Who has lost weight on a vegan diet?

I've been a vegetarian for a while, but I have just made the switch to vegan. I'm doing it for all the health benefits, but I was just curious to see who has lost weight and what other benefits did they get after becoming vegan. Please share any information about making the switch, if you lost weight, how fast you lost it, what you ate, etc.

Thanks!

I have. Twelve pounds to be exact in two months. But I stopped for health reasons as well. I lost my gall bladder last year and when you start losing organs because of the foods you have eaten it gets scary. I eat mostly raw food now and my skin has never looked better and I feel energized. Cooked food has lost all its nutrients. Therefore you body tells you its still hungry wanting those nutritients. I am not saying go raw, but it worked for me!

Firstly, well done on becoming vegan.

I lost 7 pounds in the first two weeks.

I, too, am on the "Skinny B****" diet. I lost 30lbs the first month and have been loosing about 1-2lbs a week since then.

Hi!

I lost 8 pounds pretty effortlessly the first month I was vegan.

Congrats on going vegan.

I lost about 20 pounds over the course of about three months. I was living in a vegetarian house with communal meals, and ate whatever vegan foods were offered... lots of soups, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and bean dishes.

Other health benefits - I don't get heartburn often (used to have it almost every night), get fewer headaches, and have a lot less mucus (sorry if that grosses anyone out).

It really helps to find delicious non-dairy products that you can use in your favorite meals and recipes. They tend to be on the fattening side (although less fattening than dairy), so eat them in moderation.

Here's a list of popular non-dairy products and vegan faux meats: http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp

You also might be interested in reading these vegan weight loss success stories: http://goveg.com/f-veganweightloss.asp

Good luck!

My friend and I went vegan at the same time overnight from an omnivore diet. We both lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. (Roughly 40 pounds in 6 weeks by diet alone, did very little exercise. I suppose that's a testament to how poor our diet was pre-vegan.) So did another friend who coincidentally did the same thing on the other side of the world. I believe we had the same thing in common: fresh foods and lots of vegetables. Since then we've been experimenting with many processed/frozen vegan foods (lots of fake meat) and have gained back most of the weight we lost over the years of trying out all those foods. Thus, I've been thinking more and more about going back to how I ate when I first went vegan.

No, sorry, I don't see any advantage over a healthy omnivorous weight loss diet.

I've gained over 40 lbs of muscle on a vegan diet and I can lose body fat easily by eating lots of unprocessed foods such as WHOLE grains, not whole grain bread.

Losing body fat is achieved by having will power when making diet choices an learning to exercise on a routine, not by avoiding animal products. Most of the food that my wife makes for me is sickening, sugary crap and it is all vegan. I usually just gag at it.

The ONLY way to reduce body fat is to burn more calories than you consume. Eat less calories by eating healthier food and burn more calories by exercising. If you don't want to do either, don't expect to lose weight, even if you are vegan.

I started following a vegan diet in the middle of January and have lost 20 pounds. Mind you, this is following the guidelines of Skinny ******, so it is fairly strict.
I allow myself one day off a week to go out. I still eat vegan that day, but I am not as strict.
I've started exercising more finally, but the 1st 17 pounds were all after changing my diet.

Any vegan who consumes fewer calories than they burn is going to lose weight. Just like anyone else.

A vegan diet can meet all your nutrient needs (including protein), provided it is properly balanced (including adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and calcium-rich foods). I would strongly recommend that you read _Becoming Vegan_ by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis to get a detailed understanding of vegan nutrition.

Many people do feel hungry when they first switch to a vegan diet. Making sure to include some nutritious high calorie and high protein foods in your diet (such as avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butters, and dried fruits) can help to make sure your appetite is satisfied.

I have, and did amazing 10 pounds. but did eat a little protein. I saw this and set a blog for you (source). It from a different website.

Provided you eat a properly balanced vegan diet, there should be no negative long-term side effects. You might notice initially that you have gas or bloating if you aren't used to eating a lot of high-fibre plant foods right now, but your body will adapt over a few weeks to an increased fibre intake.

sorry jenna but you need a balanced diet to be healthy and that is very hard to do as a vegan. so my advice...go eat some meat