and yet one may have a predisposition toward some imbalance or illness.
Your post was aggressive and offensive. If you were truly interested in 'research' you might follow a well-planned vegan diet for a couple of years and see whether or not it causes you to suffer.
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