Vegan dieters support thread?

[Fatkins]

Hello!

Is anyone out there trying to lose weight while also being / trying to be vegan / plant based?

I am and would love some company! I have very recently gone vegan, but am wary of gaining weight. I actually really need to lose some, so I'm attempting both things at once.

I am doing Weight Watchers, but any approach, (but obviously vegan food), would be very welcome to join me.

So yesterday was a bit of a FAIL 😂🐷.

Damn you pizza express and your delicious vegan treats! In my defence, I met up with one of my favourite people on the planet, who I rarely get to see, and we had lunch and a cocktail.

She ordered a starter so I "had to" order the only vegan starter on the menu, which was a delicious, but not exactly low calorie, flatbread with hummus. I did order the vegan gardinera pizza, but the kind with a hole in the middle for salad. Feeling vaguely virtuous, I added the points to my WW app - Jesus H Mahoney! Soooooo many points!

So I'm starting afresh today. Just having fruit and about eleventy million cups of tea and coffee this morning.

How is everyone else doing?

I'm seriously considering changing tactic here and fasting instead... Can anyone sell it to me? Bearing in mind I am clearly greedy, as evidenced by yesterday, and would probably eat a lot on non fast days.

If I quit WW now I think I get a full refund as I'm within 14 day cancellation period.

Bah. Fun days happen, don't worry about it! I have often speculated that the occasional flood of calories makes my body take the more usual deficit seriously

I suggest broad beans as a go-to snack for days when you're trying to keep it limited - they are ridiculously low calorie and also high in protein. Pearl barley is good on the low cal side too (sadly bugger all protein but meh). Fills me up anyway.

P.S. The Goodfellas vegan pizza (falafel) is only 346 per half, which is actually rather reasonable! Make sure you have someone who will share it with you though.....

Thanks contessa. It was a really fun day and a rare treat for me to see this person.

I have one of the Goodfellas pizzas in the freezer. I'm sure it's far fewer points... Even the shop bought Pizza Express pizzas, without the hole in the middle, are pretty reasonable points wise. I really don't get how that wee pizza was so bad, but that probably is testament to my slightly skewed view of food 😬.

Oh well. I lost so much last year by bfing, but it's come back on with interest since we stopped. Having another baby just to lose weight seems a little extreme 😂.

I'm actually going to look at Asda online groceries just so I can get some of the delicious broad bean treats 😂.

My littlest one is poorly today so we're confined to barracks. Poor dc1 has missed her fun sports class as a result and I've been vomited on. What a bump back to reality after fun day yesterday 😂.

Can I join? Got a bit podgy due to total lack of exercise and eating too much (vegan) junk food. Keep forgetting just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy!

Hi purple and you're very welcome . The more, the merrier!

I did a raw vegan diet once and couldn't work out how I was gaining weight. It was the homemade raw nut milk, which is the vegan equivalent of drinking double cream 😂😂😬. I was having a big glass of it every morning FFS.

So yes, I am so very guilty of thinking "but it's healthy vegan food" 🤦.

Glad it’s not just me!

I’ve made a big batch of smoky black bean stew which I’m planning on having for dinner with rocket, guacamole, butternut squash and a small portion of brown rice. I’ve been attacking the garden so at least I’ve been active today.

Oh that sounds nice purple!

Today has been:

B: handful of blueberries
L: Quorn fishless fingers, jersey royals & sweetcorn
Snacks: flaxseed... off a spoon . I was really hungry and trying not to stuff all the Oreos into my face 😂. 2 x Oreos. A glass of smoothie, 2 x cherries and a small orange. A few teas with oat milk.

Rather a lot of snacks there... Seems to be my downfall!

For dinner I'm planning to have leftover daal from last night with salad, sweetcorn, (leftover from lunch) and rice.

I have a 90 minute yoga class tonight, which I'm really looking forward to. It's a slightly more dynamic and slightly more challenging class, so hopefully that will help a bit with weight loss.

Hi All, can I join please? I'm doing the fast diet, was doing 5:2, upped it to 4:3 and I've just upped it again to every other day. I really love fasting, so I'll sell it to you Fatkins

It does amazing things for my immune system, I never get ill when I'm on a fasting regime vs ill frequently otherwise
It gives me so much energy, I can spring out of bed in the mornings like I did twenty years ago.
It makes my skin look amazing, and research shows it does fantastic things for your body on a cellular level too - google fasting and autophagy.
Its easy after the first three fast days (which require iron will!) and it kills your appetite so you rarely feel hungry on fast days.
The weight falls off fast, faster than any diet I've ever tried before
Its v easy to maintain long term, just add back in an extra fast day here or there if needed
Its v v freeing, no adding up point/syns (I truly hate that name, always seems v fat shaming to me) and if you stick to the same food each fast day there's no calorie counting at all after the initial working out what equals 500 calories or less.
It always feels like a very body positive way of losing weight to me, and it a diet which makes a huge difference to your overall health.

Me, I'm a fat vegan and need to lose about 4st.

How does intermittent fasting work? Do you literally eat whatever you want on the non fasting days and then your very low calorie limit on the fasting days?

Yep Luaa that's pretty much it. There are lots of variations of IF (5:3, 4:3, 16:8, one meal a day etc etc) so its worth trying a few for a month or so each and see what works for you.

I've found that 5:2 and 4:3 work the best for me, so five days of eating normally, and then two "fast' days, where your total calorie intake stays below 500 calories for the day.

Some people eat nothing on fast days, some eat three small meals, I personally find eating a 300 calorie small meal at 5pm and nothing for the rest of the day works best for me, as eating earlier used to spark my appetite and make it harder when you're first starting out with IF.

I don't watch what I eat on non fast fays, but generally I try to follow a dirty keto high fat, high protein low carb diet. Some people limit their calories on non fast days to what would be considered recommended daily intake for them, but I always think that defeats one of the main pros of IF, and that's that you can ignore anything about diets on non fast days, making meals out, dinner parties etc v easy.

If you find the weight isn't falling off (which it has done for everyone I know who's done IF) then maybe look at reigning in your calories on non fast days, but otherwise no need. I know a lot of people who don't exercise but do IF and the weight still falls off. For me it really is the Holy Grail of dieting.

I should also me tion that I have used my fast day calories solely on champagne when an impromptu celebration has occurred. I only did it once per week though, and needless to say its NOT recommended. Neither is spending your fast day calories in their entirety on fudgesickles. Not that I've ever done that either

dinosaurs, you are one amazing saleswoman! I'd be a fool NOT to try that.

I wonder if 6:1 plus 16:8 would work... Off to Google. Yoga first. Then Google.

Why thank you Fatkins . People always call intermittent fasting a "way of eating" or a "way of life" and I used to think that sounded ludicrously pretentious, but it really is. Its a way of keeping your body healthy for life, the weight loss is almost a side effect, iyswim.

I promise I don't also sell snake oil

Thanks dinosaurs I'll give it a go. Both sports or anything planned tomorrow, so I'll make it a fasting day.

I'm in too Luaa! Fast day for me tomorrow too .

I'll just put that bottle of champagne in the fridge eh dinosaurs ?

Fatkins indeed! Always good to be prepared!

You're welcome Luaa.

I will say that the first three fast days are hard, but from then on it suddenly gets easy and you don't have to worry anymore.
Not just me either, most people seem to get the mysterious easiness after the third fast day.

I find that if I get desperate a tablespoon of sliced olives (green ones) in brine is only 15 calories, the ones I buy anyway, and the saltiness really helps. Likewise a bit of marmite if you like it on a teaspoon, or a teaspoon of peanut butter. A cup of tea with two sugars works well in a pinch too.

If you can hold off eating until at least 3pm, or as late as you can it makes it so much easier, good luck!

If you can grin and bear it through the first three fast days you're home and dry

Thanks for the tips! Just having a cup of tea and oat milk. Won't have breakfast obviously. I'll hold off on food till later as you suggest dinosaurs.

Doh, only just read this and just finished lunch. 200 calories for some diced vegetables and an apple.

I actually haven't struggled today at all, I have drunk a lot instead of eating.

I expect now I've eaten I'll be hungrier.

Unfortunately I get migraines if I don't eat at a reasonable hour of the morning, which is a right bastard re IF, else I'd join you in the not eating all day

I've done IF in thr past and it does work, although admittedly I did let the level go up to 800 on fast days considering doing it again TBH!

Morning all! Well, its morning here anyway

Luaa I'm sure it won't matter tll much, I just find it easier avoiding eating for as long as possible, but I can be a bit greedy otherwise

Contessa I don't want to be one of those irritating people who keep suggesting stuff when something doesn't work for you, you know your body best, but my best friend used to have the same with migraines.
Her Dr said it was prob because her electrolyte levels were off, so to drink an electrolyte drink in the place of breakfast and then do IF as usual for the rest of the day. It worked perfectly for her, and that's how she does it now.

Levelling up heh? I like it

Fast day for me too today, I've just done the 30 day shred but with actual weights rather than bean tins for the first time ever. WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?!?!?! The weights were only 2lbs too, thank Christ I didnt buy the 5lbs ones!!! Still, I've done it now

EatenByDinosaurs you are an evil? genius. I will try that, thank you!

Well I now have a migraine☹

I forgot that if I let myself get too hungry I get migraines. For my next fasting day I'll have to prepare lots of little low calorie snacks for later in the day I think.

Ooh I'm in!

Dinosaurs I found fasting the best diet when I was omni but struggle now I'm vegan as I don't know what to cook. Any ideas for meals? I prefer to just eat once on fast days as once I start eating I feel even hungrier.