Vegans (or plant based), are you all healthy and slim

[Barenecessities1]

I see various posts on FB about veganism or plant based lifestyle and literally everyone looks slim, healthy and has amazing glowing skin. I know plant based/vegan does not necessarily mean healthy, as people choose this life style for different reasons, what is your experience with plant based/vegan life style?

I was fat and then I went vegan. I put on weight. Now losing but its taking conscious effort. The vegan Market is huge now, so easy to pick up convenience foods/take aways/desserts etc.

That said, I do have considerably more energy than I did before though.

I know a fair few vegans (and was one for a while).
They pretty much reflect the rest of society. A mix of fat and slim.

I was slim anyway because am tall but cutting out dairy took off what little excess fat I had left. I gave up booze around the same time though so that probably helped as I was treating wine like one of my five a day.

Definitely not slim but my skin is glowy!

I am Asian and veggie. Used to be v slim until 45. Now 50 and a size 12 with a large belly because of peri-menopause. Asian veg diets tend to be very carb heavy which isn't great given we are more prone to diabetes. That said, I am trying to reduce carbs while keeping the veg. ( no fake meat). And I think reducing meat is good for everyone and the planet.

yes I am but like a pp i don't drink alcohol or eat processed food either do that could be more significant than the plant based aspect?

As for being healthy I'm lifting heavier weights and doing cardio longer than I ever have before but it's all been part of a general lifestyle shift s hard to pin it just on diet.

I supplement multivitamins and vegan omega 3s too as I don't fancy eating algae Omni DP takes them too because he hates fish.

Ditto
I suspect it’s the no alcohol and avoiding processed food. I wouldn’t touch fake meat and eat mainly lentils pulses and veg. I’m also not afraid of fat and eat lots of nuts and plant oils. 8.5 stone 5’5’

Vegan, slim, very healthy, very active. When I went for a routine check up recently the nurse was asking me for advice as apparently I was far healthier than her at nearly twice the age.

Not slim, not particularly healthy. But very happy being vegan

Yes, been vegan (mostly WFPB but eat cakes/ biscuits every day without exception) for 7 years and now in my 40's but still find it easy to keep the weight off.

It just makes you more mindful of what you put in your body and we eat loads more veg without it seeming to take more effort.
I really couldn't recommend it highly enough.

I don't think you're going to get many posts from the vegans who 'don't like vegetables so live on vegan sausages, chip butties, crisps and oreos' (all vegan) but they probably do exist.

It's like everything else, it's what you eat overall, not what label you put on your dietary choices.

Or if it's health you're interested in, you can just eat lots of fruit, veg, pulses etc and have small amounts of non vegan food. It doesn't have to be all or nothing if you're not avoiding animal products for welfare reasons.

You can definitely be vegan and unhealthy, there's loads of processed vegan food available now and vegan alternatives to ice cream/cake/pizza etc.

I think it's that a lot of vegans are more likely to cook from scratch and eat more pulses/veg.

I've been vegetarian for over 20 years and vegan for about 6 month and my weight hasn't changed (although I definitely feel healthy). I'm a healthy weight, not super slim but not overweight.

My DH was omni and went from eating rare steaks and milk by the pint, to going vegan. He's lost 1.5 stone within
5 months with minimal effort and has more stamina when running. He puts it all down to his (very sudden) change of diet.

I'll chime in and say that I know and work alongside many vegans. One does no physical exercise and looks so sickly skinny and ill. Her hair is stringy and she genuinely looks malnourished. She eats all kinds of fruit and veg and I think keeps fake make products to a minimum as I know she prefers tofu, and other things I can't pronounce lol.

There are a lot of vegans in the middle - loos wise from the outside they're neither skinny nor fat. They generally look healthy. But I obviously don't know the ins and outs of their blood tests and medical status.

The 'healthiest' most active vegan I know is part owner of a gym. He's very active. But he is CONSTANTLY sick / ill. He's always got colds. His immune system is shit.

I on the other hand was thinking of going vegan, but went the other way and cut out all processed food and went Keto instead to help lower my insulin levels for my PCOS. I focus on single ingredients like chicken, beef, whole milk, butter, broccoli, asparagus, nuts, eggs, etc. I've never felt so good in my life (and I've done a lot of diets where I thought I felt amazing). I lost 3.5 stone in 10 months and now I weigh 8.2 stone - I'm 5'5. I feel amazing and will never go vegan because there is so much inflammatory seed oils in vegan products, and all the carbs spike my blood sugar

Yes. I was likely underweight before I went vegan as I didn't eat many grain products. Now I eat oats, rice, beans, quinoa, etc several times a week so my weight increased with the change in diet. Still healthy and slim and same dress size, though.

Vegan here and pretty much the same size I was when I was omni HTH!

I've been vegan for about 30 years ("plant based" wasn't heard of back then). I'm in it for the animals rather than for health reasons.

My weight fluctuates. My BMI is currently in the healthy range but I'd say that I'm about a stone over my ideal weight.

Main meals are healthy with plenty of fruit and veg but I also eat plenty of crap (eg biscuits, chocolate, doughnuts).

Long-term vegan, I am slim (though slightly less so than when I was in my twenties and thirties, but still within a healthy BMI). I feel great. Fit and healthy.
My children are lifelong vegans and are slender and strong and full of energy. They have never had a single day of sickness. At most, they have gotten a slight tickly throat, but it's never developed into anything more, whilst all around us their peers are taking days off school ill with colds.
Their father is a long-term vegan and possibly the fittest person I know IRL, at least for his age.

I do know vegans on the larger side, of course.

Hahahahaha. No. Size 12. Overweight for my height. But I'm vegan for the animals so it doesn't particularly bother me.

I was vegan and fat (all belly) and then I went WFPB (whole food plant based - no processed foods and no oils) and lost 30lbs in 2.5 months! I’m always stuffed and I’m so happy about it. I’m 50 so it was worrying me. I live for my instant pot - I love Thai and Indian food so I’ll have curry or a Thai noodle broth every day (the instant pot makes it really easy to cook without oil, not to mention quick as I’m an assistant head and always busy lol) - and my air fryer. I’m also lucky that marinaded, air-fried tofu is one of my fave foods. I also have a rice cooker that I use for quinoa and brown rice. Loads of fruit and veg. I’m never hungry. Over the moon and can’t believe the answer has been there all along! 😀

Ooh, I've never thought of cooking quinoa in the rice cooker <feels stupid>.

Must give that a go.

I’d say so, been vegan over a decade, I had put on weight post birth (DD is 7mo) but am nearly back to my pre birth weight. I’m vegan for the animals not health and have had to do calorie restriction in the past after eating too much (vegan) rubbish over Christmas.

Vegan here - slightly over weight but I drink a lot of alcohol

if I cut that out I can easily get dune to a normal bmi

Another vote for air fryer tofu here.... especially the dragonfly organic one maaaaan that stuff is so good