Has your weight changed since going vegan?

[cobweb]

I put on quite a lot of weight because, like Poppet says ^ I get/got (am changing now) excited about any 'vegan' food, especially the junk stuff .

[holly99]

I just had a baby and put on more than a few pounds. I was at 150 (pretty healthy for me, 135 is better) but had gone up to 170. I was just about to do a fast when I found out I was pregnant so I couldn't. Also had to lose the pack a day habit and that was fantastic but didn't help. I got all the way up to 238 lb by the end of my pregnancy, and 2 months after having her sat at 207. I was a vegetarian for 9 years in my late teens early twenties but had somehow lost my way gradually when I met my current husband. About two weeks ago I saw a video online that brought everything flooding back...I couldn't believe what I'd been eating, what horrors I'd been supporting. I went veg again and two days into it decided it was time to go vegan, and for good. I've lost 4 lb so far, I have been watching calories really closely because I'm breastfeeding, keeping it right around 2000 a day.
I am so at peace with myself, so happy. I hadn't realized how badly what I was doing was making me feel until I stopped again. Sort of like taking in a giant deep breath by the ocean after a month sitting in heavy traffic.

[absentmindedfan]

That's great Holly99 It's always worth checking out our recipes/recipe websites threads for healthy inspiration

[horselesspaul]

I have put on weight since becoming a vegan. I have also put on seventeen years and am almost middle aged, which may not have helped...

[Frosty]

I've put on weight. I'm not overweight or owt, just at a healthy range. I think it's because I am eating a more varied diet now, and eating quite a lot. Wouldn't mind shedding a few lbs before my next hols though!

[Hemlock]

My weight didn't change at all, in fact it went up

However, I have effortlessly lost 14 lbs recently by giving up all junk, prepackaged food and salt and sugar. I can eat whatever I want as long as I make it from scratch and only eat wholefoods not refined foods - the weight just fell off and is falling off as if by magic.

We have become very paranoid about what manufacturers put in packaged food and the appalling levels of salt and sugar in everything.

[holly99]

Mm. The salt in some soy based meat replacers is pretty staggering. I'm trying to cut back, I only need about 65 grams of protien a day for breastfeeding and on some days I have been getting over a hundred thanks to soy dogs and all that! They're good, but it just isn't necessary. I made a vegan cake a few days ago and I can't wait for that damn thing to be gone! I can't keep out of the darn thing. Won't be doing that again for a while...

[TheStylishVegan]

I went vegan 7 years ago and lost 65 lbs. in a year and a half. It's amazing how horrendous dairy is for your body. I also work out for 1 hours eveyday, no excuses. I pretty much eat what I want in the vegan world these days, drink my wonderful vegan beers and have kept the weight off.

[MarkAnthony]

Mine's fluctuated a lot, but then I've never had the healthiest relationship with food so to speak. I find it very hard to resist sweet food in particular, even when I'm not hungry. I think I'm at the high end of being in the 'okay' weight range, so it's nothing serious. I'm considering going raw for a while, partly as a healthy weight loss thing, partly just to learn more about making raw food recipes!

[BlackCats]

I really could punch myself for my earlier comment in this thread.

My weight has increased by nearly a stone now (and I know if anyone reads my entries in the "what did you eat today" thread, this fact will not seem a surprise.)

I have to stay away from junk/processed food - I have made the mistake of seeing any vegan food as limitless and eat as much as I like!
I eat when I'm not hungry as well - it is so irritating!

[Agatha]

yeah me too! i've put on about 2 stone (28lbs) since becomming vegan 3 years ago. BUT i was a bit underwieght before and now i eat whatever i want whenever i want and i probably over eat a bit too. but i always tell myself its fine, my weight is in the ideal range for my height, i get my five a day and a little bit of what you fancy does you good. i would like to be a bit thinner though...

[Holly78]

Mine didn't change - I had thought I might lose some weight as I used to eat a LOT of cheese as a vegetarian but no. I guess though I started eating more nuts and seeds and houmous (always full fat!) and there are higher calories and fat in soya milk than skimmed milk. I guess it all balanced out really.

[Hemlock]

Mine only changed when I went onto raw food and I lost 14 lbs (recently). I have to lose another 14 lbs but this weej I have lost the will to live which is stupid really - I need a good talking to

[Holly78]

Are you going to eat a raw food diet from now on? Does that mean you can't have anything cooked at all - even wholegrains like rice/pasta/bread/quinoa/cous-cous/cereals and stuff? What about beans and pulses?

[Hemlock]

I cook a small amount of brown rice and wholewheat pasta to eat with raw stuff, but I'm not 100% raw. You can't really eat pulses but you can sprout them and eat those.

[Holly78]

It sounds very healthy anyway!

[xrodolfox]

I gained weight when I first went vegan in 1994. Then I lost some. Then I gained some, but not much, and maintained that while only gaining a pound or two a year. Then, in 2003, I gained a SHITLOAD of weight. I got up to 210 lbs. Then I lost 40 lbs while living in S America with my wife. We both lost a lot of weight eating fresh foods, walking a lot, and having a blast.

I gained a few lbs when we got back to the states to have our kids, but I've mainted a healthy weight for myself (182lbs +/- 3 lbs) since then. I have a high BMI since I'm 5' 11", but I'm pretty muscular and have a HUGE ribcage, so it works, since my waist size has stayed at 32" to 31".

I'm happy.

I don't think any of my weight changes had to to do with being vegan and more to do with what I was up to at that point in my life.

[Veganne]

Wow, I didn't lose weight until...about 5 months after I turned vegan.

That's when I did 15 days of trail work on a mountain, =D.
Then I lost 9 lbs.

[Dragonfly]

I don't think I was very healthy before I went vegan.

I never was a big meat fan and rarely ate it to begin with. That was pretty much all that used to be served at my house too. I didn't really enjoy vegetables, other than potatoes and green beans. I didn't like milk or cheese. I just didn't really like food. I was what you'd call a "picky eater". I was about 110 lbs before I went vegetarian and loosely wore a 00. I stayed that for about a year.

I actually didn't really start gaining weight until I became a vegan and my focus was more on nutrition. I'm about 10 or 15 lbs heavier, and I'm a size 1 or 3. I look and feel much better now days. I am much more adventurous about trying new foods and enjoy all vegetables.

[Poppet]

but this weej I have lost the will to live which is stupid really - I need a good talking to

I'm so sorry I didn't notice this comment earlier.
Argh, you need a hug! *HUGZ and HUGZ you*

[foxytina_69]

its gone up or down over the years. i first lost weight when i first went vegan, then i gained a lot of weight and got fat, then i lost 10 pounds after stepping on the scale and realizing how fat i really got. then i moved to a new city, and lost 10 more pounds. and am currently trying to lose more. im finally realizing that in order to be slimmer, you have to eat healthy most of the time. not just half the time. so me and steev have made a pact that were going to only eat crap on our cheat days. were going to have 2 a month. that way ill eat healthy the rest of the time!

[blondemummy]

Hi All!!,

What is the stone to ound ratio again!!???

THX,
BM

[Roxy]

14 pound = 1 stone

[mimix101]

200lbs -> 155lbs in pretty rapid time (less than 3 months?) Also, size 36w down to 32/31.

[Noogle]

I lost a lot of weight when I went vegetarian, but I can't say I notice much of a change going vegan a year ago. I checked myself on the BMI last night and, although I know it has flaws, I was annoyed to see I was close to 'overweight'. So my organic chocolate is gone, and my diet is in.

[Veggie4Life139]

I was always tiny, being 60 pounds until late middle school, and not reaching 100 until about 9th or 10th grade. I went vegan in 2004, which was my sophomore year of high school, and stayed 100--exactly--up until the present day. So I chose that my weight stayed the same.

[antman]

Nope, I've weighed nine stone for years. But then, I went vegan from vegetarian, so perhaps a change is unlikely. I was seven when I stopped with meat, so I can't really say how that effected me.

[Flower]

I've stayed the same. I really need to lose some weight, but vegan cupcakes have taken over my waist.

[caitlin_:)]

put on weight!
exams=stress= eating TOO MUCH!

[emmapresley]

yeah i've got bigger which is ridiculous because i was huge anyway.

[Meikmeik]

I've also gained some weight myself. My weight has pretty much been the same for the last year (been animal-free for a little over 2 years) but I'm having the darndest time getting these 10lbs off. I do like sweets and I don't want to have to give them up to lose weight. Hopefully going to the gym will solve this.

Meikmeik

[Aims]

It's gone up! but I don't know if it's because of the veganism or not... it'd been slowly going up over the last few years anyway - I mostly blame lack of exercise.

[missbettie]

I have lost maybe about ten pounds. I think I have a little bit of an easier time losing weight now. Also I find that i could pretty much eat what I want when I want with out really gaining weight. Pretty nice actually, especially since I have always been on the heavier side.

[fondducoeur]

Down, but not a lot.

[umbilical]

at first i lost a lot of weight...but then my parents...who didn't understand anything about being vegan...and most of all...why a 12year old boy suddenly stopped eating what his mother wanted him to eat.....claimed that i have become anorexic and send me to a psychologist

well now i'm rather a little too fat i would say.....but not unhealthily too fat...just not really thin....but i think i'm ok
overall i would say i am still thinner than i was before being vegan

[AnneCE]

I lost weight - a few kilos, can't remember exactly - when I first went vegan (Sept 06) because I couldn't eat as much cheap chocolate as I used to - but then I discovered vegan flapjacks so my weight stabilised a bit.

Have to lose weight for medical reasons now, and am focusing on healthier choices and exercise, it is coming off slowly but steadily. Any faster and it would cause further problems. I'm down from very obese to obese, according to BMI. So that's good. And no one can accuse me of wasting away because of going vegan!

When I think of what I used to eat, it's a wonder I am still alive!

[jillforrest]

Hi! I lost all my extra pregnancy weight after turning from veggie to vegan about 14 pounds (8 kilos) in around 4 weeks. Combined it with yoga practice. I still eat a little junk food but mostly healthy, our whole family have trimmed down after making this change.

[caela]

I went vegan in May07 and to date have lost about 50lbs - that is without increasing my physical activity any. I think it is because of ALL the fiber I eat now and the fact that I can't afford most of the vegan junk food (student budget).

[umbilical]

what is lbs?
welcome caela btw

[Marrers]

lbs is pounds in weight alleen.

[Marrers]

And no one can accuse me of wasting away because of going vegan!

Lol! When people say to me "but what do you eat?" I say "loads of stuff - as you can see I'm not wasting away!"

[umbilical]

lbs is pounds in weight alleen.

thanks Marrers

wow 50 pounds, that's incredible

[Marrers]

That is great in around 6 months caela! (I reckon I've put on at least that much in the past year! Can't blame veganism though as I've been vegan for about 14 years.)

[cherrywisp]

I lost seven pounds in six days without even trying. It was kind of weird actually. But now the weight is coming off more slowly.

I'm not overweight and never have been because I was never really all that into junk food and I like exercising, and I walk pretty much everywhere I go. But I had gained about thirty pounds in the past year which was insane, living with my boyfriend who eats atrociously, and now he's no longer living with me (though we're still happily together) and I decided I needed to make healthier choices again and go vegan. I love it! I was a vegetarian when I was younger but I like being vegan even more...I feel full longer now.

[ivandurago]

When I was in high school and played a lot of sports, worked out daily, and ate meat I weighed ~ 180. Now I work out daily still, no sports, eating vegan for about 2 years and I don't see my weight go above 165. I am 6'4"

[LuVegan15]

Yes, I went from 8st 5lbs to 7st. 2lbs in about a month, and I'm now about 7 st. 4lbs

[shelzyrose]

I've lost 35 lbs in 4 months.

[RubyDuby]

my average weight as an omni was 5 lbs heavier than my average weight as a vegan. (117-112) sounds trivial, but I'm happy that 10 years later I weigh 5 lbs less. I heard once that on average women gain 1 lb per year after HS. take that meat eaters.

[redwriter]

I didn't lose weight immediately after becoming a vegan because I was depressed at the time and had discovered "vegan junk food." However, when I started feeling better and getting out of the house more, I ate healthier too and lost about 20 lbs. I was overweight before I became a vegan due to working a desk job and just not taking care of myself, so the 20 lbs needed to go. However, just giving up animal products was not enough.

[brighteyed]

i've put on about 10 pounds (from 5 stone 10 to about 6 stone 6) since becoming a vegan...though i was quite underweight before hand.