Transitioning to Vegan Resulting In Undesired Weight Loss
Yes it’s true most people who come to me for help with their diet and fitness have a general goal of weight loss. It’s clear to see in our western society that largely (excuse the pun) the over abundance of food leads to our population being overweight. That is a problem both on a personal level and as a society but that’s a topic for another blog, watch this space…
Today I want to talk to you about weight loss as a result of turning to a plant-based diet. I’ve had several clients who seek my advice due to undesired weight loss, they complain they look gaunt and saggy, lack any muscle or shape to their body, ‘skinny but unhealthy’ after becoming vegan. Those who want to lose weight may joke ‘it’s a nice problem to have’, ‘I wish I had your problem’ but if it’s your problem it’s no laughing matter. You may feel upset and self-conscious about your weight loss, friends and family members make comments one client told me someone thought she was terminally ill! Not pleasant at all.
So why are you losing weight on a plant-based diet? Cutting out any major food group leads to a reduction in calorie intake = weight loss. Anyone who’s transitioned to a plant-based diet can appreciate it’s very difficult to work out what to eat. No meat, no fish, no eggs, no dairy…that’s a lot to cut out! It can be a very tricky time and without the proper guidance can lead to weight loss, muscle loss and even a deficiency in vitamins and minerals seeing a decline in health.
The argument: Veganism is a contentious topic, I find when people discover I’m vegan they seem to be up for an argument: health, environmental, animal rights… Everyone will have different reasons, opinions and arguments again that’s another blog altogether. Like most debates there are two ends of the spectrum:
‘where do you get your protein from?’ Usually from those a little more knowledgeable about building muscle. To bodybuilders protein is everything.
‘Just look at horses, gorillas, elephants they live on plants and have no problem maintaining muscle or weight’ Usually from your animal rights activist vegans.
As with most debates I feel the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Yes it’s true a gorilla or a horse manages to maintain a huge muscle mass eating plants alone, but you are not a horse or a gorilla you have physiology unique to a human. The body builders have a point too you will never build or maintain muscle unless you consume enough protein but eating 15 eggs and 10 chicken breasts per day probably isn’t going to be that great for your health long term!
So how do we solve your problem?
1. You need to eat more calories than your body needs to gain weight back.
Use an app like MyFitnessPal to track your food intake for 3-7 days to see how many calories and protein you’re consuming then seek professional advice for guidance on how much you should be consuming to gain weight. You need to do resistance training (lift weights) to build some muscle back.
Seek advice from a trainer and follow a carefully planned exercise program including resistance training 3-5x weekly.
2. You need to eat enough protein to build and maintain that muscle.
In my programs I work closely with each client to help manage their calories, protein intake and training program to achieve their desired goals. Pop on to the ‘packages’ section to see which one would suit you.
Protein is made up of 20 branch chain amino acids, the building blocks of protein. 11 non-essential meaning your body can make them 9 essential meaning you must get them from food. A complete protein source is a food that has them all, that is largely animal products which as a vegan you don’t eat. So where to get them from? As a vegan you need to combine various protein sources in each meal ideally or at least across a 24hr period to feed your muscles what they need. Lets also remember when referring to muscle over 50% of the muscle in your body is non skeletal meaning it makes up your heart, lungs, digestive system and other organs now that’s very important to look after!
In the past few years we have seen a massive rise in products replacing meat, fish, eggs and dairy eg vegan cheeses, plant-based milks and fake meat burgers and sausages. You must bear in mind although the taste and texture are realistic the nutrient content is often completely different mostly lacking in any protein. Even if you’re not so keen on using substitute foods without careful planning and consideration a plant-based diet can unfortunately be lacking in protein. The vegan diet can often lack the vitamins and minerals our body needs too which is usually true when eliminating major food groups or consuming processed foods plant based or otherwise. I’m not qualified to start giving advice on what vitamin supplements to take but I would strongly suggest having a blood test to see where you may be lacking and using that information to guide what you supplement with.
What to eat? So, you need to eat roughly 1-1.5g of protein per 1lb of body weight each day or an average over the week. Again, using an app to track your intake can help massively. Protein needs to come from a variety of sources to make up that complete BCAA profile. Nuts, seeds, lentils, beans, pulses and grains plus fruits and vegetables plus a good vegan protein supplement should cover it. Putting that into practice can be more difficult I find especially when eating out or planning your own meals at home without a little knowledge in nutrition. Most restaurants now will offer a vegan menu often very tasty indeed but usually massively lacking in protein. Take a vegan pizza and fries for example; bread base, fake cheese on top with tomato and other veg plus potato chips. Barely any protein there just loads of carbohydrate and maybe some fats. The way I look at constructing a meal is this; decide on a protein source eg chickpeas then create the dish around that maybe a curry sauce then add some spinach plus nuts and or seeds. So, combining protein from beans or lentils plus nuts or seeds is always a winner that’s why we all love hummus!
Vegan Protein Sources:
Nuts and seeds, beans and peas, lentils, grains, fruits, vegetables, tofu and soya products generally plus vegan protein powders. This list is not exhaustive but gives you an idea of what you should be building your meals around.
