Should weightloss be this rapid?

[Tam Lin]

According to my scales, I've lost 11 lbs in the 4 days since I went vegan. Now I'm going to check myself on a friend's scales tonight, but that seems an awful lot to me. I'm very overweight - 5 foot 4 and weighed in at 15 stone 2 lbs when I started this, and the scales are now saying 14 stone 5 lbs. I used to really load up on dairy - could pack away 1/2 lb of cheese in one sitting and would drink cold milk by the pint. Could it be just my body getting rid of all the gunk?

I'm eating really well - about 1900 calories yesterday and according to Fitday, got all my nutrients well over 100% bar iron and Vit C (both at 70%ish), and B12 and calcium in the 40-50% bracket which I'll look into upping with leafy greens and fortified stuff. I'm certainly not hungry - in fact I'd probably struggle to eat more quantity-wise, and I feel very well indeed. So I'm at a loss to know why this is happening quite so quickly.

[fiamma]

I wouldn't worry too much, if you say you are very overweight, eating well and you say you feel well. Perhaps you could keep a food diary and a diary of your weight loss, and see a doctor if you are worried. But you will probably find that your weight loss evens out once you lose the excess weight and get down to the ideal weight for your body type and lifestyle. Good luck with everything :)

[veg_eric]

So I'm at a loss to know why this is happening quite so quickly.

Do you weigh a fixed moments on a day?

If you want to know how much you lost, you should weigh every day at the same time.

Weight can vary a lot over the day, I'm one or two pounds heavier at 12 pm then at 8 am. (breakfast, tea etc)

I can also loose one or two pounds in ten minutes, by just going to the bathroom ;) (er... to do the normal things there, not to purge!)

[Hemlock]

Yes indeed, as I used to be your weight once.
You can expect to lose this large amount of weight initially but it will slow down considerably.
If it doesn't it isn't normal!

[Tigerlily]

This should only last for a little bit, while you're loosing a lot of excess water weight and such. After another week, you should only be losing 1-4lbs a week. To be honest, I'd see your doctor if this continues (could be something wrong with your thyroid, digestion, etc) but I'm just a hypochondriac worry wort.

[Tam Lin]

Thanks guys - I'll keep an eye on it and see how it goes. I always weigh myself at the same time of day.

[Beanie121]

Im having the opposite effect, havent seem to have lost any :(

[Maisiepaisie]

Im having the opposite effect, havent seem to have lost any :(
Me either, I'm actually gaining weight :( Enjoy it Tam Lin. I'd be ecstatic if I could just manage to lose a few pounds.

[Beanie121]

Me too! im gaining weight too, is this normal?. When i changed my diet i was 12 stone 8 and now im like 12-10! WTF?? can anyone explain why this is?

[Tigerlily]

Beanie, a vegan diet isn't necessarily a weight loss diet.

[cobweb]

i think a lot of vegans start trying out more different foods, and maybe baking/cooking more - its easy to gain weight :(

[tammay]

A friend of mine who was already vegan when I decided to switch from vegetarianism to veganism advised that I try not to rely too much on processed vegan foods (like soy cheese, etc.) and vegan goodies, as they can really make you gain weight. That's been excellent advice. I've stopped buying too many vegan "fake" meats and try to rely more on tofu (I don't consider this a "processed" food), beans, and nuts for protein. I've never actually tasted soy cheese, soy sour cream, soy butter, etc. and I don't intend to start :D.

If you're gaining weight as a vegan, you might try maybe sticking with just whole foods for a while? That means veggies, fruits, nuts, legume, tofu, whole grains, good fats like olive oil. That might help.

Tam

[earthylovingirl]

congrats on the weight loss. it differs for each person, everone has a unique make up.