Vegan Weight Loss Diet Plan

Many people believe that vegans are skin-and-bones due to their animal-free diet. Unfortunately, vegans, just like everyone else, have to watch what they eat in order to maintain a healthy weight. Vegan diets are loaded with proteins such as tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans and lentils, as well as carbohydrate-rich foods like whole grain breads, rice and pastas, all of which can contribute to weight gain if not consumed in moderation. However, since these foods are usually already fairly lowfat, vegan weight-loss diet plans are usually fairly simple to initiate.

Calories

The first thing you should do is determine how many calories you take in on a daily basis. If you are like most vegans, you probably make a lot of your own food, so this isn't as easy as it sounds. Use a website like Nutrition Data to figure out how many calories are in the foods you make. Keep track of your meals and write down everything you eat, especially all those little random bites of snacks you munch on throughout the day. You will probably be surprised at how many calories you consume just from snacking alone. Once you have determined your caloric intake, compare it to the recommended daily allowance for your height, weight, gender and activity level. You can find a calculator to figure that out at the Nutrition Data website as well. Adjust the amount of food you consume based on the discrepancy between how much you currently eat and how much is recommended, based on the calculator.

Nutrition

Sometimes vegans mistakenly believe they can consume anything they want because they don't eat such high-fat foods as meat, eggs, cheese and other dairy products. While it's certainly true that vegan diets are generally low-fat, fat intake is only one aspect of weight loss. Any time you consume more of something than your body needs to function, it is either excreted as waste or stored. Often, it is stored as fat. So, although low-carb diets are not necessarily healthy, there is something to be said for not eating an entire loaf of whole-grain bread. Balance is key. Eat frequent, small, balanced meals and stop eating when you are full, or even sooner if you are eating a lot more than you should be. Increasing your vegetable intake can really help as well, as vegetables are very high in fiber and will help you to feel full.

Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise is vitally important to any weight-loss program. It can be difficult with a busy lifestyle to find the time to exercise, but fortunately you don't have to do it all at once. If you decide that you need 40 minutes of cardio five days a week, you can break it up throughout the day. You could go for a 20-minute jog in the morning, then walk to and from your lunch. Or, you can spend 30 minutes playing soccer and another 10 running to and from your car when you forget the soccer ball. However you decide to do it, be sure to incorporate cardiovascular exercise into your weekly regime. You may find that your energy is increased and you sleep better at night, in addition to the weight-loss benefits.